World must put pressure on China to bring Olympic dream to Darfur
In his "Coda" column that appeared in the Sept. 7 issue of the Sentinel, Greg Bean made a point about China's human-rights record and stated that "if nobody in America is talking about boycotting the 2008 summer Olympic Games in Beijing in protest of China's record on that important front, they darned sure ought to be."

The Olympic dream represents the best of humanity. The Olympic logo, the five linked rings, represents the bonds between people. The colors of the rings, on a white background, represent the flags of all nations. The theme for the 2008 Olympics is "One World One Dream," which is the essence of the Olympic spirit. The Web site for the Beijing Games explains: "In spite of the differences in colors, languages and races, we share the charm and joy of the Olympic Games, and together we seek for the ideal of mankind for peace. We belong to the same world and we share the same aspirations and dreams."

The theme of the 2008 Olympic torch is "Journey of Harmony." The idea is that competitive sport is one way of achieving a peaceful society and preserving human dignity.

No matter what horrors humanity perpetrates upon itself, we continue to believe in the Olympic dream. We don't want the worst of humanity to poison the best. Rather, we want the best to affect the evil in our world and help end it.

September is the third anniversary since the ethnic cleansing in Darfur has been called "genocide" by the United States. Olympic Dream for Darfur, a global advocacy campaign, has decided to use this moment to ask China to bring the Olympic dream to Darfur.

China is hosting the 2008 Games. China has tremendous leverage with the perpetrator of the genocide: the government of Sudan. China has leverage because it is a member of the United Nations Security Council, and it purchases 70 percent of Sudan's oil. Sudan, in turn, uses the oil revenue to buy weapons from China to fuel the genocide.

The world must not boycott the Olympics. The world must not spoil the Olympic dream of humanity's best athletes. The world must work together to put pressure on China to use its influence over the government of Sudan to end the genocide. Divestment, petitions, e-mails, letters, phone calls and video statements are all working.

The goal is to tap into the Olympic dream and bring the Olympic dream to Darfur.

Leslie B. Klein East Brunswick