'Voices from Darfur' speak at University
Marissa Graziadio / Associate News Editor
Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: Page One
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Voices From Darfur, a national speaking tour featuring personal accounts from survivors of the genocide in Darfur took place last night in College Hall in the Livingston Student Center.
The event was hosted by Rutgers Hillel and co-sponsored by College Avenue Campus Dean Matt Matsuda, Livingston Campus Dean Lea Stewart and a diverse group of University organizations.
The evening opened with a presentation of a short documentary of horror and survival stories from those who have endured violence in Sudan.
"Our own government is trying to kill us," said a voice in the film.
Human rights activists in the film discussed the ethnic cleansing and extermination of the indigenous African people and expressed concern for those dying from lack of nutrition in camps.
They urged viewers to pressure their governments to aid the people of Darfur. International forces with a strong mandate will be the only way to help because they can be an effective method in stopping oppressive governments, they said.
"Every time I see that film…it really pains me," featured speaker Abu Asal Abu Asal said, "It is just very hard to accept the reality that we're undergoing a genocide, especially when I think of my early memories of being a child there."
Abu Asal recounted his experiences growing up in the city of Al-fashir in Darfur and said as a child he was told the people of Darfur were not meant to go far with their education.
But Abu Asal defied the odds and attended the University of Khartoum's School of Veterinary Medicine. As a student he joined the Darfur Students Association and was involved in activism. He was taken by the government and punished for his activism, but years later, fled to Egypt in 2003.
He worked with organizations to help stop torture and assisted interpreters for American University in Cairo, according to the Voices from Darfur pamphlet.