Deng Makes Plea on Crisis in Darfur

Deng said he hopes the PSA will inspire some of those who watched the NBA finals to do what they can to help.

June 23, 2006 — Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng said he hopes his televised appeal during the fifth game of the NBA finals will offer Americans an opportunity to learn more about the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan and how they can help its victims.

The 21-year-old, 6-foot-9 native of Sudan starred in a public service announcement (PSA) seeking support for Sudanese relief efforts. The spot aired for the first time on Chicago's WLS-TV during Sunday’s game between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks and will continue to air on NBA-TV.

"The situation in Darfur is a lot worse than what people know," said Deng, a member of the Dinka tribe in southern Sudan. His family moved to the United States when he was 5 years old to escape a civil war.

"My father knew what was coming and wanted a better life for his nine children. I'm here because I was lucky," Deng said.

Fighting in Darfur began in February 2003 when rebels from black African tribes took up arms, complaining of discrimination and oppression by Sudan's Arab-dominated government.

The government has been accused of unleashing Arab tribal militias against civilians in a campaign of murder, rape and arson. At least 180,000 people have died - many from hunger and disease. More than 2 million have fled their homes, many to neighboring countries where stability has been threatened by Darfur's chaos.

"A lot has been hidden. It's like all the genocides of the past. People are just guessing at how many have been massacred. The more we look, the higher we'll actually find those numbers," said Deng.

The Bulls and NBA worked with the World Food Program to produce the PSA aimed at gaining financial assistance for refugees and other victims of the Darfur crisis. It was filmed earlier this month at the Sheri L. Berto Center; the Bulls practice facility in Deerfield.

"I'm from a family that lived through it, survived it, and I just appreciate how lucky I am," Deng said. "My mom and dad are in Sudan right now, and the country is chaos. It affects me in a lot of ways. I try not to let it show, but it affects everything I do because I know it could be me there that is suffering."

Trevor Rowe of the World Food Program said there is a desperate need for relief efforts in Sudan.

"Our donors haven't been giving us enough money for Sudan," says Rowe. "The result is we've had to reduce rations by about 50 percent, so it's a dire situation. You're talking about people who have been victimized in so many ways, villages burned, men killed, women raped. Then, when help arrives, we're unable to provide even the minimum."

Deng said he hopes the PSA will inspire some of those who watched the NBA finals to do what they can to help.

"A dollar is almost a week's worth of food for someone. There are a lot of people with good hearts out there who just need to know there's something they can do," Deng said.

For more information about the crisis in Sudan or to contribute, please visit Friends of the World Food Program at http://www.friendsofwfp.org.