Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

U. Maryland students try to combat complacency for genocide
By Kevin Rector
The Diamondback (U. Maryland)
11/22/2006

(U-WIRE) WASHINGTON — When senior Jen Arthungal began her internship at the Save Darfur Coalition in early September, she had high hopes of bringing national attention to what many call the first genocide of the 21st century.

And although she remains part of what The Washington Post called "the most energetic campaign by U.S. citizens on an African issue since the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa," she's now experiencing the same frustration as thousands of activists who have called for the United States to take action on the issue.

Although government officials have called the crisis in the northwestern region of Sudan a genocide, no decisive action has been taken. That disturbs activists like Arthungal, who continue pushing the government to act by showing they are willing to act themselves.

"A lot of times people think the youth are apathetic," Arthungal said. "This is a way to show the government you care."

The crisis in Darfur began in 2003 between rebel groups demanding regional development and Arab militias in opposition called the Janjaweed, who have direct support from the Sudanese government.

The primary victims of the crisis, however, have been the civilian populations associated with the rebels, who have become targets of the Janjaweed militias and the Sudanese government. The crisis has gained serious international attention because an estimated 400,000 people have been killed and an estimated 2.5 million have been displaced from their homes and forced to live in overcrowded displaced-persons and refugee camps.

Although the U.S. government first called the conflict "genocide" more than two years ago, they have not acted to stop it. The U.N. only recently passed a resolution calling for the Sudanese government to allow U.N. peacekeeping forces into the region, but many people doubt the Sudanese will cooperate.

Because many perceive the U.S. and U.N. as ineffective in stopping the devastation, many organizations and individuals worldwide have increased efforts to help Darfur victims, with many of those organizations stemming from youth involvement.

One organization, called STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition, is composed of more than 600 high school and college chapters and has chosen Darfur as its top priority. At this university, activism for Darfur has mostly come from the student organization Community Roots, which has worked toward raising awareness of the crisis while challenging the university to do the same.

"We held a vigil last year, we had a teach-in, and we showed a movie of a documentary on Darfur," said Community Roots co-president Dan Espinoza. "We also lobbied to get our school to divest its money that it had invested in the Sudanese government."

Following the student request for divestment, University System of Maryland officials who oversee the $700 million endowment that ensures the system's long-term financial security analyzed investment portfolios and found no investments in companies tied to the Sudanese government. However, they officially decided in August to exclude such companies from the endowment portfolio in the future.

Community Roots also made chalk outlines on sidewalks around the campus resembling those often used in crime dramas, giving students a sense of the overwhelming number of deaths occurring in Darfur, Espinoza said.

At a press conference in Washington Tuesday, Arthungal, the Save Darfur Coalition intern, assisted famous actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow, who spoke about how Darfur violence has spread into neighboring African countries Chad and the Central African Republic.

Arthungal said Farrow, although tired, refused to rest and remained focused the whole time on the press conference.

"She is really cool, really nice and really down-to-earth," Arthungal said. "She is very much impassioned about this. After meeting her, I have a great deal of respect for her."

Arthungal said her internship has provided valuable experience as she works toward her goal of entering law school, and said she now understands the importance of action in the face of governmental inaction.

"[My internship] has definitely made me more aware of what we as grassroots organizations and individuals can do to affect what governments do," Arthungal said. "They recognize people care about [Darfur], and that's how it will get into bills."

[ Back to Student Voices ]