tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83960355899017489842011-07-11T02:31:04.780-07:00<a href="http://www.christmasindarfur.org/"><img src="http://www.christmasindarfur.org/illo.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <br>The companion blog for the <b>"<a href="http://www.christmasindarfur.org/">Christmas In Darfur</a>"</b> film project.Ryannoreply@blogger.comBlogger361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-16774128198862343012009-03-13T14:13:00.000-07:002009-03-13T14:15:25.177-07:00

The latest word is that the kidnapped MSF workers have been freed. No additional details at this point. While we're on the subject though, here's a a letter from a member of MSF who, unlike us, actually did spend Christmas in Darfur.

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-60341426066684062692009-03-12T03:34:00.000-07:002009-03-12T04:10:21.084-07:00

Now here's a new twist. Kidnapping. Three foreign members of Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF... also know as Doctors Without Borders), have been kidnapped by "gunmen" according to Reuters. This is a new twist in a worsening conflict. After the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar Bashir earlier this month, Mr. Bashir retaliated by showing many international aid organizations the

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-84959932473074399952009-02-17T10:10:00.000-08:002009-02-17T10:14:38.072-08:00

Al Jazeera English reports: "Representatives of Sudan's government and the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem), the most influential rebel group in the country's western Darfur region, have signed a joint declaration of good intentions."Full story here.

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-49688644147615335972009-02-02T17:16:00.000-08:002009-02-03T08:47:48.550-08:00

It’s been a few years now since we decided that it was a Good Idea to check out some camps for Darfur refugees to try to figure out what exactly was going on in that particular slow-motion apocalypse, so we begged for money, shopped for body armor, got an impressive array of immunizations, bought a bad-ass first aid kit, hit up anyone we could for advice and headed out to Darfur (or at least

Ryannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-47963337194105534212009-01-31T18:45:00.000-08:002009-02-02T17:32:47.500-08:00

Mark Leon Goldberg opines in his blog, UN Dispatch about Samantha Power's appointment to the National Security Council:"I'm tempted to think that she will not be much of a quiet Mandarin. The heroes of her book are people who rail against the system--people like Raphael Lempkin who coined the word genocide, and Senator William Proxmire, who gave daily speeches on the senate floor on the need to

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-4887551757757237762009-01-09T15:08:00.000-08:002009-01-09T15:10:35.318-08:00

From Robert K. Elder's film column...A lot of people make documentaries because they want to break into filmmaking. For friends Jason Mojica, Ryan Faith and Jim Milak, all 34, it was different."We decided to be filmmakers because we wanted to be humanitarians," says Chicago-native Milak. The friends' first documentary, "Christmas in Darfur," just hit the Internet and will become part of their

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-31221935969023110602009-01-09T15:03:00.000-08:002009-01-09T15:07:58.569-08:00

Poof! We're finally done with the film. Please watch and let us know what you think. Make sure to pass it on to everyone you know who has an interest in the crisis in Darfur... or those you think should have an interest. Also, please feel free to embed this film on your own blog or web page!

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-39493810773521803202007-12-20T07:28:00.000-08:002007-12-20T07:29:19.332-08:00

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-27897262786335997432007-12-12T14:13:00.000-08:002007-12-12T14:14:12.507-08:00

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-54198761783956562472007-10-19T12:26:00.001-07:002007-10-19T12:26:54.757-07:00

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-67573141629760602482007-10-11T04:07:00.000-07:002007-10-11T04:09:51.638-07:00

Congress will be willing to label Darfur a genocide. Keep hope alive!

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-29258701933264839012007-04-02T02:33:00.000-07:002007-04-02T02:37:50.138-07:00

With our footage now in the hands of editor Brian Cho, we can at long last offer you a little taste of what's to come:

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-54961700610437038532007-02-28T17:56:00.000-08:002007-02-28T18:01:55.250-08:00

Among the many interesting folks we met on our journey was Ousman Khami. Ousman is associated with the SLM's "Group of 19" (those who didn't sign on to the peace accord). Today, with news of the ICC's formal announcement of war crime suspects, Ousman sent us this email:Hi there, It's good to hear that the International Criminal Court has released two names from 51 wanted list, who are

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-56225236737735795212007-01-14T15:40:00.000-08:002007-01-14T15:55:03.672-08:00

“Talking about music is like dancing about architecture”Multiple AttributionsOr, for that matter, like me writing about much of anything. But, on the other hand, you really don’t want to see me try to dance, regardless of whether it’s about jazz or not. So I guess I pretty much have to stick to writing about what we saw and what we think.Anyways, we’re officially back now and fully ensconced in

Ryannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-33606259198006768822007-01-11T07:27:00.000-08:002007-01-13T12:16:29.772-08:00

For those of you that missed our TV appearance, here we are in all of our YouTube glory. The appearance is discussed at greater length in the post below this one.

Ryannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-21069514173120865552007-01-09T18:03:00.000-08:002007-01-09T18:48:02.460-08:00

As at least a good three or four people are now aware, we made an appearance on the Chicago PBS Station, WTTW, on their program "Chicago Tonight" last evening, apparently on purpose and with the full knowledge of the station managers.I present for your viewing pleasure and/or amusement, definitive proof that we definitely have a television presence custom made for blogging. In that spirit, to

Ryannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-51110056137606720392007-01-08T07:30:00.000-08:002007-01-12T10:25:46.186-08:00

As you may know, we will be appearing at 7pm Chicago time, on the primary local PBS station, WTTW on the program "Chicago Tonight". In a bid to get some research together before our appearance, I've started looking into some of the statistics behind Darfur, with mixed success.Gathering statistics about Darfur has been a very difficult problem, owing to poor record keeping, lack of civil society,

Ryannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-71598580338998076482007-01-06T16:45:00.000-08:002007-01-07T21:22:18.920-08:00

Our first finding is that, no Dorthy, Chad sure isn't Kansas, and despite that, ruby slippers are not, in and of themselves, sufficient to tackle the headaches associated with a lost ticket. For that, one needs a cell phone and airline personnel of extraordinary patience. And no, there really is no place like home. Or at least if your concept of home involves running water, paved roads, and

Ryannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-45591773555468016342007-01-01T03:51:00.000-08:002007-01-01T04:36:05.120-08:00

We are back in N'Djamena, although we are encountering some further problems with airline tickets. I wanted to share some of the first pictures of the trip, now that we have something approaching internet access. Photos and explanations below the fold (larger photos or perhaps a full photo album will be posted when we have a higher speed connection).We arrived here about seven hours ago after a

Ryannoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-87026921515014655272006-12-31T00:41:00.000-08:002007-01-01T03:51:26.274-08:00

Well, we’re trying to figure out how to get out of Abeche. We’ve gotten the bulk of the footage we intended to get from here, but now we’re back to what seems to be the primary form of recreation for expatriats in the area – waiting for logistics. There’s not really a whole lot to say about us for the time being – we’re tired, grubby, a bit surprised by what we’ve seen, and anxious to get on to

Ryannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-3972146634745635272006-12-27T03:59:00.000-08:002007-01-12T06:35:44.002-08:00

The three of us finally got on a UN flight out of Chad’s capital on Tuesday the 26th. The kind folks from International Medical Corps (IMC) picked us up from the airport and drove us back to their “compound”: a pair of rented houses with around the clock security, barbed wire and a 6pm curfew. This, we soon learned, is the norm for NGOs in Abeche, and there are a lot of NGOs in Abeche. IMC, UNHCR

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-78381468596490719242006-12-24T06:17:00.000-08:002007-01-11T07:30:23.110-08:00

Christmas Eve in N’Djamena. This is our fourth day here. Jim, Ryan and myself are sitting side by side in an internet cafe. In the days since we’ve arrived, we’ve interviewed representatives of the Chadian government, leaders of the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM), and an American med student who’s traveled out here to get a better understanding of what the situation out here is. Our hotel is

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-60651438803803105372006-12-22T05:07:00.000-08:002006-12-22T05:24:19.197-08:00

We've arrived in Chad, and have begun the filming process. Chad is proving by turns to be fantastic, frustrating, and baffling. I did find it profoundly amusing listening to Elvis' Blue Christmas on the Ethiopian Air flight to N'Djamena, which is proving to be strangely prophetic.Indications here are that the bulk of the rebelliion has subsided, and I wonder about that in connection with recent

Ryannoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-20139299933442000192006-12-19T09:10:00.001-08:002006-12-19T09:18:01.895-08:00

The first leg of our trip takes us from the States to Addis Ababa, from where we will be departing for N'Djamena tomorrow.  So far, aside from some minor logistical complications, we've been pretty good to go, and so far have interviewed a wire service reporter who covers the region, as well as several notable personages from the Somali section of Addis Ababa, Little Mogadishu.  The tour of

Ryannoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-18975230767999408932006-12-16T22:17:00.000-08:002007-01-04T07:29:40.735-08:00

Owen Price, visiting fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies considers just what can be done about the situation. In addition to giving our film a nice shout-out (thanks!), he also ponders the impact of a Christmas boycott of goods manufactured in China. Hmm...Read Mr. Price's op-ed here.

