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CNN Sunday Morning

Is Crisis in Sudan Genocide?; Group Helps Handicapped Veterans Find Accessible Homes

Aired June 27, 2004 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: They were taking it all off in Cleveland yesterday. We'll tell you what had everybody so comfortable in their own skin.
Welcome back. I'm Drew Griffin.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Made me a little uncomfortable. I'm Betty Nguyen. That story is coming up. But first, here's a look at headlines at this hour.

GRIFFIN: President Bush is in Istanbul, Turkey, now, site of the NATO summit meeting that begins tomorrow. The president meets within the hour of the NATO secretary general and later today, he's going to pose with other NATO officials and heads of state for a group photo in Istanbul.

A funeral procession in the Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank. Palestinian sources say Israeli troops raided a house and killed six militants including a leader of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. Palestinian security sources say five of those killed were members of the brigade, the sixth a member of Hamas.

Indian and Pakistani officials have completed round run of two days of talks on Kashmir, and they say the discussions so far have been friendly, positive and constructive. This is the first time in six years the nuclear neighbors have discussed the disputed territory. Details on the Kashmir talks may be released when talks conclude tomorrow.

The Names Project AIDS quilt is on display in Washington for the first time since 1996. The quilt represents 88,000 people who have died from AIDS.

Meanwhile the Bush administration says it will permit wider use of an oral test for the AIDS virus, one giving results in just 20 minutes. This will permit oral screenings in counseling centers, community health clinics and doctors' offices.

NGUYEN: Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen.

What is on your news radar for the week ahead? The handover of power in Iraq probably registers pretty high. Perhaps concern about security for the upcoming holiday.

Chances are the horrific events unfolding in one African country isn't a blip on your radar.

Sudan is in Northeastern Africa, the home to 38 million people: Arabs in the north, blacks in the south. The northerners are systematically slaughtering the southerners.

This is a crisis on U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's radar. And he travels to the Sudan this week. In 30 minutes, we'll talk to the head of a humanitarian organization who has just returned from Sudan and briefed the U.N. on Friday.

But first, CNN's Tim Lister looks at a crisis that some are calling genocide.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIM LISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The numbers are horrific: up to 30,000 people killed, one million displaced and hungry, 400 villages burned to the ground, atrocities reported almost daily.

In Africa's largest country, the world's largest humanitarian disaster, caused not by nature but ethnic hatred. For more than a year Arab militia, the Janjaweed, have waged a campaign to expel black Africans from this vast and remote part of Sudan, and rebels have fought back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "We were in our village in Sudan," says this man, "and a plane came in and dropped bombs in the villages like five times. We all fled in different directions. And I saw a lot of dead people."

"The children and cattle were killed," says this wounded man, "and the town was burned."

LISTER: Human rights groups say this is ethnic cleansing on a massive scale.

JAN EGELAND, U.N. EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR: The reports that I have received from a large number of sources within Darfur and within the region is that, yes, there was systematic depopulation of areas. You can also call that ethnic cleansing.

LISTER: Overshadowed by the war on terror and crisis in Iraq, the catastrophe in Darfur has received little attention and not much aid. That's in part because the Sudanese government made it difficult for agencies to work in Darfur.

NICOLAS DE TORRENTE, MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES: There was obstruction from the government of Sudan for many months. This has been lifted more or less in the past month. Access is easier. So on the one hand, of course, the government of Sudan has a rule here but on the other hand, there's been a lack of mobilization from the aid agencies.

LISTER: The U.N. has only a handful of international staff in Darfur. Most aid agencies expect the situation to get dramatically worse without massive intervention now.

BOB MACPHERSON, CARE SECURITY CHIEF: What do we stand for as humans when we start talking about two million people who may die? That's where we are on this. It's not dramatic, alarmist. That's a fact.

LISTER: The rainy season has begun in Darfur, making access to the refugees more difficult and disease more dangerous. Cholera and measles are already rampant, preying on the malnourished.

