Benefit
for People of Darfur to Take Place at Smith
 Murder,
violence and terror continue in the Darfur region of western
Sudan though a peace treaty has been negotiated between the
country’s government and a major rebel group.
Now in its third
year, the conflict between government-supported Arab militias
and non-Arab peoples in Darfur has claimed an estimated 400,000
lives and displaced more than 2 million people. Millions more
face starvation and disease.
Inspired by the
ongoing efforts by Eric Reeves, professor of English language
and literature at Smith, to focus international awareness
on the Sudan crisis and advocate for human rights there, Smith
College is joining some 20 regional organizations in sponsoring
“Witnessing Darfur,” a benefit for victims of
the Sudan conflict, on Wednesday, June 21.
The benefit, which
will take place from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in Stoddard Hall, is coordinated
by the Congregation B’nai Israel Darfur Action Group.
Stoddard Hall is wheelchair-accessible.
The event will
include a talk by Peter Chambang, a student at Western New
England College in Springfield who escaped his native Sudan,
as well as comments by Reeves about the current situation
in the north African country. Also, the event will feature
the screening of two brief films on Darfur produced by the
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and an exhibition of artwork
by children from Darfur.
“In the
absence of robust international humanitarian intervention—to
protect desperately vulnerable civilians and increasingly
threatened humanitarian operations —hundreds of thousands
of human beings will die,” says Reeves. “If we
fail, we ensure that there will never again be any meaning
to ‘never again.’”
Benefit organizers
hope to raise $10,000 for the Sudan Aid Fund, which is administered
by the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts to provide
food, clothing and shelter for people in Darfur.
Donations will
be accepted in cash or check at the benefit. To make a donation
before or after, mail checks, payable to Sudan Aid Fund, to
Community Foundation of Western Masssachusetts, P.O. Box 15769,
Springfield, MA 01115-5769.
For more information
on the benefit, contact Henry Rosenberg, 586-9781.
-EW
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