Desperate to raise awareness of modern-day genocide, UConn activists left bodies strewn across Fairfield Way yesterday.
Around
20 students took part in the Die-in For Darfur - lying down in the
center of campus, holding signs stating the death toll of the Darfur
genocide and calling for action. They included members of UConn PIRG,
Idealists United, UConn STAND and at least one member of the UN Student
Ambassadors.
"We came together because we are passionate about
stopping the genocide and we believe a powerful event like this allows
our voices to be heard," said Kaitlin Nickerson, the Die-in's organizer.
The
civil war in Darfur has been raging for decades and in the last few
years Sudan's Khartoum government has employed Arab Bedouins, called
the Janjaweed, as mercenaries. These mercenaries, as well as the
national army, have been responsible for around 400,000 deaths and 2.5
million people displaced. The genocide is intended to weaken the rebel
groups, made up of Muslims who are fighting for independence from the
Arab national government.
Nickerson and a few others not on the
ground were asking passers-by to sign a petition for aid for the
Darfuris and UN enactment of the Save Darfur Coalition's "Plan B."
Among the plan's strategies to end the conflict are enforcement of
sanctions, no-fly zones and the construction of safe refugee camps. One
copy will be sent to the UN Secretary General and the other to
President Bush, Nickerson said.
Also on the petition was a
request for the divestment of U.S. companies from Sudan, which many
believe would economically isolate the government that funds the
genocide.
"Cut them off, make them get the point," Nickerson said.
When asked how they felt about the international response to the genocide, the protesters were consistently negative.
"Apathetic," said Nickerson. "Out of sight, out of mind."
"Some
people don't even realize a genocide has occurred," said Allyssa Milan,
19, a 4th-semester student. "I think back to the Holocaust; we swore it
would never happen again, but look where we are."
"Pitiful, shameful; not enough has been done," said Mike Brandt, 21, an 8th-semester student.
While
most of those at the protest felt that the international response
should be more aggressive, most did not want a full military
intervention.
"I feel that a regime change would be a
huge mistake. What we need to do is protect civilians," said Brandt,
the founder of Idealists United.
He used the example
of refugee camps in Darfur, where civilians who leave to collect
firewood and water are often raped or murdered by roving gangs of
Janjaweed.
While aid and food is getting to some of those who need it, the people live in constant danger, Brandt said.
The
same groups and individuals that organized the Die-in are planning the
Human Rights Awareness Festival from April 9 to April 14, Brandt said.