Now shining a light on this calamity, Secretary of State Colin Powell.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: This is a catastrophe. And it is incumbent upon the international community to come together solidly to do everything we can to bring it to an end and to bring relief to these desperate people.

LISTER: In Washington, rare bipartisan agreement.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: Even if we're slow to act, hundreds of thousands will die. But if we don't move quickly, even more will die. This is a tragedy. It's a disaster.

LISTER: When he visits this week, Secretary Powell will put pressure on the Sudanese government to rein in the militia, which is often accused of helping.

He also wants access for war crimes investigators. That's because the Bush administration may declare the war in Darfur a genocide. There seems to be plenty of evidence on the ground.

Tim Lister, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Now nearly everyone agrees the people of southern Sudan are in dire straits and need -- there is a great need for a lot of help, lots of it.

And our guest this morning is Denis Caillaux, the secretary general of CARE International. He joins us from New York to talk about the dire straits in Sudan.

You briefed the U.N. on Friday. What did you tell them about this situation?

DENIS CAILLAUX, SECRETARY GENERAL, CARE INTERNATIONAL: Well, we need to act very quickly. What needs to be done is -- is pretty clear.

You know, we need -- we need access. We need security on the ground so that the people don't live any longer the horror they have been through. Humanitarian workers can get to work in security.

We need to act quite urgently. Every -- every little thing we can do that can save lives. And we need resources. I mean, access, safety on the ground and resources is a vital part of the response to that. So that's basically what I highlighted.

However, I think it is extremely important that we place this terrible crisis in Darfur within the overall context of the situation in Sudan.

We can have similar Darfur situations exploding in Sudan over the next few months and years if we don't attack the root cause of the conflict of the war in Sudan.

And we can do it. There is an opportunity, amazingly enough, for peace to come to Sudan.

As you know two major parties in the conflict, the government and the SPLA in the south have signed a peace agreement, amazingly enough, some weeks ago. And that has to be protected, developed, expanded so we attack this drama at its roots and don't have similar Darfur crisis over the next weeks and months.

NGUYEN: Denis, this did not happen yesterday. This started back in February of 2003. Why is it taking so long for people to pay attention?

CAILLAUX: Because we never learn. I think that it's only -- it's always the same story, Betty. It's only when the horror unfolds that international communities mobilize itself and that attention is drawn to these things.

I wish I could, whenever in the humanitarian community we feel something is brewing, if we could bring that to the attention of the international community and, if they were to listen, we could prevent a lot of that. But unfortunately it's only when things turn bad and things happen that attention is being mobilized. It's the way it is.

NGUYEN: Is that because a lot of the attention right now is focused on Iraq and terrorist activity?

CAILLAUX: Yes, it's -- it's because there are obviously competing demands on the agenda. That's -- that's predictable. That's just human.

I think what all of us, as the international community, as human beings, have to learn, is to do a little bit of more listening to the warnings that organizations like CARE and many others are providing when, you know, things are brewing, when we try to warn the international community about -- about impending disasters.

NGUYEN: But there's a big problem. International aid workers are trying to get into the area. The rainy season has just started, and plus a lot of the militias are not letting them in that area. How do you solve this problem?

CAILLAUX: Well, I think that -- that very, very clearly access is vital. Progress has been made in terms of access over the past few weeks. It's not enough. We need to have better access. We need all hands on deck in Darfur. I mean, this is a crisis of such magnitude that everybody is needed there. So, access has to be better. As you know right now, we are reaching, what, about half the people we should reach. So we need to expand.

Security on the ground has to be improved. There is a cease-fire agreement that has been signed. Let that be enforced.

Let's make -- let's make sure that people have -- not living through what they had to go through over the past few months. And let's provide the resources that are required so that humanitarian actors can act and save lives.

NGUYEN: A lot of help needed and needed fast. Denis Caillaux with CARE International, thank you so much.

CAILLAUX: Thank you.

