How do we make the NBA/UAE campaign go viral?

I don't know, but it will likely take involvement by all of us.  Below are a few ideas to consider.  Please add to them.

Goal:  During the NBA Finals, we are asking everyone to sign a petition to the NBA urging it to suspend its relationship with the Emirates since the UAE is fueling war and genocide in Sudan.

Websites with the petition:  Speak Out On Sudan | Blood on the Ball, A project of The Sentry (thesentry.org)

IDEAS

- Like and share social media posts by Refugees International, The Sentry (@thesentryorg) and others promoting the campaign.

- Post the campaign on social media, ask your friends, family and followers to sign the petition, and tag the NBA.

- Tag and send invitations to social media influencers to support the campaign.  If you would like a list of Instagram accounts that you can use (and add to), please let me know.

- Ask influential people in your life to support and promote the campaign.

- Print and distribute the attached business card and put it on cars, bulletin boards, etc. around town.  A poster is also attached.  Office Max and similar stores print these quickly and at a relatively low cost.

- Wear an inflated basketball costume and hand out the business card and basketball stickers.  The costume creates interest.  Kids especially like the costume and so it is nice to give them a sticker and give their parents the business card.  Take photos and post them on social media (and tag the NBA).  I have found this to be a pretty effective way to engage people in person and online.  

- Basketball costume wearing activists swarm New York and San Antonio and pass out the business card during the NBA Finals.

- Share the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's letter to the NBA (and tag the NBA).  Ask your Members of Congress to also contact the NBA.

- Reach out to local media and let them know about the campaign and what you are doing to support it.  Write an op-ed or letter to the editor during the NBA Finals.

Hashtags:  #EmiratesNBACup #NBAPlayoffs #NBA #Sudan #SudanWar #JusticeForSudan #AllEyesOnSudan #KeepEyesOnSudan #SpeakOutOnSudan

Thank you for reading through this.  

I believe this campaign provides us (regular citizens) one of the best opportunities to apply meaningful and necessary pressure on actors who can make a real difference for the people of Sudan.

For the U.S. Administration and Congress

Ken Isaacs of Samaritan's Purse showed the impact of conflict-induced famine on Sudanese at a House Subcommittee hearing on May 22, 2025.  The photos he shared of emaciated men, women and children portray a terrible reality that must be addressed urgently.

At his inauguration, President Trump said, "We will measure our success by the wars we end."  The U.S. can make real progress towards ending war and saving lives in Sudan by swiftly taking two key steps: 

1)  Exert maximum pressure on U.S. allies to stop fueling the war.

2)  Provide immediate funding for emergency humanitarian aid.

At the May 20, 2025 European Humanitarian Forum session on Sudan, Filippo Grandi, High Commissioner, UNHCR warned, "Inside Sudan, we are reducing our volume of work by 44% because of the lack of funding."  This is extremely dangerous.  

President Trump's success in Sudan means greater stability in a volatile region that is impacting the security and economy of the United States.  Please do not look away.  Please act now.

Recording: "Watching a Genocide Unfold from Space: Monitoring Attacks on Civilians in Sudan"

A heartbreaking quote by Nathaniel Raymond describing the attack on Zamzam internally displaced camp in Darfur:

Zamzam alone is 500,000 to 750,000 people.  So, a quarter to a third at least the population of Gaza in this one camp.  Within 48 hours of the attack on April 11th, at least 500,000 people fled for their lives.  And we watched it from space.  We watched them burn the camp systematically over the next few days house to house.  The most tragic element of the assault on Zamzam is that many of the people there were too weak to run because they had been starving for too long.  And so, we have images of people on the road and you can see little dark spots on the side of the road, and that's where many people walked to the side of the road and laid down and died.  

"Watching a Genocide Unfold from Space: Monitoring Attacks on Civilians in Sudan" - YouTube

Disturbing Report: European Weapons In Sudan

"But if the parties have been able to sustain their confrontation, it is in no small part thanks to the material support they receive from outside the Sudan. These external actors continue to flout the sanctions regime imposed by the Council to support a political settlement, thereby fueling the conflict. This is illegal, it is immoral and it must stop."   Under-Secretary-General Rosemary A. DiCarlo's

Recent actions by Congress:  

S.Res.126 - Calling on the United Nations Security Council to enforce the existing arms embargo on Darfur and extend it to cover all of Sudan.

Click here to support S.Res.126

H.R.2059 - To prohibit the issuance of licenses for the exportation of certain defense articles to the United Arab Emirates, and for other purposes.

H.R.1939 - To require the imposition of sanctions with respect to conflict in Sudan, and for other purposes.  "It is the sense of the Congress that the United Nations should expand its arms embargo to all of Sudan."

Quotes from a 5-part investigative report by France24.

"From a Bulgarian factory to Sudanese militias, the FRANCE 24 Observers team reveals how European-made ammunition ended up on the Sudanese battlefield."

"International Golden Group was created in 2002 and we think that it was a private or semi-private company, but it definitely had links to the [Emirati] government. In 2017, it stated that it was a leading supplier to the UAE Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior."

“One thing is certain: International Golden Group is still very active in the UAE, as well as on the international stage. This supplier of weapons and security services was purchased in January 2024 by the Edge group, a conglomerate of defence companies financed by the Emirati state."

"There are no sanctions or embargoes on the sale of European weapons to the United Arab Emirates. But International Golden Group isn’t exactly a run-of-the-mill company: aside from supplying the Emirati Army, it is known for illegally diverting weapons to war zones, said several specialists who spoke to the FRANCE 24 Observers team."

---

2025-04-23 Sudan Peace Tracker - Tunnels and Missiles in Sudan: Will Khartoum Become Iran’s New Leverage to Pressure Washington and Threaten Israel?

2024-11-14 Amnesty International - Sudan: French-manufactured weapons system identified in conflict - new investigation

2024-09-11 The Security Council today extended sanctions against Sudan - including asset freezes, travel bans and an arms embargo - until 12 September 2025