Students travel to New York City to rally for Darfur

A group of College students joined an estimated crowd of 30,000 protesters on Sept. 17, 2006, at the "Save Darfur Rally," held in New York City's Central Park. Last Sunday marked the date for "Global Day for Darfur," a world-wide effort to show support for Darfur victims and place pressure on governments to stand against the ongoing crimes against humanity taking place in the Western Sudan region. Like many protesters across the globe, students at the College donned blue hats to symbolize the blue helmets and berets worn by United Nations peacekeepers. Much criticism has surrounded the somewhat lackluster efforts to effectively resolve Darfur bloodshed. An estimated 400,000 people have died resulting from systematic expulsion, rape and deadly tribal violence in the region, while thousands remain displaced throughout Sudan. Though the Darfur Peace Agreement was implemented in May, the Sudan government has repeatedly rejected it.

Among the College students, Adrian Shanker, '09, attended the Spring 2006 rally for Darfur in Washington, D.C. Shanker noted the importance of the rally, which coincides with the one-year anniversary of the signing of the 2005 U.N. World Summit Outcome Document and the opening of the General Assembly of the United Nations in N.Y.

"It was a big day for many heads of state in New York that weekend - we knew they would all be there," said Shanker. "The September goal is to get peacekeepers into Darfur," he explained. This goal is already taking aim as President Bush recently announced Andrew Natsios, who has served in the U.S. Agency for International Development, as special envoy to Darfur.

The rally featured musical performers such as O.A.R. and Big & Rich, as well as speakers including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, actress Mira Sorvino and numerous House of Representatives members. Eugene Johnson, an American University freshman, exclaimed, "It was amazing. A lot of energy there."

Shanker and Johnson both noted that apathy is one of the biggest factors limiting progress in Darfur. "There will definitely be an impact, hopefully, as more and more people find out," stated Johnson.

"I feel that many don't truly understand what's happening," explained Shanker. The conflict is complex and deeply rooted in tribal differences, but spans up to present-day rebel movements in Sudan. It is argued that one of the main distinctions between the two groups are their nomadic versus sedentary lifestyles; the attackers widely recognized as nomadic tribal Muslims (often known as Janjaweed), and the victims considered as sedentary citizens, often referred to as "African tribal Muslims."

Though religion is not the sole basis of the violence, many religiously affiliated organizations have passionately advocated the "Save Darfur" movement. Shanker, who has worked closely with Hillel and Muhlenberg's Institute for Jewish/Christian Understanding, noted the strong turnout of Jewish organizations at the rally. "We feel a strong connection to the Shoah [Holocaust] - the genocide of a group," he stated.

"Genocide" is a controversial term regarding Darfur. Though the catastrophe is commonly referred to as genocide, the U.N. has not officially declared it as so. This is not to say that other high officiating organizations have dismissed the notion of genocide. Even the U.N. has recognized that "there is no doubt that some of the objective elements of genocide materialized in Darfur." (Report of the International Commission of Inquire on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary General, Sec. II, Art. II, 508).

With the U.N. General Assembly presently in session at such a crucial time, it is up to U.N. officials and governmental powers across the globe to ultimately determine the best course of action in preventing Darfur from becoming full-fledged genocide. As for activists like Shanker and Johnson, they are hopeful that governments will put their agendas aside and take note of the worldwide lobbying for a region obviously in need. Shanker adequately summarizes the lack of crisis intervention in Darfur stating, "We're putting politics above people.