NGUYEN: Genocide is a strong word, but it's not used lightly in the context of the Sudanese crisis. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "the deliberate and systematic extermination of an ethnic or national group," which is exactly what many people say is happening now in southern Sudan.

And help hopefully will be on the way sometime soon. Colin Powell has already described the situation as catastrophic.

GRIFFIN: Yes. He'll be on with Wolf Blitzer later today, and reporters and most importantly, our video journalists will be keeping an eye on this so we can keep up to date on what is and what is not happening in the Sudan.

The casualties of war come in all shapes and sizes. For soldiers who have served and suffered the injuries of the war, it's good to know there's one group looking to make their homecoming a bit better. Find out how as CNN continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: It's an undeniable fact of war. Thousands of U.S. troops come home from Iraq or Afghanistan injured or maimed, either in combat or in accidents.

This Florida military police unit is honored for its mobilization to Iraq. Folks in Ocala hoped they'll all come back safe and sound. Sergeant Peter Damon of the Massachusetts National Guard did not.

John Gonsalves helps people like Peter Damon with his Homes for Our Troops organization. And John Gonsalves and Sergeant Damon are with us now in our Washington bureau.

PETER DAMON, HANDICAPPED VETERAN: Good morning.

JOHN GONSALVES, HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS: Good morning.

Good morning. John, what's this all about? GONSALVES: This is all about doing the right thing for our veterans who have sacrificed a lot. We are raising money in particular to build specially adapted homes for our severely disabled soldiers.

GRIFFIN: When they come home from war, and perhaps this is a question for you, Sergeant, the Army tries to help rehabilitate you, give you the medical attention you need.

But when you have to go into your specific home, I take it there's no modifications being made by the military to make sure that you can operate in that home. Is that correct?

DAMON: Well, there are V.A. grants that you can apply for, and so on and so forth, but I myself don't own a home. So for John to come around with an organization like this, is just, you know, is just great.

GRIFFIN: What does it mean for you when you were, I assume, looking at a dire future. You're trying to deal with your new handicap situation and here comes this man says we're going to build you a home, not only a home but a home that you can operate?

DAMON: Well, it just means everything in the world. It's just a great feeling to know there are people like this out there. And that the American public is behind them -- behind us, you know, when we get back. So it's great.

GRIFFIN: John, are the American people and businesses behind you and your organization? Tell us about the support you're getting.

GONSALVES: Well, we've been getting support from all over the country. Everything from people sending in a $1 donation to more importantly to make this a sustained effort.

We've got a lot of people who have signed up to contribute monthly for our cause. And now we're looking for corporate America, and the music industry and entertainment industry, and everywhere else we can get some support for these soldiers. They certainly deserve what we're trying to do for them.

GRIFFIN: Your web site is HomeForOurTroops.org. How many troops have you helped and what is the need? Have you been able to assess it?

GONSALVES: We're really not sure what the need is. That changes all the time.

We're in the early stages of working with a lot of these soldiers. We have 14 pieces of land that have been offered to us in the first three months that we've been accepting donations for the program. So we hope to help as many as possible.

GRIFFIN: Sgt. Damon, have you heard from your fellow comrades as to this effort? Are they helping you? DAMON: Well, they are certainly excited about the prospect of something like this coming around and actually building them a home for themselves. Yes, everybody I talked to is excited. Yes.

GRIFFIN: Gentlemen, we thank you both for getting up on this Sunday morning and joining us.

John, good luck to you with your endeavors.

And Sergeant, good luck to you as you try to get back to life as you can possibly do. Thank you so much.

DAMON: Thank you very much.

GONSALVES: Thanks for having us.

GRIFFIN: Betty.

NGUYEN: An important organization.

Well, another week gone by, another check on the Sprys. Where is our roving family and what are they up to?

Plus, we want to say a big good morning to Washington, D.C. We'll get that live picture for you momentarily. There we go. What a beautiful shot of the nation's capital.

We will have your complete weather forecast in about five minutes.

CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Good morning, Washington and the White House. Staff probably taking the morning off with Mr. And Mrs. Bush gone for the weekend.

Rob has the forecast in one minute. First, updating you on this hour's top stories.

Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Drew Griffin.

Our lead story in Turkey. President Bush arrives in Istanbul for the NATO summit. Mr. Bush spent the day in Ankara in talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other Turkish leaders. Polls show most Turks oppose the war in Iraq.

President Bush arrived in Turkey yesterday. Three Turkish citizens were taken hostage in Iraq almost at the same time. An Arabic TV network broadcast a tape from the same group of militants who claim to have beheaded American Nicholas Berg and a South Korean translator. The kidnappers threaten to kill the three hostages in 72 hours, unless Turkish companies leave Iraq. Turkey says it's not going to comply. And here in Georgia, officials say three people are dead in a helicopter crash south of Atlanta. They say no one on the ground was hurt. The FAA investigating.

NGUYEN: We want to investigate the weather this morning and see how it is shaping up for your Sunday. Here is Rob Marciano.

Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

GRIFFIN: Thank you, Rob.

NGUYEN: Here is your chance for a one-minute virtual escape as we revisit the Spry family. They spent most of last week vacationing in the Keys. Oh, yes. Looks nice there.

You'll recall, they left the rat race behind in Silicon Valley, California, packed up the R.V. and took off in search of a new place to call home.

But it wasn't all R & R, as Ryan found out. Fishing was kind of hard. He's reeling in his first catch, as you see here.

The adventure has been an education for the entire family. Ryan is learning about the Summer Solstice in this shot, wondering hey, where did my shadow go?

A page from the Spry family journal reads, quote, "Ryan's building blocks of knowledge since we left are really beginning to click together. Associations of past or current experiences are powerfully accurate. Stuck for a few minutes at a drawbridge today brings up the Hoover Dam, sailboats and sitting on the banks of the Mississippi River in New Orleans."

The Sprys are heading north to New York next. And all I have to say is get ready for the traffic in the Big Apple.

Can you imagine pulling that R.V. up?

GRIFFIN: Can you imagine paying to park it?

NGUYEN: That's true.

GRIFFIN: Well...

NGUYEN: No clothes in Cleveland. That's what has all these people feeling buff. We will reveal the reason after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, plenty more ahead here on CNN. At the top of the hour it's "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY." Among today's guests is Rand Beers, national security adviser for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. Kelly Wallace is in Washington with that.

Then at 11 Eastern, it is CNN LIVE SUNDAY. It's the Cannes festival you haven't heard about, the best of the best ads on film.

And at 11:30, as Clinton mania takes hold, "RELIABLE SOURCES" takes a closer look at the former president, who many expect will be adding best-selling author to his resume.

GRIFFIN: Let's look ahead to this week's news as we "Fast Forward."

President Bush in Turkey for the NATO meeting which begins Monday. Turkey has assigned 25,000 security forces around Istanbul, around 45 world leaders expected to attend that meeting.

Secretary of State Colin Powell is headed to Sudan on Tuesday. He's expected to ask government officials to bring pressure on militia groups to stop attacks against civilians.

There have been continuing reports of murder, rapes of women and children and the forced evacuation of nearly a million people from their homes. We're going to have more on the crisis in Sudan in about two hours here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

And finally, in Athens, Olympic security forces are expected to assume responsibility for the 155 summer games facilities around Greece on Thursday. The world will watch the games to begin Friday the 13th of August.

NGUYEN: All right. Here's a warning: these pictures may be a little disturbing.

They won't win any Olympic medals in Cleveland, but they are setting records by taking it all off. More than 2,700 people let it all hang out Saturday for a picture by photographer Spencer Tunick. He is know for his photos showing thousands of naked people in public places.

As you might imagine, Tunick has run into trouble on previous shoots but says this one, well, it was a cool breeze. Nice.

GRIFFIN: Why?

NGUYEN: I know, why?

We appreciate you joining us today for CNN SUNDAY.

