Darfur refugees to speak at UNCW

Holocaust stories do not always resonate with a person because they were not alive to witness it. But in the world today, people still do not realize they are witnesses to a new genocide - a new Holocaust.

The first reports presented four years ago spoke of "large-scale massacres" and "hundreds of rapes" in the words of Luis Moreno Ocampo, prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Ocampo reported in 2006, "some 200,000 people are thought to have died in Darfur." Today, this number has doubled.

But these statistics are just statistics. It is the stories of those who have lived, breathed and survived these events that capture our attention.

Today, two Darfuri refugees are coming to speak on UNCW's campus. Starting at 7 p.m., the two refugees will give their testimonials about the events in Darfur and relate how these events have shaped their lives. Held in the Warwick Ballroom, the "Voices from Darfur" event is a part of Amnesty International's UNCW Goes Global.

"The event will begin with a 15-minute video that briefly showcases what is occurring in Darfur," said Sara Casey, co-president of UNCW's Student Anti-Genocide Coalition chapter. After the refugees speak, there will be a question and answer session.

UNCW's STAND chapter has been on campus for two years and houses 25 to 30 committed members. There are more than 1,000 chapters nationwide.

"We focus mainly on working to end the genocide in Darfur but also address conflicts like Burma and the Congo," said Casey of the organization. "Our goal on campus is to educate, fundraise, and advocate."

With "Darfur Fast," STAND has reached out to those in Darfur by raising more than $1,000 to protect civilians by providing for patrols that will stop the militias from coming into the villages. To educate the students, STAND has shown Hotel Rwanda at Lumina, taken 10 students to the STAND National Conference in Washington, D.C., rented tables around campus and had a Burma "red day" to raise awareness about the Burma protests in September.

"I think that as college students preparing for the real globalized world we need to be informed and involved in the world," Casey said. "College students are the capable ones, the loud ones, the ones who start and create change."