A humanitarian crisis affecting more than 2 million people is raging in the Darfur region of western Sudan, where thousands of Sudanese have been killed and millions more have been displaced, which has a group of concerned UA students speaking out about the ongoing genocide to state and national representatives.
Known as the Concerned Students to Save Darfur, the non-partisan group sold green bracelets on the UA Mall yesterday and will again today to raise funds for the Darfur region and to educate students about the cause, said David Manthei, a member of the group.
Manthei, a history senior, said the bracelets are $5 and will benefit humanitarian organizations that send money to the region. So far the group has sold more than 100 bracelets, and they plan to continue selling on the Mall next week, he said.
The group wants to help educate students about the west African nation, and speak out about the cause, said group member, Rebecca Furst-Nichols, an international studies sophomore.
Sudanese government-backed militias, known collectively as the Janjaweed, are systematically eliminating entire communities of African tribal farmers. Villages are being razed, women and girls raped and branded, men and boys murdered, and food and water supplies targeted and destroyed, according to the Save Darfur Web site.
According to www.savedarfur.org, the effects of the ethnic cleansing "campaign" have been devastating. It's estimated at least 200,000 people have died, more than 1.6 million have been displaced from their homes and more than 200,000 have fled across the Sudanese border to Chad.
One way students can get involved is by writing and sending graphic images of suffering Sudanese women and children to their local congressman and senators, Furst-Nichols said.
"We'll even provide postage for the letters in organizing a letter campaign," Furst-Nichols said. "This is something that needs more support from the American public."
Furst-Nichols said the average college student is not going to help make a change because they are either too busy or don't grasp the situation. She said if everyone wrote at least one letter, it would help make a difference.
"If you're educated, you're going to care," Furst-Nichols said.
The group formed after Manthei and other students' interests were sparked from taking political science classes relating to the events happening in the Darfur region. Manthei said the typical reaction from students would be to get informed but not help make a difference, but he said he knows there are dedicated people out there who want to take action.
"Individually (the group) can't do a whole lot, but through collective action we hope for a drastic change," Manthei said.