GRIFFIN: "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY" coming up next.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired June 27, 2004 - 09:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: They were taking it all off in Cleveland yesterday. We'll tell you what had everybody so comfortable in their own skin.
Welcome back. I'm Drew Griffin.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Made me a little uncomfortable. I'm Betty Nguyen. That story is coming up. But first, here's a look at headlines at this hour.

GRIFFIN: President Bush is in Istanbul, Turkey, now, site of the NATO summit meeting that begins tomorrow. The president meets within the hour of the NATO secretary general and later today, he's going to pose with other NATO officials and heads of state for a group photo in Istanbul.

A funeral procession in the Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank. Palestinian sources say Israeli troops raided a house and killed six militants including a leader of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. Palestinian security sources say five of those killed were members of the brigade, the sixth a member of Hamas.

Indian and Pakistani officials have completed round run of two days of talks on Kashmir, and they say the discussions so far have been friendly, positive and constructive. This is the first time in six years the nuclear neighbors have discussed the disputed territory. Details on the Kashmir talks may be released when talks conclude tomorrow.

The Names Project AIDS quilt is on display in Washington for the first time since 1996. The quilt represents 88,000 people who have died from AIDS.

Meanwhile the Bush administration says it will permit wider use of an oral test for the AIDS virus, one giving results in just 20 minutes. This will permit oral screenings in counseling centers, community health clinics and doctors' offices.

NGUYEN: Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen.

What is on your news radar for the week ahead? The handover of power in Iraq probably registers pretty high. Perhaps concern about security for the upcoming holiday.

Chances are the horrific events unfolding in one African country isn't a blip on your radar.

Sudan is in Northeastern Africa, the home to 38 million people: Arabs in the north, blacks in the south. The northerners are systematically slaughtering the southerners.

This is a crisis on U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's radar. And he travels to the Sudan this week. In 30 minutes, we'll talk to the head of a humanitarian organization who has just returned from Sudan and briefed the U.N. on Friday.

But first, CNN's Tim Lister looks at a crisis that some are calling genocide.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIM LISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The numbers are horrific: up to 30,000 people killed, one million displaced and hungry, 400 villages burned to the ground, atrocities reported almost daily.

In Africa's largest country, the world's largest humanitarian disaster, caused not by nature but ethnic hatred. For more than a year Arab militia, the Janjaweed, have waged a campaign to expel black Africans from this vast and remote part of Sudan, and rebels have fought back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "We were in our village in Sudan," says this man, "and a plane came in and dropped bombs in the villages like five times. We all fled in different directions. And I saw a lot of dead people."

"The children and cattle were killed," says this wounded man, "and the town was burned."

LISTER: Human rights groups say this is ethnic cleansing on a massive scale.

JAN EGELAND, U.N. EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR: The reports that I have received from a large number of sources within Darfur and within the region is that, yes, there was systematic depopulation of areas. You can also call that ethnic cleansing.

LISTER: Overshadowed by the war on terror and crisis in Iraq, the catastrophe in Darfur has received little attention and not much aid. That's in part because the Sudanese government made it difficult for agencies to work in Darfur.

NICOLAS DE TORRENTE, MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES: There was obstruction from the government of Sudan for many months. This has been lifted more or less in the past month. Access is easier. So on the one hand, of course, the government of Sudan has a rule here but on the other hand, there's been a lack of mobilization from the aid agencies.

LISTER: The U.N. has only a handful of international staff in Darfur. Most aid agencies expect the situation to get dramatically worse without massive intervention now.

BOB MACPHERSON, CARE SECURITY CHIEF: What do we stand for as humans when we start talking about two million people who may die? That's where we are on this. It's not dramatic, alarmist. That's a fact.

LISTER: The rainy season has begun in Darfur, making access to the refugees more difficult and disease more dangerous. Cholera and measles are already rampant, preying on the malnourished.

