purple motes

On September 11 in Arlington, Virginia, John Bul Dau spoke about the torments he experienced in Sudan and about his efforts to help others in Sudan have a better life. Many persons at one time or another have agonized, "How can I go on?" Mr. Dau offered an unforgettable testimony of perseverance through dire circumstances, unfathomable injustices, and great suffering.

Click To Play Video

Mr. Dau immigrated to the U.S. five years ago as a young man. He moved from a Kenyan refugee camp teeming with tribal brothers with whom he had endured long, brutal treks and years of communal living, to apartment living and to working with a middle-aged woman in a factory in Syracuse, New York. Isolation and loneliness, that American nightmare, could have overwhelmed him.

Mr. Dau said that now, here in America, he is living the American dream. Here he has bodily safety, sufficient food, basic health care, and the opportunity to attend school. These are goods that he, like many persons around the world, lacked. But there's more. Mr. Dau formed a foundation that built a 13-room medical clinic in Duk County, in the state of Jonglei in southern Sudan. His foundation is now working to fund and build five additional health and education facilities in Sudan.

Yorktown High School students, who hosted Mr. Dau's talk, are contributing to the effort to build a school in Sudan. If you too want to contribute, go to the John Dau Sudan Foundation website.

Offer Comments

Your son is charged with first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense, and first-degree kidnapping. Leading national newspapers report these charges on their front pages, along sensational accounts of the allegations, false statements, grossly slanted reporting, and your son's photograph.

You know that there is no credible evidence to support the charges. Anyone who seriously examined the evidence could recognize that the charges have no credible support. More than a year later, after a 90-day review of the evidence, the Attorney General will declare: "there was no credible evidence to support the allegation that the crimes occurred."

But right now, hate-filled persons are assembling around a large banner screaming "castrate." "Wanted" criminal posters are going up on the campus of your son's university. Professors at your son's university are condemning him and his friends. The university suspends your son because of the charges.

You see the District Attorney engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. The District Attorney fails to disclose exculpatory evidence. The District Attorney makes false statements to the court, to defense attorneys, and to the State Bar. The District Attorney makes extrajudicial media statements that materially prejudice the proceeding and heighten public condemnation of your son.

Does anyone care? They say, "Let the criminal justice system run its course." The course of the criminal justice system is unjustly causing your son enormous damage. It's a travesty of justice, a fiasco. Meanwhile, crime profs spotlight each other on a blog (that's said to build traffic). Ferocious blog-critics of traditional media prefer not to consider the performance of the traditional media in this case. Perhaps they're afraid, and they have common sense for career advancement. Far too few persons in positions of power and influence act to help stop this injustice.

Your son is steadfast in the truth in his suffering. He is witness to the best of what human beings can be. He is, finally, exonerated. You might have easily missed news of this development.

Thank you, with a thank you as wide as the sky, for fathers who raise sons like David Evans.

Offer Comments