Crisis in Darfur: A week of awareness, a call to action
UCLA International Institute
– Contact: Christa Hall 714.791.1997
[email protected]
UCLA students and activists rally together to host “crisis in darfur: a week of awareness, a call to action” (feb 28 – Mar 3)
LOS ANGELES, CA february 12, 2005 — On Monday, February 28, UCLA will
convene a week of events titled “Crisis in Darfur: A Week of Awareness, A
Call to Action.” The week begins with a panel discussion on Monday
February 28, 6pm, Kerckhoff Grand Salon, titled “Genocide and Denial:
Past, Present, and Future” featuring Jok Madut Jok (LMU), Levon
Marashlian (Glendale Community College), Alexandre Kimenyi (CSU-
Sacramento), and Richard Eaton (Simon Wiesenthal Center) speaking on
Darfur, the Armenian genocide, Rwanda, and the Holocaust. On Tuesday,
March 1, 6pm, Moore 100, John Prendergast, Special Advisor to the
President of the International Crisis Group, will speak on effective ways
to take action on the crisis following a screening of “Nightline: A View
from the Ground on the Killing in Northeast Africa with Actor Don
Cheadle.” Wednesday, March 2, is the Plea for Peace Candlight Vigil,
6-8pm, Bruin Plaza with special music, spoken word, and images of Darfur.
On Thursday, March 3, Kerckhoff Grand Salon, 6-9pm, distinguished academics and experts explore the use of systematic violence and rape against women of Darfur in “Crisis in Darfur: Responding to Violence Against Women.” The talk features Edmond Keller, moderator (UCLA Globalization Research Center-Africa), Sondra Hale (UCLA), Georgette Gagnon (Human Rights Watch), Suliman Giddo (Darfur Peace and
Development), and Christine Nadori (Doctors Without Borders).
The violence in the Darfur region of western Sudan intensified in 2003 when two groups, the Sudanese Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement declared rebellion against the government of Sudan for fear of being excluded from the agreements between the North and the South. Khartoum responded aggressively, allegedly backing the so-called jinjaweid militias (evil on horseback) which have committed genocidal acts against citizens in Darfur. The US State Department estimates that over 300,000 people have perished and 2.5 million have been displaced since the conflict began.
“Crisis in Darfur: A Week of Awareness, A Call to Action” is hosted by the Darfur Action Committee, a coalition of students groups at UCLA, primarily concerned with raising awareness about the crisis in Darfur on campus and in the greater community. The DAC calls upon the US, the international community, the UN, and the Sudanese government to strengthen their resolve in ending the ongoing atrocities in Darfur. “Never again” has become “once again,” and we shall not allow these crimes against humanity to go unchallenged.
Sponsored by the UCLA International Institute, Undergraduate Students’ Association Council-Office of the External Vice President, UCLA Globalization Research Center-Africa, UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center, and UCLA Waiverpool.
– For updated event info please visit www.international.ucla.edu/africa
– For more information please contact the DAC at [email protected], or call
(310)780-0736.
– Directions to UCLA: http://www.ucla.edu/map/ or call 310-825-4321 for
recorded directions, Free and open to the public; Parking: $7, go to information booth 6 on
Westwood.