Now shining a light on this calamity, Secretary of State Colin Powell.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: This is a catastrophe. And it is incumbent upon the international community to come together solidly to do everything we can to bring it to an end and to bring relief to these desperate people.

LISTER: In Washington, rare bipartisan agreement.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: Even if we're slow to act, hundreds of thousands will die. But if we don't move quickly, even more will die. This is a tragedy. It's a disaster.

LISTER: When he visits this week, Secretary Powell will put pressure on the Sudanese government to rein in the militia, which is often accused of helping.

He also wants access for war crimes investigators. That's because the Bush administration may declare the war in Darfur a genocide. There seems to be plenty of evidence on the ground.

Tim Lister, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Now nearly everyone agrees the people of southern Sudan are in dire straits and need -- there is a great need for a lot of help, lots of it.

And our guest this morning is Denis Caillaux, the secretary general of CARE International. He joins us from New York to talk about the dire straits in Sudan.

You briefed the U.N. on Friday. What did you tell them about this situation?

DENIS CAILLAUX, SECRETARY GENERAL, CARE INTERNATIONAL: Well, we need to act very quickly. What needs to be done is -- is pretty clear.

You know, we need -- we need access. We need security on the ground so that the people don't live any longer the horror they have been through. Humanitarian workers can get to work in security.

We need to act quite urgently. Every -- every little thing we can do that can save lives. And we need resources. I mean, access, safety on the ground and resources is a vital part of the response to that. So that's basically what I highlighted.

However, I think it is extremely important that we place this terrible crisis in Darfur within the overall context of the situation in Sudan.

We can have similar Darfur situations exploding in Sudan over the next few months and years if we don't attack the root cause of the conflict of the war in Sudan.

And we can do it. There is an opportunity, amazingly enough, for peace to come to Sudan.

As you know two major parties in the conflict, the government and the SPLA in the south have signed a peace agreement, amazingly enough, some weeks ago. And that has to be protected, developed, expanded so we attack this drama at its roots and don't have similar Darfur crisis over the next weeks and months.

NGUYEN: Denis, this did not happen yesterday. This started back in February of 2003. Why is it taking so long for people to pay attention?

CAILLAUX: Because we never learn. I think that it's only -- it's always the same story, Betty. It's only when the horror unfolds that international communities mobilize itself and that attention is drawn to these things.

I wish I could, whenever in the humanitarian community we feel something is brewing, if we could bring that to the attention of the international community and, if they were to listen, we could prevent a lot of that. But unfortunately it's only when things turn bad and things happen that attention is being mobilized. It's the way it is.

NGUYEN: Is that because a lot of the attention right now is focused on Iraq and terrorist activity?

CAILLAUX: Yes, it's -- it's because there are obviously competing demands on the agenda. That's -- that's predictable. That's just human.

I think what all of us, as the international community, as human beings, have to learn, is to do a little bit of more listening to the warnings that organizations like CARE and many others are providing when, you know, things are brewing, when we try to warn the international community about -- about impending disasters.

NGUYEN: But there's a big problem. International aid workers are trying to get into the area. The rainy season has just started, and plus a lot of the militias are not letting them in that area. How do you solve this problem?

CAILLAUX: Well, I think that -- that very, very clearly access is vital. Progress has been made in terms of access over the past few weeks. It's not enough. We need to have better access. We need all hands on deck in Darfur. I mean, this is a crisis of such magnitude that everybody is needed there. So, access has to be better. As you know right now, we are reaching, what, about half the people we should reach. So we need to expand.

Security on the ground has to be improved. There is a cease-fire agreement that has been signed. Let that be enforced.

Let's make -- let's make sure that people have -- not living through what they had to go through over the past few months. And let's provide the resources that are required so that humanitarian actors can act and save lives.

NGUYEN: A lot of help needed and needed fast. Denis Caillaux with CARE International, thank you so much.

CAILLAUX: Thank you.

NGUYEN: Genocide is a strong word, but it's not used lightly in the context of the Sudanese crisis. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "the deliberate and systematic extermination of an ethnic or national group," which is exactly what many people say is happening now in southern Sudan.

