It has claimed 200,000-400,000 lives. It has displaced millions. It has tortured countless millions more. And it continues to this very day -- with no end in sight.The situation in Darfur is real. Real people are being forced from their homes. Real people are being tortured. Real people are dying. To date, the genocide waged by the government of Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir has taken the lives of well over 200,000 people, and the attacks by the Janjaweed, local mercenaries hired by the regime, have tortured and displaced millions.

The only way to bring an end to this is to target the money the government gets, namely the foreign oil companies. They must be engaged by their shareholders, and the State of Michigan has a lot of shares. If the state can engage these companies, we can make a difference on the ground in Darfur. To do that, though, we need your support as concerned citizens to get the government to pass SB 555 and HB 4854, the Michigan Sudan Divestment legislation.

Tom Choske

President, Spartans For Progressive Divestment and International Relations and German senior