Ante Up for Africa -- Raising Awareness

The third annual Ante Up for Africa charity poker tournament was co-hosted by Don Cheadle and Annie Duke at the World Series of Poker on Thursday, July 2, and many celebrities, athletes, and poker players bought in to the $5,000 no-limit hold’em event that will benefit the ENOUGH Project and Refugees International. The amount of media and railbirds at the Rio quadrupled that day thanks to the presence of stars like Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Alexander, Brad Garrett, Sarah Silverman, Cedric the Entertainer, Charles Barkley, Mike Tyson, Herschel Walker, and many others, and the increased media coverage that arrives with these famous individuals will help the main goal that was on the agenda Thursday – to raise awareness about the crises in Darfur and other parts of Africa. “With ESPN televising this event, that’s going to bring awareness that’s going to bring a voice to this cause. A lot of people just aren’t aware, and if they’re not aware how can they do anything. When they do become aware then they start to voice out to help, and I think that’s what’s so great about this event here,” said Herschel Walker.

The goal of raising awareness was definitely achieved thanks to the fact that ESPN will be airing the entire event on television, and it will be viewed by millions, but the learning process about the situation in Sudan and other parts of Africa shouldn’t end there, it only begins. Cheadle understands this, in the book he wrote with human rights activist John Prendergrast, Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond, they cite that four things have historically stood in the way of real change concerning humanitarian issues. They call them “The Four Horsemen Enabling the Apocalypse: apathy, indifference, ignorance, and policy inertia.” Cheadle and Prendergrast have each found a path out of apathy and they believe that with the help of enough citizens’ voices, they can push the U.S. government to take the lead in Protection, Punishment, and Peacemaking to affect real change in Africa. The relief efforts need to step beyond band-aid fixes like providing humanitarian aid in refugee camps. While that aid is still needed while millions of people are still displaced in Africa, the ultimate goal should be for the governments in Africa to be pressured enough by the international community to change policies so that lasting peace can be achieved.

This kind of change takes a U.S. citizenry that is willing to get involved in the process. If you’re still reading this column you might be someone that wants to become an upstander, someone no longer willing to stand by while genocide takes place on a scale of 400,000 human lives lost, and 2.5 million people displaced from their homes. There is suffering in our country right now as well with the unemployment rate climbing to 9.5 percent, but the suffering in the U.S. is nothing compared to the murder and rape that takes place on a large scale in Africa’s ravaged areas. The first step you can take is to learn about the situation, and all you have to give is the time it takes to educate yourself. Do you really need to spend the next couple of minutes surfing on YouTube, playing video games, or watching bad reality television – what are you waiting for. Read on below to learn about the situation and ways you can help. You will also find tips about how you can affect real change from many of those that were present to play in the Ante Up for Africa tournament. You might just find your own path out of apathy in the process.

Your first stop: www.enoughproject.org

This is the website for ENOUGH – a project to end genocide and crimes against humanity. It contains current news, and very informative background information highlighting the roots of the crises in the most afflicted areas in Africa, including, Darfur and Southern Sudan, Eastern Congo, Northern Uganda, Chad, Somalia, and Zimbabwe. There is also a Take Action section on the site, where you can start to help if you feel so inclined.

Another excellent source is the aforementioned book, Not on Our Watch. In fact, I’ll send my copy of the book to the first person that emails in their address. The book details the efforts of Cheadle, Prendergast, and others who are dedicated to making real changes in the places on the planet where known atrocities are still being allowed to take place. One of the main themes in the book is to show that one person can make a difference, and when many people work together anything is possible. The Six Strategies for Effective Change highlighted in the book are:

- Raise Awareness
- Raise Funds
- Write Letters
- Call for Divestment
- Join an Organization
- Lobby the Government

While we all don’t have $5,000 to commit to a buy-in for a charity poker tournament there are things that the average American can do to help. Even a donation of $20 can buy a lot for those in need. “I went over to Kenya with Feed the Children, and I was with a family where if I handed them $20, that’s the next month and a half for them,” said actor Dean Cain before the Ante Up for Africa tournament. Another website, NothingButNets.net gives you the opportunity to send an anti-malaria bed net over to Africa to help prevent the disease, which is the number-one killer of refugees on the continent. The nets cost just $10. Sacrifice that next pizza and you could send two.

