To raise awareness of the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, a group of Union students and faculty have scheduled a presentation, to be followed by a candlelight vigil at the Reamer Campus Center on Monday, April 11 at 7 p.m. The event precedes an 8 p.m. showing of the movie “Hotel Rwanda,” which chronicles the similar tragedy there in 1994.
Professor Cheikh Ndiaye of Modern Languages will lead the discussion in the Reamer auditorium, to be followed by the vigil outside at the front of the Campus Center. Ndiaye is from Senegal, Africa.
In Darfur, government-backed militias, known collectively as the Janjaweek, are systematically eliminating entire communities of African tribal farmers. An estimated 200,000 people have already died, and in recent months, the situation has worsened. Innocent villagers are being murdered, raped, and food and water supplies have been targeted and destroyed. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes and forced to flee the country. Several relief organizations have pulled out of the region, unable to protect their workers.
According to Ndiaye, the idea for the event came from students. “I thought it was a wonderful initiative and speaks to the sensitivity of these Union students,” he said. “It is clear that many people are not aware of this situation in Darfur, and we hope to educate others.”
Students Varun Shetty, Naazia Husain and Carolyn Gabriel are leaders of the event.