CAMP DARFUR TO FIGHT GENOCIDE
The UCLA Daily Bruin
Nov 5 2008
CA
November is Genocide Awareness Month. As a result, the Darfur Action
Committee (DAC) is holding events throughout the month to educate and
inspire students against genocide and the ongoing conflict in Darfur.
Today in Wilson Plaza, the DAC will present Camp Darfur, a series of
tents modeled after refugee camps.
Each interactive tent will represent historic genocides including
Armenia, Cambodia, Rwanda and the Holocaust.
Participants will gain insight through photographs, videos and
testimonies from actual camp visitors.
Kristen Savage, the DAC’s Publicity Committee Chair, said, "These
events create common ground. They put names and faces to the sheer
numbers."
On Thursday, the DAC will screen "God Grew Tired of Us," a documentary
following three of the Lost Boys of Sudan who fled wars in the 1980s
and escaped to America. The screening will take place in the Kerckhoff
Art Gallery at 1 p.m.
Tiffany Man, the DAC’s Event Programming Committee Chair, emphasized
that this film helps students understand how the Sudanese Civil War
has affected and continues to affect genocide in Darfur today.
Finally, the DAC, along with the American Indian Students Association,
will sponsor American Indian Awareness Day on Nov. 25.
Accordingly, they will screen "The Canary Effect: Kill the Indian,
Save the Man," on Nov. 25.
This documentary traces the history of the United States government’s
abuse and genocide of American Indians.
The DAC members each possess a unique reason for their passion about
genocide awareness.
"It is outrageous that in the modern world, nothing has been done,"
said Anjana Puri, the DAC’s outreach and external relations co-head.
Savage added that stopping genocide in Darfur is a pressing issue
because basic human rights have been violated atrociously.
"This crosses cultural, racial and socioeconomic lines," she said. "We
need to take a stand against genocide,"
Man’s reason for involvement springs from an ability to relate to
the persecuted.
"The victims are similar to us. They have family and friends too,
but they live in constant danger and fear.
"We need to experience their pains and triumphs and realize our common
humanity," she explained.
Members of the DAC offered the following advice to students who wish
to promote awareness and peace in Darfur: Educate yourself and others,
lobby officials to affect change, vote for candidates who will help
Darfur, and donate money to organizations like the Red Cross, Amnesty
International, or the Jewish World Watch’s Solar Cooker Project.
The Jewish World Watch’s Solar Cooker Project is an organization that
allows refugees to prepare meals with solar cookers near their homes.
Puri, the Director of High School Activism Outreach Project, further
encouraged educating high school students about genocide so that they
may in turn spread knowledge within their communities.
Savage emphasized that the DAC needs volunteers of all commitment
levels, whether large or small.
"We have grown incredibly in the past year, and we hope to see it grow
even more," she said. "We want not only to educate, but to engage."