Photo: Pleasantville High School
06/08/2006

All over the country, student activists have kept the genocide in Darfur on the national agenda. In mid-may, Pleasantville High School students joined with Refugees International to stop the genocide in Darfur.

“Taking the initiative to save Darfur is easy,” explained Michelle, a Pleasantville High student. “The first thing to do is to inform yourself as much as possible. Read the newspaper, go online, do whatever you can to keep yourself updated. Next, join a Human Rights group at school. If your school does not have one, find other people who are interested in helping the victims of Darfur. Then decide what type of approach you would like to take. The possibilities are endless. You could have a candlelight vigil, an assembly, or a dinner. Other options are having a concert, making T-shirts, or writing letters to your county's Congressman or Congresswoman. Whatever you do decide to do, have fun and remember all the people that will benefit because you took the initiative to help”

The students at Pleasantville held two events that focused on Darfur. They hosted a school assembly, at which Refugees International spoke to students about the genocide in Darfur. Students also held a fundraiser for Refugees International and the Genocide Intervention Network.

Michelle explained how she became seized to take action. “I attended a conference sponsored by the Westchester Holocaust Education Center with a group of nine other students from the Pleasantville High School,” she said. “The goal of the conference was to raise awareness about the issues that face our world today. There was a lot of focus on the crisis in Darfur, Sudan. We heard from a speaker who described the atrocities that are occurring in this region of Africa. It literally broke my heart to hear that hundreds of thousands of people have been systematically killed, raped, beaten, and displaced. How could I sit back and watch this happen before my very eyes? I had to do something. “

“As part of a follow-up to the conference, we were asked to raise awareness about an issue of our choice,” she explained. “My group and I decided to focus on the Darfur crisis. Our county executive, Andy Spano, declared May 18th to be Upstander's Day to encourage students to take the initiative to stand up for what they believe to be noble and just. On May 18th my group and I held an assembly and encouraged the student body to wear green, the color of Darfur, to support this cause of saving Darfur. We were delighted to hear a first hand report on Darfur from Michelle Brown, representative for Refugees International at the United Nations. Ms. Brown first showed us a DVD on Darfur. The DVD was entitled "On Our Watch" and was a great introduction for the students who had no idea of the situation in Darfur. She then explained exactly what is happening, and how the civilians of Darfur are being attacked on all sides by the janjaweed, the Sudanese government, and other rebel groups. The assembly was a great success and definitely raised awareness.”

The following night, the group hosted a pizza dinner to raise money to help the victims of Darfur. “My group and I had a lot of fun preparing for the dinner,” said Michelle. The night culminated with a concert featuring one of the group members playing the violin in two string quartets. “The support we received from our community was overwhelming,” she explained. “We were able to raise enough money to send to two different organizations, Refugees International and The Genocide Intervention Network.

Refugees International would like to thank Pleasantville High School for their support. Their donation will help us continue our lifesaving advocacy on behalf of the people of Darfur.