Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Hot Links: Congo, Sudan
This week on "360," Anderson Cooper and his team take viewers inside the armed conflicts and humanitarian crises in the central African countries of Congo and Sudan. If you'd like more information on what's happening in these countries or are looking for a way to get involved, please check out the following organizations:

For aid:

For information about the conflicts:

For information about the gorillas:

Posted By CNN: 9:37 AM ET
  17 Comments
Thank you, thank you for these links. I get so frustrated when I watch the news and see these stories but am left with the feeling of "how in the world can I possibly help??" Now I know where to go to find out.
Posted By Anonymous Steph, 24, Boston, MA : 10:15 AM ET
Could you also please include:
International Medical Corps
http://www.imc-la.com/index.shtml

The medical team needs help in Darfur.
Posted By Anonymous Tina, Baltimore MD : 10:25 AM ET
Hi-
Thanks for the information. At least now I know who to contact to help- even if it is in a small way. Thanks for reporting on such a terrible situation. Keep up the good work!
Posted By Anonymous Pamina, Pittsford, New York : 11:01 AM ET
It really makes me useless as a Canadian soldier. the Canadian Government should send more soldiers to help those people, knowing that they do have the military personnel to do so. Besides fighting, we can provide support and help in those countries in need. I am stuck at my desk when I could be out there helping in any way I can. Sending money?? I need some to do that.
Posted By Anonymous J. Ontario, Canada : 11:42 AM ET
Thank you for posting all the organizations that will guide and teach us. we are following your tracks on how to help this people thank Mr. Anderson Cooper and to the staff and crew of AC360.
Posted By Anonymous Jemillex Bacerdo, Chicago,IL : 12:21 PM ET
Just to interject a little humor into this very important subject... Anderson will miss Celebrity Jeopardy and won't be able to defend his crown. Too bad! But at least Soledad will represent CNN and make them proud!
Posted By Anonymous Sue, Petaluma, CA : 12:22 PM ET
Thanks for the info. We now have no excuse to claim that we don't know where to start the process to bring some much needed aid.
Posted By Anonymous Lorie Ann, Buellton,Calif. : 12:32 PM ET
Maybe you should list charities that will help solely in the United States, so that we can help the poorest in our country before we help bolster dictators and unjust regimes in central Africa.
Posted By Anonymous Brant, Madison, Wisconsin : 12:40 PM ET
I am a congolese and I felt so useless yesterday watching your report from Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thank you very much and thanks CNN for bringing these issues to the surface. Yes, we today can help my countrymen through the charities' links that you've provided but we need also to understand that as long as we are not fixing the root causing all these madnesses, we might as well throwing our energy and money to the window. Mr. Cooper please help these people help themselves.
Thank you
Posted By Anonymous Andre, Kansas City, MO : 2:26 PM ET
-Thanks for the links. Now I know how I can help. Thanks to Anderson Cooper and the whole 360 crew for doing this.
Posted By Anonymous Nick Taylor, Tempe, AZ : 2:57 PM ET
Anderson, et. al--

The show last night was amazing. Through my own research of late, I thought I had a pretty decent handle on what's going on the The Congo and Darfur. I was wrong. As usual, you all have something to teach me. Keep up the wonderful work, and stay safe.

As far as the links go, thank you....but you might want to add:

http://www.savedarfur.org

and

http://www.genocideintervention.net.

Both are excellent sites, and offer practical, hands-on ways to get involved, for those of us who cannot donate money.

Again, thank you, all at AC 360, for bringing the plight of The Congo and Darfur to light.
Posted By Anonymous Mandy, Boston, MA : 3:04 PM ET
Just before going to sleep last night I saw the report by Anderson Cooper on the treatment of women in the Congo. All of the women had been raped repeatedly; one woman for seven days by soldiers. I kept waking during the night thinking of those women. Is there anything we in USA can do to help? E
Posted By Anonymous E. Earnest, Atlanta, GA : 3:22 PM ET
Thank you for posting this information and thank you to all of the 360 staff both in front of and behind the camera (or desk) for covering these issues this week and beyond.

I thought Jeff Koinage's questions last night to the leader of the African force in Darfur about what he needed and what he wanted to let people know were great. I am hoping you will allow other people to tell you what needs to be done so that, when we contact politicians or the media, we can mention these specifics. Hearing about the potential solutions and not just the problem is so important when reporting stories such as these.

