 "Photo: Matt Sprague")
The Center for Student Diversity and Brotherhood: Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle co-hosted the program "Voices out of Darfur" in the University Union Potomac Lounge Tuesday evening in an effort to raise awareness about genocide occurring in Darfur.
Over 50 students and faculty members attended the event.
At the event, three Sudanese refugees told stories about their experiences and encouraged students to participate in the fight to aid others affected by genocide.
"You always hear about Darfur but you never get the hard facts," sophomore elementary education major Meghan Grammer said. "You hear about genocide but you never know who it's happening to or why."
Senior mass communication and communication studies major and president of the African Diaspora Club Gboyinde Onijala attended the event, to support her "brothers and sisters in their struggles.
"It is one thing to talk about Darfur in meetings but another to meet and hear the accounts of Darfur refugees," she said.
Each panelist covered a different topic, ranging from stories about the death and hardships their families face, to the abuse of Darfurian women and ways in which students can help end ethnic cleansing.
Mohamed Yahya, the founder and executive director of Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy, recounted a tale from his first experience of genocide.
"Over 50 villages were destroyed in the course of one day," Yahya said. "I lost 21 members of my family that day, including my father, two brothers and two sisters."
Yahya also explained his early effort as a student in Egypt to help fight what was happening in his mother country. "A group of us gathered and became a voice for people with no voice. We became hope for people with no hope."
By fund-raising for Darfur and writing letters to neighboring countries, as well as the U.S., Yahya and his companions to get other world leaders to recognize the abuse the Sudanese government has been inflicting on the Darfurians.
Suad Mansour, a member for the Darfur Alert Coalition, discussed women's issues in Darfur. He spoke about rape and living in refugee camp conditions.
"Rape in Darfur is used as a tool for war," Mansour said. "Women not only suffer from the physical torture of rape but the social and economic consequences as well."
Due to deep-rooted traditions in Africa, rape is a sign of ultimate shame. When women and young girls have been subject to rape they are often abandoned by their families or left to fend for themselves, according to the speakers.
"Almost 99 percent of people displaced by genocide are women and children. Rape is a strategy used to destroy the African Community."
Elnour Adam, a research coordinator for 24 Hours for Darfur, made suggestions as to how students can get involved and aid those suffering in Darfur. "A way to help is to actually travel to Darfur and work in the cultural centers of refugee camps and help educate the people," Adam said. "Another way is to spread the word about Darfur. Tell friends and family members, write letters to political figures asking them what they are doing to help Darfur."
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