WSOP Q and A -- Don CheadleCheadle Talks About his Charity Work in Africa |
|
Don Cheadle was present at the Rio on July 2, 2009 as the co-host of the third annual Ante Up for Africa charity poker tournament with poker professional Annie Duke. Cheadle has been able to blend his passion to help refugees in the Darfur region of Africa with one of his favorite hobbies in poker. One of the major goals of Ante Up for Africa is to raise awareness for the humanitarian crises in Africa while raising money for relief efforts with a $5,000 buy-in charity tournament (close to $2.5 million to date). Cheadle has accomplished the goal of raising awareness this year in particular, ESPN filmed the entire event for television coverage and it will air later this summer.
Cheadle has also written a book with activist John Prendergrast about the crises in Sudan that focuses on what you can do to help. The New York Times bestseller is Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond. Card Player caught up with Cheadle before the tournament and he talked about the issues in Africa that inspired the charity event, and what people can do to help.
To learn more about the humanitarian crises in Africa, check out these websites recommended by Mr. Cheadle:
ENOUGH Project: www.enoughproject.org
International Rescue Committee: www.theirc.org
Amnesty International: www.amnesty.org
Ryan Lucchesi: What are the current challenges facing Sudan? Will the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) release of an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir bring him to trial? Does the possibility of another civil war breaking out between North and South Sudan threaten to make the situation worse? What are the important issues on the ground today in Sudan?
Don Cheadle: I think you’ve named a couple of them. Trying to get in there to ensure the North-South agreement [Comprehensive Peace Agreement – CPA] doesn’t fall apart is important. All of the world leaders, Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Markel, Gordon Brown, obviously our president, vice president, secretary of state, and our special envoy to Sudan have all spoken passionately about what needs to be done there. That’s why this event is important to us, especially now that it is on ESPN. It will continue to keep this issue in the forefront of people’s minds and try to inspire the citizenry to push their leadership to do more. The Sudanese government is starting to let several of the NGO’s [Non-Governmental Organizations] that were kicked out when the warrant was issued.
Hopefully this new U.S. administration, after we step back from the precipice of the financial crises in our country which will happen, then this issue will come back to the forefront, and this passion that was expressed by all of these leaders will really be put into some practical use.
RL: In your book you talked about the first experience you had lobbying politicians in Washington D.C., like senators John McCain and Sam Brownback, as well as the new secretary of stare Hillary Clinton. What is the current status of those lobbying efforts and how are these politicians rallying to the cause for Africa? Do you find that the issues in Sudan are facing stiff competition from the current economic crises?
DC: Earlier this year there was a great thing that happened. The ENOUGH Project, which is one of the organizations we’re benefiting today, led by John Prendergrast and a couple of his compatriots were able to meet with president Barack Obama and speak with him about this issue. That helped open the door for that relationship to broaden, so we can further get a response and reaction. As you said, we’re competing with a lot of different things in this country. I think it just tells us we have to keep our foot on the gas so that when there is any sot of opening we’re in there now and we’re pushing, and our voices are one of the first one’s heard about what needs to be done.
RL: You mentioned that the citizenry is very important to this process and your book offers six strategies for effective change. Do you feel that raising awareness, raising funds, and writing letters to their politicians are the most important things your everyday citizen can do to help?
DC: I think they can educate themselves about the issue as well. But clearly we’ve seen that politicians are worried about job security, just like everyone else. Your vote is your hiring power with them, so if there is a concern that they may not be hired/elected then they will respond to what the people want. I think it is always the job of the people to tell their leaders how they want them to behave and the issues that they want them to stand strongest on, so hopefully once these other things start to ebb a little bit then we will get back to the pressure that we were able to put on them before.
RL: What is some of the lasting change that the Enough project is trying to bring about in Sudan, and other afflicted areas in Africa? Does it all come down to urging the U.S. and other influential governments in the international community to get involved in pressuring these afflicted countries to change their policy of genocide and human rights violations?
DC: I think it’s the only way to get it done. This is where the advocacy that we’re talking about is paramount, because our leaders respond to the things that they believe the constituency wants. So we have to let them know that this is what we want. I don’t think a lot of people are aware of all of the different mechanisms for getting in touch with their leaders, up to and including personally going into their offices, either by themselves or with a group and demanding that there voices be heard. That’s a way to get a lot of response.
The grassroots movement has not slowed down a bit. Student groups, religious groups are still in place and still moving forward. We are competing with some very real things in this country that have hit some people hard, but this movement is still happening, and we’re still building momentum.
RL: What are the first steps Americans can take to educate themselves about the different humanitarian crises taking place in Africa?
DC: One of the easiest ways is to go online and visit Amnesty International and visit the EnoughProject.org, go to the International Rescue Committee’s website. Go to these places and you can find out a lot that you need to know about what’s happening, and a lot of ways that you can help. That’s the first step.
RL: What would you tell that one person that’s sitting at home today, thinking that they’re just one person; they’re too small to make any change in the world. What would you tell them to help them combat those doubts?
DC: That once you begin to educate yourself about the issue you will realize that you’re not alone. There are many places and many ways to become a part of the movement. From a student group, to church groups if that is of particular interest to you. There are grassroots movements that are starting all over the place. Just involve yourself in that and I think you will find that your one voice is very important. Whenever you throw it in with many other voices you form a wedge and you begin to see how you affect change.
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
