NSU STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT THE SLAUGHTER IN DARFUR
By Aliza Appelbaum

Miami Herald, FL
March 30 2007

College students learned about the atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region,
where hundreds of thousands have been murdered.

Critics and movie buffs often cite classic films such as To Kill
a Mockingbird or Schindler’s List as iconic and life-changing. But
for Careen Hutchinson, it was 2004’s Hotel Rwanda, which chronicled
atrocities committed during the Rwandan genocide of the 1990s.

Hutchinson, a 28-year-old graduate student at Nova Southeastern
University, said the movie made her want to learn more about the
current crisis in another embattled region across Africa — Darfur,
Sudan.

After conducting research, Hutchinson contacted activists around the
country. Then she put together the "Colloquium on the Darfur Crisis,"
a day-long event at NSU on Thursday featuring 12 speakers — including
two Darfuri refugees, representatives from the United Nations and
the State Department, and the Sudanese ambassador to the United States.

Sasha Noel, an NSU sophomore, said the event inspired her to want to
learn more about the crisis.

"We, as students, kind of live in a bubble," Noel said. ‘Until now,
I never really thought, `this is what people my age on the other side
of the world are going through.’ "

Darfur has been involved in a violent conflict since 2003. An Arab
militia linked to the Sudanese government has been terrorizing black
Africans, causing more than 400,000 deaths and another 2.4 million
refugees, according to the Save Darfur Coalition. The underfunded
African Union troops are the region’s only protection.

Hutchinson said it was important to raise awareness about Darfur
among college students because they will soon be in a position to
make crucial decisions.

"We are the future leaders of the country," Hutchinson said.

"People need to know about these issues to effect change. And if we
don’t do it, who will?"

Other students are asking the same question.

Growing student interest in Darfur prompted Miami Dade College’s
dean of students, Malou Harrison, to invite U.S. State Department
representative Gregory L. Garland, of the Bureau of African Affairs,
to speak on campus. Garland, who will speak this morning about U.S.

involvement in ending the genocide and bringing peace to the region,
was also one of the speakers at the NSU colloquium.

But many Darfur events focus on the political aspects of the conflict,
and Hutchinson said she tried to highlight the human rights issues
at the NSU colloquium.

"There are so many people who have stories to tell but no way to
tell them," Hutchinson said. "We are giving them a forum to voice
their experiences."

The audience seemed especially attentive when Darfuri refugees Motasim
Adams and Fatima Haroun spoke. Both mentioned that the global community
has been slow to act when it comes to aiding Darfur.

"This is not the first time this has happened," Adams said. ‘After the
Holocaust, the Armenian genocide, the Rwandan genocide, the world said
`never again.’ But it has happened again."

Hutchinson said she hoped more of her peers would have a similar
reaction.

"I think more students are becoming aware of the global situation,"
Hutchinson said. "They’ve opened their eyes."

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