Also, participating in the democratic process as an active citizen is as simple as writing a letter to your local, state, or national politician, and it does make a difference. “If every member of the House and Senate had received 100 letters from people back home saying we have to do something about Rwanda, when the crisis was first developing, then I think the response would have been different,” said senator Paul Simon in response to U.S. non involvement in Rwanda in 1994 (as quoted in Not on Our Watch).

Other resources:

- Watch the film Hotel Rwanda, in which Cheadle gives an Oscar-nominated performance depicting the heroic actions of Paul Rusesabagina, who helped save more than a thousand lives during the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994 (which claimed 800,000 lives in just 100 days).

- Read the columns written by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times concerning the crises in Darfur. His columns and op-ed pieces on Darfur earned the Pulitzer Prize and they are another good point to jump in educate yourself.

- Read the Nothing But Nets column written by Rick Reilly for Sport Illustrated, and then visit the website, nothingbutnets.net to make a donation.

If you’re still feeling like one person can’t make a difference here are some tips from the people that played in the Ante Up for Africa charity event on Thursday:

Matt Damon: “You can look up the ENOUGH Project; you can go online and just read about the work that they’re doing. You can do that relatively quickly. They’ll be a way for you to make a donation if you’re interested. Small donations are very helpful. Look, president Obama proved that a bunch small donations can beat a few big ones. If people were to go to the site that would be a terrific start, one of the problems is that people feel like the problem is so big that they can’t even start to attack it. There are some practical ways that you can help.”

Cedric the Entertainer: “I think the main thing is that we all got to look at the world as a whole and understand that we are all somehow connected to each other. What you see in Darfur is that large groups of people have become refugees, and there are people wandering around without any destination because they’ve been forced from their homes. If there is a way for you take out a small portion from your salary, that extra Starbuck’s money, just one venti coffee is enough to help a fellow human being that’s in a very dire situation. We waste a lot, and in the U.S. we have a privilege with waste…We are so far away from these problems that most people don’t care. If it doesn’t hit you close to home with a family member, a lot of times we don’t feel like somebody else’s problems are our problems. I think the best thing to do as a citizen of your community and of the world is to figure out how you can contribute to making it better.”

Robert Williamson III: “You can make a difference on many different levels. You don’t have to donate $5,000, donating time is also a big help. A lot of these charities need help getting set up and organized, so contact your local charity. So many times they just need man power. It’s nothing out of your pocket but you’re still giving a lot. Giving of yourself is the greatest gift you can give of all.”

Phil Gordon: “I think one of the most important things you can do is educate yourself about what is going on. The more you know, the less you’re going to like it, and not only that, but the more you’re going to take an active interest in getting our politicians on board to do the right thing. There are some excellent educational resources out there, including the ENOUGH Project website, also just follow the news. There is enough written about this that it is no secret what’s going on, but at the same time there isn’t enough pressure from constituents to have the U.S. government actually take a stand and do something about it.”

Dean Cain: “There are so many different organizations that you can be a part of that helps. I work a lot with Feed the Children. The hard part is that people think if they give $10 or $20, that it’s not going to do anything, but if everybody does it, it’s ridiculous, it makes a huge difference. First it’s a bunch of rain drops in a puddle, and then all off a sudden you have a lake, and that’s what it’s all about. It’s really difficult though because you don’t get to see the impact your money has on somebody. I went over to Kenya with Feed the Children, and I was with a family where if I handed them $20, that’s the next month and a half for them.”

Herschel Walker: “The way you can make a change is voicing your opinion. I think that’s one of the problems that a lot of people don’t realize. Just because you don’t have the money doesn’t mean that you can’t do a lot to help the cause, sometimes speaking out helps just as much as money does, so does volunteering.”

Lee Watkinson: “People need to become aware. I think the hardest thing about this is that people just don’t realize what’s going on around the world, and once they become aware that’s the first step. Ignorance about what’s going on is the first thing that needs to be overcome.”

Brad Garrett: “What it’s all about is bringing exposure to the people in need of help. Write a check for $25 and send it in to help people in Darfur. Send whatever you can. We’re the richest country in the world, even though we’re down a little bit right now, but the key is it will never be down here as far as it is in Africa so it’s important to give what you can.”

Barry Greenstein: “Africa has always been a forgotten continent, where we know there are atrocities that are going on down there and we’ve always known it. I think the average person just needs to recognize that this stuff is going on, that there’s genocide and just unspeakable crimes taking place. We like to think we are a civilized society, but there’s a lot of tragedy that still goes on. Raising awareness is a big step towards change.”