"It all started on a road trip, with a copy of USA Today and an article on the crisis in Darfur, the
western region of Sudan where ethnic cleansing might not adequately describe the horror. Since early in 2003, the Sudanese military and its proxy militia, the Janjaweed, have been raping and dismembering and just plain slaughtering the land-tilling, non-Arab villagers. Newble (a Player on the Cleavland Cavaliers) read that some 500,000 Sudanese are dead and another 2.5 million are homeless, and he rubbed his eyes."
western region of Sudan where ethnic cleansing might not adequately describe the horror. Since early in 2003, the Sudanese military and its proxy militia, the Janjaweed, have been raping and dismembering and just plain slaughtering the land-tilling, non-Arab villagers. Newble (a Player on the Cleavland Cavaliers) read that some 500,000 Sudanese are dead and another 2.5 million are homeless, and he rubbed his eyes." "Then he logged a few hours on the Internet and found out that China buys two-thirds of Sudan's oil, and that the proceeds from that fund weapons for the Janjaweed. He read that China has invested a billion dollars a year, for the last 10 years, in Sudan, and that just under 50 percent of Sudan's exports land on China's shores. Newble learned that every attempt the U.N. has made to send civilian-protecting peacekeepers into the region has been vetoed ... by the 2008 Summer Olympic-hosting Chinese."
Newble felt that had to do something so he got in touch with Eric Reeves, an English professor at Smith College who's the preeminent expert in the U.S. on the situation in Sudan. They decided the best thing to do was to send a letter to the Chinese government which states: "We, as basketball players in the NBA and as potential athletes in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, cannot look on with indifference to the massive human suffering and destruction that continue in the Darfur region of Sudan." He plans to get this letter signed by as many athletes as he can to help pressure China into taking action. That's why his agent, Steve Kauffman, met with representatives of the NFL's and MLB's players' associations and why he hopes Muhammad Ali signs on too.
Newble first approached his teammates and they all signed it. Except for two. Damon Jones, who has a deal with a Chinese shoe company, asked for a little more time to see if he'd be violating that contract. And LeBron James. He says he needs more 'information.'"
