Carrying hope for Darfur peace

Martial Nhiel held a lighted torch high above his head as his wheelchair began a short, solemn relay procession along the boardwalk in Alki.

On either side of him, high-school and college students and activists lined up and urged him on, their signs reading "Not on my Watch" and, in both English and Chinese, "Peace."

A refugee from southern Sudan, Nhiel, 27, was one of about 200 participants who gathered against the blustery chill of Alki Beach on Sunday for the Seattle leg of the Dream for Darfur Olympic Torch Relay.

Two relays are being coordinated simultaneously — one between 21 states across the U.S. and another between seven countries worldwide — to culminate in Beijing, China. Organizers are hoping to influence China, host of the 2008 Summer Olympics, to use its position as Sudan's largest foreign investor to help end the ongoing violence in Darfur.

Darfur, in western Sudan, is a region about the size of Texas that since 2003 has been locked in an ethnic and tribal conflict, leaving an estimated 400,000 people dead and about 2.5 million homeless.

China has invested billions in the African country and buys 70 percent of Sudanese oil. In fact, Sudan's economy this year is expected to grow 13 percent on the back of oil exports.

Activists say China uses its permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council to shield Sudan from effective action by the international community.

"We need to make sure mainland China knows the ferocity of our anger over what they are doing," said Maury Clark, a retired investment banker who volunteers his time helping local Sudanese refugees.

Nhiel, who came to Seattle in June, said that while he carried the torch, he was thinking about all he left behind in Africa. His wife and their two children are in a refugee camp in Kenya. His parents are dead.

He said he was 7 when militiamen attacked his home in southern Sudan, shot and killed his father and mother and turned their guns on him, shattering his leg. A family friend who came to help told him, "Your leg is not working. You can't use it," Nhiel said matter-of-factly in a thick accent.

"He took a knife and cut off leg."

"After what happened [in southern Sudan] I'm very angry about Darfur. But here, I'm very happy to see people who care."

The torch Nhiel carried a few yards along the boardwalk was first hoisted by torchbearers in New York two months ago.

It will make its way through 21 states before reaching Washington, D.C., on Dec. 10. The torch in the international relay was first lit in Chad in August and will be carried through seven countries before reaching Beijing in time for the Summer Olympics.

Agnes Oswaha, a Sudanese activist, cried silently as she carried the torch along one leg of the relay — touched, she said, by the outpouring of support from complete strangers.

"It means people around the world are sharing this suffering with us," Oswaha said. "People — especially all these kids — took the time on a cold day like today when they could have been doing something else. It shows the strength of humanity."

About seven organizations participated in the Seattle relay.

Andy Wilson and David Shin, seniors at Inglemoor High School in Kenmore, stood at the fourth stop of the relay route, trying to stay warm. The students said it was important for them to participate in yesterday's event.

They are involved in an effort at their school called "Project Darfur" intended to raise awareness about what's going on.

The young men say they've marched the streets of Kenmore to help educate people and have sent more than 1,200 letters to government officials alerting them to the suffering of the people of Darfur.

Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420 or lturnbull@seattletimes.com