And help hopefully will be on the way sometime soon. Colin Powell has already described the situation as catastrophic.

GRIFFIN: Yes. He'll be on with Wolf Blitzer later today, and reporters and most importantly, our video journalists will be keeping an eye on this so we can keep up to date on what is and what is not happening in the Sudan.

The casualties of war come in all shapes and sizes. For soldiers who have served and suffered the injuries of the war, it's good to know there's one group looking to make their homecoming a bit better. Find out how as CNN continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: It's an undeniable fact of war. Thousands of U.S. troops come home from Iraq or Afghanistan injured or maimed, either in combat or in accidents.

This Florida military police unit is honored for its mobilization to Iraq. Folks in Ocala hoped they'll all come back safe and sound. Sergeant Peter Damon of the Massachusetts National Guard did not.

John Gonsalves helps people like Peter Damon with his Homes for Our Troops organization. And John Gonsalves and Sergeant Damon are with us now in our Washington bureau.

PETER DAMON, HANDICAPPED VETERAN: Good morning.

JOHN GONSALVES, HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS: Good morning.

Good morning. John, what's this all about? GONSALVES: This is all about doing the right thing for our veterans who have sacrificed a lot. We are raising money in particular to build specially adapted homes for our severely disabled soldiers.

GRIFFIN: When they come home from war, and perhaps this is a question for you, Sergeant, the Army tries to help rehabilitate you, give you the medical attention you need.

But when you have to go into your specific home, I take it there's no modifications being made by the military to make sure that you can operate in that home. Is that correct?

DAMON: Well, there are V.A. grants that you can apply for, and so on and so forth, but I myself don't own a home. So for John to come around with an organization like this, is just, you know, is just great.

GRIFFIN: What does it mean for you when you were, I assume, looking at a dire future. You're trying to deal with your new handicap situation and here comes this man says we're going to build you a home, not only a home but a home that you can operate?

DAMON: Well, it just means everything in the world. It's just a great feeling to know there are people like this out there. And that the American public is behind them -- behind us, you know, when we get back. So it's great.

GRIFFIN: John, are the American people and businesses behind you and your organization? Tell us about the support you're getting.

GONSALVES: Well, we've been getting support from all over the country. Everything from people sending in a $1 donation to more importantly to make this a sustained effort.

We've got a lot of people who have signed up to contribute monthly for our cause. And now we're looking for corporate America, and the music industry and entertainment industry, and everywhere else we can get some support for these soldiers. They certainly deserve what we're trying to do for them.

GRIFFIN: Your web site is HomeForOurTroops.org. How many troops have you helped and what is the need? Have you been able to assess it?

GONSALVES: We're really not sure what the need is. That changes all the time.

We're in the early stages of working with a lot of these soldiers. We have 14 pieces of land that have been offered to us in the first three months that we've been accepting donations for the program. So we hope to help as many as possible.

GRIFFIN: Sgt. Damon, have you heard from your fellow comrades as to this effort? Are they helping you? DAMON: Well, they are certainly excited about the prospect of something like this coming around and actually building them a home for themselves. Yes, everybody I talked to is excited. Yes.

GRIFFIN: Gentlemen, we thank you both for getting up on this Sunday morning and joining us.

John, good luck to you with your endeavors.

And Sergeant, good luck to you as you try to get back to life as you can possibly do. Thank you so much.

DAMON: Thank you very much.

GONSALVES: Thanks for having us.

GRIFFIN: Betty.

NGUYEN: An important organization.

Well, another week gone by, another check on the Sprys. Where is our roving family and what are they up to?

Plus, we want to say a big good morning to Washington, D.C. We'll get that live picture for you momentarily. There we go. What a beautiful shot of the nation's capital.

We will have your complete weather forecast in about five minutes.

CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Good morning, Washington and the White House. Staff probably taking the morning off with Mr. And Mrs. Bush gone for the weekend.