I also was very interested in the fridge in the hospital being run on solar power and wondered what other nvoel ideas are helping tackle some of the problems with lack of potable water, electricity, etc. in many of these areas. (For example, in Christiane Amanpour's excellent documentary on AIDS, she highlighted a group of medical professionals who went out on motorcycles with medicine stores in ice chests to reach remote areas). What must be done before/during the rainy season in Chad, etc.?

Here are some other things we as individuals can do:
* E-mail friends and family and post on whatever blogs you visit asking people to watch the reports on CNN this week and take action, giving them specific ways the can help.
* Visit www.savedarfur.org for updates and action alerts as well as to send an e-mail to Bush and Kofi Anan at the UN.
* Contact your politicians and the White House (www.congress.org has a listing by zip code/state) and ask them to put pressure on the UN to do more and also to talk about Darfur and Congo when making press appearances and writing to their constituents. You can cal the White House Comment Line at 202-456-1111. You can also ask all of the above to provide more financial support or food/medical supplies to aid agencies.
* Contact local and national media and tell them you want to see more coverage of this issue, including what needs to be done, editorials urging action from the UN and Bush, steps we citizens can take, and organizations making a difference (and putting contact info of those orgs on their Web sites, in their newspapers, and on the TV screen so people can make a donation). You can also thank the media when they do do a story on this; that way, they know people are paying attention and will be more likely to do the story again.
* If you have kids or work in a school, encourage kids to get involved by raising money or raising awareness (many local papers would love to have an essay written by a student who cares about an issue; kids can also post something on the school Web site urging people to contact politicians or speak at parent meetings asking parents to take some of these small steps).
* Flood the UN with calls. Until they bother to take action as more and more people die and are raped/mutilated, the least they should have to deal with is a few pesky folks like us. The number for the US mission to the UN is 212-415-4000; you can also e-mail them usunpublicaffairs@state.gov. Our rep to the UN is John Bolton. You can ask his staff to make the US take a stronger stance and propose a resolution requesting a full UN force be sent, even over the objections of the Sudanese government, or to neighboring countries like Chad and Central African Republic, where the violence is spreading; the UN can also provide more equipment to the African army there and allow them to be aggressive rather than simply respond with their actions. Since a lot of the folks writing on the 360 blog are from Canada, the Canadian mission to the UN is 212-751-5676.

The sad statistics from these countries can seem overwhelming, but we need to become less paralyzed and demand action. If we all work together, we can hopefully spur the UN and the US government into action.
Posted By Anonymous Norah, West Chester, PA : 3:27 PM ET
Finally, the Western mainstream media is covering the horrors of Africa. As someone who takes a keen interest in world affairs, I'm not surprised by what Anderson is showing us. However, his current reporting from the Congo is the best and most in depth I have ever seen from an American broadcaster. Thank you Anderson for revealing this nightmare to the rest of the world.

Of course, the next step is to get the rest of the world to take action and begin to help these desparate people.
Posted By Anonymous John Gracey, Vancouver BC : 11:07 AM ET
Dear Sanjay and Anderson,
I woke up this morning to Anderson's story about a three year old girl who was gang rapped by soldiers and who now cannot speak. After which, a commercial came on with funky dancers and voices singing "I can give you what you want". The juxtaposition of these two experiences jarred me in a way I have never been before. I can barely type this message because I am shaking so badly. We, here, are so out of touch with the suffering. How can we be truly happy; thankful, yes, but truly happy when others are defenseless and living with unspeakable torture? My next comment will be to my senator.
Thank you for you incredible work.
Posted By Anonymous Dana Dunbar Toledo Ohio : 12:35 PM ET
We appreciate this initiative. It is about time that someone exposes our plight in the Democratic Republic of Congo, this is a small step and we hope a continued coverage of some kind. However, this coverage would not be complete without exposing our real torturer; we saw the victims, the hand wielding the sword but failed to see the heads. Our problem can only be solved when these shady character are exposed, since they have no conscience may be shame can stop them. We the Congolese carry our pain everywhere; life seems so meaningless...
May God help us all.
Posted By Anonymous Ayind, Nashville,TN : 11:54 PM ET
I haven't stopped thinking about your piece on the women in DRC since it aired. I would like to know how we can get in touch with/send donations to/communicate directly with the women's center that you visited while in the DRC. I would very much like to send donations directly to them and also communicate with them directly, if possible.

Thank you.
Posted By Anonymous Dilan Desai - Milpitas, CA : 12:03 AM ET
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A behind the scenes look at "Anderson Cooper 360°" and the stories it covers, written by Anderson Cooper and the show's correspondents and producers.




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