In 100 days, people here will vote on whether to secede from the rest of Sudan, and war, even genocide is predicted. Remember Sudan is where Darfur is, and now its same President Omar Al Bashir, who the International Criminal Court has indicted for genocide in Darfur, is expected to fight to keep South Sudan because it has more than 75 percent of the country's oil. If there is war, the majority of the victims are likely black Africans, many of them Dinka and the perpetrators would include well-armed Arab militias. Clooney, who helped tell Americans what was happening in Darfur, puts it this way, "If you knew a tsunami, or Katrina or a Haiti earthquake was coming, what would you do to save people?" What he's doing today is going to one of the most desperate places on earth, where we are boarding a small plane to a remote place called Malakal. When we land, boats are to carry us on the upper Nile to where hundreds of black Africans have fled violence in recent weeks. As the war drums sound, my job is to give voice to people who are rarely, if ever heard by the outside world. And while I am wary of the dangers, I know I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing right now.
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About the author: Ann Curry is co-anchor of "Dateline NBC" and the lead news anchor for NBC's "TODAY Show." She first joined NBC News in 1990 as a Chicago-based correspondent. You can follow her on Twitter at @AnnCurry.
