Students travel to New York City to rally for Darfur
Kim O'Brien
Issue date: 9/28/06 Section: News
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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."