With two natural disasters - Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan - garnering much of the media's attention, a man-made disaster is getting short shrift in the news.
To reverse this trend, over 500 people gathered on the steps of Boston's city hall last week to raise awareness of the situation in Darfur. Congress and President George W. Bush have called the Sudanese government's practices there genocide.
At the demonstration Thursday, Oct. 6, participants raised their cell phones and called the White House. About 40 of the participants were Tufts students.
The Tufts group was organized by the student organization Pangea, and the students took the subway to Government Center together. "We want to let people know what's going on," sophomore Rosie Wagner, the co-chair of Pangea, said.
Before the demonstration, Wagner said she expected hundreds of students and adults to attend.
The event's organizers, The Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur and Students Taking Action Now in Darfur, collected donations and postcards addressed to Bush in a large African bowl.
Deputy Director of Physicians for Human Rights, Susannah Sirkin, described the region's history and explained how the country's politics allowed for genocide. Sirkin criticized the Bush Administration's response to the crisis.
Other speakers included Kenneth Sweder of the Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur, State Senator Andrea Nuciforo (Dem., Pittsfield), and Rebecca Hamilton of Harvard University's Darfur Action Group.
They spoke about the possibility of divesting the Massachusetts pension plan's holdings in companies working in Sudan, increasing the number of peacekeeping forces in the region, and the need for the United States to cooperate with the International Criminal Court to prosecute the genocide's perpetrators.
Musical groups, including Tufts' band Moksha, also performed.
"It's amazing how little attention Darfur has gotten," sophomore Sam Dupont, Pangea's chair for genocide issues, said. "There is almost no interest in the press. It is my aspiration that the rally will make people aware of what's going on."
Thursday was an international fast day in solidarity with the victims of the Darfur genocide. Participants were asked to give up one luxury item - such as coffee, a pack of cigarettes, or a whole meal - and donate the money to helping victims. Comedian Bill Cosby and basketball player Dikembe Mutumbo participated.
Sophomore Ruby Geballe went to the demonstration. "I thought it went really well," she said. "There was a lot of encouragement to spread more awareness, which I think is a really pertinent part of improving the situation in Darfur."
Pangea is also organizing a soccer tournament this semester to raise money for Darfur. The money will go to Doctors without Borders.
