8-YEAR-OLD STANDS UP TO GENOCIDE
BY Kathryn Nelson

Minnesota Daily
-stands-genocide
Dec 10 2008
MN

Last Sunday hundreds of students gathered at Northrop Auditorium,
donning black caps and gowns, to celebrate their monumental
achievement: graduation.

After walking the stage and collecting our diplomas, it became clear
that we were not simply joining the rest of the tax-paying population,
but also that we are now responsible to control our own future —
and that of our world.

I thought it would be appropriate for my last column of the semester
to let someone else speak — someone who has consistently been the
voice of those who lost theirs.

Ellen Kennedy has worked tirelessly as the interim director for the
Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies to motivate young citizens
to become involved in human rights advocacy.

The following are her personal stories of how young people, just like
us, have made amazing strides against international injustices. Take
these stories and be inspired. Make a call. Change the world for
the better.

Eight-year-old Freya Slocumb first heard about the genocide in Darfur
while listening to University alumnus Luke Walker give a homily during
Mass at their Minneapolis church.

Sitting in a pew with her mother, she listened to Walker speak about
what was happening in the Darfur region of Sudan , the first genocide
of the 21st century where approximately 400,000 innocent people had
been murdered.

Turning to her mother, Freya said: "Mom, this isn’t right. We have
to do something." And she did. Freya decided to make jewelry called
"sacrifice beads" to sell as a fundraiser, and so far this little
8-year-old girl has raised almost $600 to be donated to the Genocide
Intervention Network.

In her Dec. 3 blog entry, Freya wrote, "My mom told me that Obama
picked someone for the U.N. who is very against genocide. Her name is
Susan Rice . She wants the situation in Darfur to end, just like I do,
and she’ll be someone Obama will listen to. … I am so excited that
maybe the end of this will be soon."

Emma Weisberg, 16, is a junior at Edina High School . She organized
a citywide showing last year of "The Devil Came on Horseback ,"
a documentary about the Darfur genocide, that more than 350 people
attended.

This year, Emma and her friends arranged for Dr. Ashis Brahma — the
only doctor caring for 27,000 Darfuris in a refugee camp in Chad —
to speak in Edina in February.

Anna Donnelly , 22, graduated from the University last Sunday,
writing her honors thesis about human rights atrocities.

She often speaks to high school classes, church groups, and civic
organizations about genocide, as well as organizes fundraisers and
lobbies her elected officials to prevent genocide.

Two weeks ago she worked with the City Council of Hopkins, Minn.,
to divest the city’s portfolio from companies that are complicit with
Sudan’s genocidal government. And this spring she’ll be a University
Human Rights fellow, developing educational resources about Darfur
for Minnesota teachers.

Mark Hanis, 26, is the founder and executive director of the Genocide
Intervention Network in Washington, D.C.

Supervising a staff of 20 people and overseeing STAND, a student
anti-genocide coalition , Hanis has empowered thousands of people to
take action against the genocide in Darfur.

An 8-year-old, a 16-year-old, a 22-year-old and a 26-year-old;
ordinary people yet extraordinary. They’re all standing up to make
a difference. Young people have gotten engaged around the issue of
genocide prevention in unprecedented ways.

The question is: Why do young people care? Many people have never
even heard of Sudan or Darfur, or thought about the nightmare of
genocide. But there are important reasons why every single one of us
should — indeed, must — care.

The Torah, the Bible and the Quran all exhort us not to stand by
when the blood of our neighbor is spilled. Freya wrote on her blog,
"I am one person. I may never have the chance to do great things. I
can only offer to God the things I can do."

Impunity allows evil to flourish. Adolf Hitler said to his generals,
before sending death squads into Poland, "Go, kill without mercy
… Who remembers the annihilation of the Armenians?"

The United States has signed and ratified the Genocide Convention
. It was passed in the United Nations 60 years ago, and it’s been
the law of our land for 20 years. We have a legal responsibility to
prevent and stop genocide.

Genocide breeds insecurity in the region, the continent and the
world. Genocide is a threat to our national security, according to
The Genocide Prevention Task Force.

When we see an accident, we call 911. When we know about genocide
we should call the anti-genocide hotline, 1-800-GENOCIDE, which
automatically connects all Americans to their representatives,
senators and the White House.

Freya, 8, is doing all she can. Let’s help Freya — and help all the
innocent people in Darfur who are targeted in the first genocide of
the 21 century.

Ellen J. Kennedy , Interim Director Center for Holocaust and Genocide
Studies Kathryn Nelson welcomes comments at kgnelson@mndaily.com.