Hey - so I thought I would post about Nikki's presentation on Thursday. I wanted to give a quick summary/response, as well as hear from you guys with any initial reactions or thoughts.
Just to rehash a bit, the majority of what was discussed had to do with the historical/geographical/social context of Sudan. Nikki addressed the 20-year civil war over oil and territories between the Northern and Southern regions of Sudan that preceded the current genocide in Darfur, explaining how Darfurians felt that they're voice as a region was being excluded from the government in Sudan's capital, Khartoum. This sense of exclusion fueled the conflicts between the government and various rebel forces, when, in April of 2003, various Darfurian rebels attacked Sudanese officials at the government's airport at Al Fashir (in North Darfur). Since then, the two main rebel groups (The Sudanese Liberation Army and The Justice and Equality Movement) have continued to fight out against the government in response to decades of neglect, preventable drought, and various other forms of oppression.
It is this rebelliousness that prompted President Omar al-Bashir to increase arms and support to the Janjaweed militias. The Janjaweed have ruthlessly and harrowingly destroyed approximately 90% of the villages in the Darfur region, raping, slaughtering, burning, anyone and anything in their paths. Nikki described the rebels' "scorched earth policy," a tactic employed by the Sudanese government which attacks the civilian base to diminish thier morale and independence.
Ok, so there is a brief and I'm sure obscenely incomplete summary of the notes I took in class on Thursday. In terms of my own response to Nikki's presentation, I got the vibe that he was extremely discouraged (who can blame him, though...). I was really impressed with the growth of Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (S.T.A.N.D.), and I was disappointed that he only very breifly addressed how we, as students with crazy-busy lives, should help out. All in all, I thought he was informative and obviously compassionate about Darfur, and I'm really glad we got the opportunity to meet such a young and inspiring guy.
Please take a sec to answer one (a few, or all) of the questions below, and here is something to keep in mind that I am quoting from Nikki in regards to all that we're hearing about Darfur: "We don't have the luxury to feel overwhelmed."
Questions:
1. What did you think about Nikki's presentation? Did he leave you wondering about anything? What, if anything, do you wish he had addressed in more depth?
2. Does hearing about the genocide in Darfur from a young person like Nikki inspire you to get involved, or do you feel discouraged (for whatever reason)?
3. How much of the information given was new to you?
4. Since I can't make it to the SF Darfur Coalition's meeting on Sunday where they are going to brainstorm on possible Darfur-related events here in San Fran, I was wondering if we could get our own dialogue going on the best ways to mobilize LWHS's student body to take action...
http://ourpledge.org/ (website on Nikki's business card)
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2 comments:
I also tought that Nikki was very informative and having someone that was close to our age (or close enough...) come in to speak made it seem that we are capable of getting involved too.
I learned a lot from his presentations. Although I went to H block's speaker on Darfur too, I found that Nikki gave more of a background on the Civil war and what led to the current problem. I got some new statistical information and learned more about the U.N.'s role in the situation.
In terms of getting our student body to take action I think that we should:
-support Darfur Fridays. In H block, the speaker mentioned that every Friday the SF darfur coalition does something to show its opposition to the continuing genocide in Darfur. More info can be found on darfursf.org
-involve the community in off campus events that rally against the genocide in darfur. Again, probably more info on darfursf.org
I noticed that this post involved getting our student body to take action against the genocide in Darfur and I just thought I'd post this link, Sam and Kelsey are organizing a group of students to petition for coverage of the genocide in the Chronicle. As Nikki made clear, it is hugely important right now that everyone stays informed about the genocide, and yet it doesn't seem to be getting coverage in the newspaper. Since that was pointed out to me, I've actually been monitoring the Chronicle headlines and looking for Darfur-related ones, and finding none. There was a Barry Bonds thing on the front page today, but nothing about Darfur. So if anyone's interested in this petition happening on Sunday the 30th, join the event on facebook ( http://hs.facebook.com/event.php?eid=5778368361 ) or talk to Sam or Kelsey by the 26th. Thanks!
Also, I agree with Aileen, Darfur Fridays sound like a great idea. Maybe we could use the blog to brainstorm ideas for them...
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