Rob has the forecast in one minute. First, updating you on this hour's top stories.

Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Drew Griffin.

Our lead story in Turkey. President Bush arrives in Istanbul for the NATO summit. Mr. Bush spent the day in Ankara in talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other Turkish leaders. Polls show most Turks oppose the war in Iraq.

President Bush arrived in Turkey yesterday. Three Turkish citizens were taken hostage in Iraq almost at the same time. An Arabic TV network broadcast a tape from the same group of militants who claim to have beheaded American Nicholas Berg and a South Korean translator. The kidnappers threaten to kill the three hostages in 72 hours, unless Turkish companies leave Iraq. Turkey says it's not going to comply. And here in Georgia, officials say three people are dead in a helicopter crash south of Atlanta. They say no one on the ground was hurt. The FAA investigating.

NGUYEN: We want to investigate the weather this morning and see how it is shaping up for your Sunday. Here is Rob Marciano.

Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

GRIFFIN: Thank you, Rob.

NGUYEN: Here is your chance for a one-minute virtual escape as we revisit the Spry family. They spent most of last week vacationing in the Keys. Oh, yes. Looks nice there.

You'll recall, they left the rat race behind in Silicon Valley, California, packed up the R.V. and took off in search of a new place to call home.

But it wasn't all R & R, as Ryan found out. Fishing was kind of hard. He's reeling in his first catch, as you see here.

The adventure has been an education for the entire family. Ryan is learning about the Summer Solstice in this shot, wondering hey, where did my shadow go?

A page from the Spry family journal reads, quote, "Ryan's building blocks of knowledge since we left are really beginning to click together. Associations of past or current experiences are powerfully accurate. Stuck for a few minutes at a drawbridge today brings up the Hoover Dam, sailboats and sitting on the banks of the Mississippi River in New Orleans."

The Sprys are heading north to New York next. And all I have to say is get ready for the traffic in the Big Apple.

Can you imagine pulling that R.V. up?

GRIFFIN: Can you imagine paying to park it?

NGUYEN: That's true.

GRIFFIN: Well...

NGUYEN: No clothes in Cleveland. That's what has all these people feeling buff. We will reveal the reason after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, plenty more ahead here on CNN. At the top of the hour it's "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY." Among today's guests is Rand Beers, national security adviser for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. Kelly Wallace is in Washington with that.

Then at 11 Eastern, it is CNN LIVE SUNDAY. It's the Cannes festival you haven't heard about, the best of the best ads on film.

And at 11:30, as Clinton mania takes hold, "RELIABLE SOURCES" takes a closer look at the former president, who many expect will be adding best-selling author to his resume.

GRIFFIN: Let's look ahead to this week's news as we "Fast Forward."

President Bush in Turkey for the NATO meeting which begins Monday. Turkey has assigned 25,000 security forces around Istanbul, around 45 world leaders expected to attend that meeting.

Secretary of State Colin Powell is headed to Sudan on Tuesday. He's expected to ask government officials to bring pressure on militia groups to stop attacks against civilians.

There have been continuing reports of murder, rapes of women and children and the forced evacuation of nearly a million people from their homes. We're going to have more on the crisis in Sudan in about two hours here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

And finally, in Athens, Olympic security forces are expected to assume responsibility for the 155 summer games facilities around Greece on Thursday. The world will watch the games to begin Friday the 13th of August.

NGUYEN: All right. Here's a warning: these pictures may be a little disturbing.

They won't win any Olympic medals in Cleveland, but they are setting records by taking it all off. More than 2,700 people let it all hang out Saturday for a picture by photographer Spencer Tunick. He is know for his photos showing thousands of naked people in public places.

As you might imagine, Tunick has run into trouble on previous shoots but says this one, well, it was a cool breeze. Nice.

GRIFFIN: Why?

NGUYEN: I know, why?

We appreciate you joining us today for CNN SUNDAY.

GRIFFIN: "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY" coming up next.

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