How each of us can keep our money from funding genocide in Darfur.
DURING THREE visits to Darfur and neighboring Chad, I have been witness to the first genocide of the 21st century. In a displaced persons camp called Zam Zam, I met Halima, who described the day her village was attacked, first by Sudanese government bombers, then by the merciless, government-backed janjaweed militia. She said, "The janjaweed tore my baby son from my arms and bayoneted him in front of my eyes."
Another young mother, Fatima, told how she fled her burning village
with her baby tied to her back. When the janjaweed shot her, the
bullet passed through the child, killing him. During my visit, I
watched a small boy, shot in the lungs, struggling to breathe, and I
saw others whose eyes had been gouged out with knives.
So you can imagine my horror when I recently discovered that I had
inadvertently been helping to finance the genocide in Darfur. My own
pension money was in Fidelity Investments mutual funds. Fidelity has
immense holdings in PetroChina Co. and Sinopec Corp., two oil
companies that have poured billions of dollars into Khartoum's
coffers.
From 70% to 80% of the oil revenue, according to Human Rights Watch,
has been used by the government of Sudan to purchase assault
helicopters, bombers, armored vehicles and small arms, as well as to
train and arm the janjaweed -- the people and weapons responsible for
murdering Halima's and Fatima's babies, along with more than 400,000
other people.
I have always taught my children that with knowledge comes
responsibility. Who among us would knowingly be complicit in the
murder of innocent people? So I withdrew my savings from Fidelity and
wrote a letter to them explaining why. I didn't expect my letter alone
to make the difference, of course, but I hoped that my action together
with that of others would persuade them to take responsible action.
But so far, rather than divesting, they have, over the last year,
significantly increased their holdings in PetroChina.
Fidelity says: "We believe the resolution of complex social and
political issues must be left to the appropriate authorities of the
world that have the responsibility, and capability, to address
important matters of this type."
Well, I disagree. It's true that Asia and the West have failed to take
the necessary steps to end the genocide, but that doesn't mean the
rest of us (corporations included) can shirk our moral obligations.
Fidelity's effort to shift the responsibility away from its own
decision to invest in companies that fund atrocities is cynical and
hypocritical.
A new public campaign, FidelityOutOfSudan.com, asks Fidelity to own up
to its responsibility.
The moral necessity of divesting from commercial and capital
investments in Sudan is broadly recognized and growing. Colleges and
universities have divested, particularly from Sudan's oil industry,
with Harvard leading the way, citing a "compelling case for action in
these special circumstances, in light of the terrible situation
unfolding in Darfur and the leading role played by PetroChina's parent
company in the Sudanese oil industry, which is so important to the
Sudanese regime." When the University of California divested, it was a
huge victory.
Six states, including California, have already taken a moral position
by divesting. Twenty-four other states are considering such
legislation.
And, of course, we are all responsible for our own savings and
retirement accounts. Each of us must send a clear message to our
investment advisors that we refuse to have our savings used to
slaughter innocent people.
Originally published in the Los Angeles Times.