Mayor Garcetti, Thousands Gather For 10th Annual Walk to End Genocide
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Crowds gathered Sunday for the 10th annual Walk to End Genocide, which raised funds for anti-genocide educational and advocacy efforts in the U.S. and to support projects aiding survivors of the conflicts in Sudan and Congo.
The two-mile walk in the Mid-City area was billed by organizers as the nation's largest anti-genocide rally. Organizers expected more than 3,000 participants. Mayor Eric Garcetti was among the participants.
Before and after the walk, participants gathered in Jewish World Watch's Global Village, which included displays commemorating past genocides and educational booths about current conflicts where innocents are threatened.
The Global Village also included the Advocacy Asks booth, which will allowed people to contact elected officials to encourage them to support thefirst genocide prevention bill in the United States: the Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act, as well as the Help and Nourishment for Darfuri Survivors Project, an effort to bring back the World Food Program's recommended 2,100 calories per person per day to Darfuris living in the refugee camps of Eastern
Chad.
Participants were able to record their thoughts in chalk on why the walk matters. A panel discussion with survivors on "Genocide and Mass Atrocities from Past to Present" also took place around 12 p.m.
The walk -- which began at the La Brea Tar Pits, was organized by Jewish World Watch, an Encino-based group founded in 2004 that has raised millions of dollars in an effort to improve the lives of survivors of genocide and mass atrocities in Congo and Sudan and educate communities across the U.S. to advocate for political change.
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