ME and Ophelia

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FIRST HAND IMPRESSIONS OF DARFUR -
By blogging political scientist Daniel Geffen

A few minutes ago, Daniel Geffen left a comment at my previous post. He wrote: "I attended a Darfur-themed breakfast this morning with Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times and the Secretary General of CARE International. I've posted a report on what they had to say here, if you're interested."

Thanks for that Daniel. I've not yet had a chance to read it. Thought I would share it here first. And write more later on. Looking forward to reading it right now. Looks great.

Here is an excerpt from Daniel's opening paragraph:

"I just got back from a breakfast hosted by CARE International, where NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, CARE Secretary General Denis Caillaux and Peter Dut (one of the "lost boys" of Sudan) spoke on the crisis in Darfur. It was an emotionally wrenching event.

Dut's description of his flight from the civil war in southern Sudan as an orphaned 5-year-old was particularly affecting to this new father. But beyond the effective plea for support, the speakers also provided some counter-intuitive points that are worth considering. I hope I'm not breaking any rules by offering these notes, so here they are.

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Note: Daniel Geffen of The Bonassus weblog is working on his PhD in political science at Columbia University. Before going to graduate school, he worked as a legislative assistant to a member of the US House of Representatives for three years. He has also been a visiting researcher at the New Zealand Institute for Economic Research.