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-53586235072705057792006-12-16T09:55:00.000-08:002006-12-16T17:33:57.459-08:00

ReliefWeb hosts information about ongoing humanitarian efforts throughout the world. They have several maps reporting security incidents in the area. When comparing the maps side-by-side, the spread of violence is quite apparent, although is not certain that the violence will continue to spread.Map of events from November 4 through November 14:Map of events from November 15 through December 8:

Ryannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-42004311744904504952006-12-13T12:31:00.000-08:002006-12-16T09:53:40.286-08:00

"U.S. and European companies are largely shunning Sudan, but countries in Asia and the Mideast like China, Saudi Arabia and Libya have heavily invested. That could have wide political ramifications on the effort to help Darfur.'The only effective pressure would be sanctions that would pinch targeted officials,' like those believed to have shares in government-controlled oil companies, said Colin

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-70648291512491816102006-12-11T06:30:00.000-08:002006-12-11T06:34:55.066-08:00

Nice piece over on the VOA website: "'Nothing is being done from my perspective because the world does not have the political will to do anything in Darfur. The Iraq syndrome is rendering everybody helpless. The international community lost the moral authority to intervene in the situation Darfur and to provide protection for the people,' he said.Ismael said the international community is wrong

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-53439181243563515442006-12-10T15:22:00.000-08:002006-12-10T15:24:09.147-08:00

Well, there are a couple of things that we're still trying to hash out on planning:Sat phone or satellite data terminal?Full armor with trauma plates, concealable armor (Level II), or no armor?Plan on flying or driving to get around the country?Any comments? Thoughts? Suggestions?

Ryannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-29371366264835668812006-12-10T12:14:00.001-08:002006-12-10T12:23:55.422-08:00

There has been ongoing fighting in Chad between the rebel forces and government for a few weeks now. Currently, the principle city in the east and capital of the Ouaddai province, Abeche, has become the functional military headquarters in the region. Regular updates on the situation can be found at the excellent blog, Chad News. Current information is below the fold.Much of the fighting with the

Christmas Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862516090817790435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-56334867795252582242006-12-07T08:32:00.000-08:002006-12-07T10:26:01.506-08:00

Darfur Conflict zones map and breakdown from the BBC

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-49003955657762840292006-12-07T06:52:00.000-08:002006-12-07T07:34:13.341-08:00

I'll be at the Royale in St. Louis tonight, where a bunch of fine folks have thrown together a benefit for our little project. This is good, as judging from the latest developments, we may need that Kevlar® after all.

Jason Mojicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590900932397622479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-78425203858932428612006-12-06T22:49:00.000-08:002006-12-06T22:57:35.238-08:00

Well, we're getting down to the wire, and starting to go from vaporware and concept to bending of metal, battening of hatches, and the brutal mixing of metaphors.In any case, I've taken a first swing at what sorts of gear (aside from the actual A/V filming, personal protective equipment and communications) we will need - or would at least be nice to have. Daunting, really, but that's sort of

Ryannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-46660206147679385242006-12-05T12:01:00.000-08:002006-12-06T20:39:14.037-08:00

You probably have all heard about the Christmas in Darfur project that I'm involved with. In the course of preparation, we've been following the news and doing some research, which I figured I should share with folks. As the situation continues to deteriorate, (below are links to the satellite images of the towns Abeche and Adre mentioned in the linked story) things are going to start getting way

Christmas Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862516090817790435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-42344178495099587322006-11-21T12:01:00.000-08:002006-12-06T20:40:43.474-08:00

Judging by the newly arrived décor I am seeing in storefronts, the holiday season is evidently upon us once again. As you already know, two friends and I are going to spend our holiday in Chad to film footage for a documentary (Christmas in Darfur), capture the feel of conditions on the ground, and interview the extraordinary people who have given and risked so much to lend a hand in a portion of

Christmas Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862516090817790435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396035589901748984.post-68803250033089460292006-11-15T12:01:00.000-08:002006-12-06T20:41:57.156-08:00

Basically, if you were one of the poor, benighted folks of the world and busy choosing between starvation and being shot, 1984 was a very good year. You all remember the massive Live Aid promotion with "Do they know it's Christmas" coming out in 1984 raising a whole raft of cash for Ethiopian famine relief.Unfortunately, in the intervening 22 years, the marketing viability for dying brown people

Christmas Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10862516090817790435noreply@blogger.com0