Be among those to hear the stories of survivors of the genocide happening in Sudan’s western region of Darfur. The Save Darfur Coalition’s Voices from Darfur campaign – a national speaking tour featuring Darfuri refugees, will visit the College of Saint Elizabeth (CSE ), on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 7 p.m. in the Octagon in Mahoney Library on campus.  

Admission is free and open to the public. Groups are requested to call in advance. For more information or reservations, contact Paula Fernandes, director of the CSE Volunteerism and Service Learning at (973) 290-4245 or via e-mail at pfernandes@cse.edu.

“The Voices from Darfur tour seeks to ensure that the millions of Darfurians affected by this genocide do not go unheard,” said Ms. Fernandes, whose office is sponsoring the event along with the CSE Students Take Action Committee and the College’s Honors Program. “It is my hope that those attending April 16 will not forget what they heard, but instead use what they have learned to spread awareness and become a voice for the people of Darfur.”

Launched in summer 2007, Voices from Darfur highlights speakers such as Daoud Hari, who fled his village in 2003 after months of bombings by his own government. Mr. Hari risked his life as a translator for The New York Times, BBC and National Geographic, among others and was arrested in Sudan on false espionage charges while translating for Chicago Tribune reporter Paul Salopek in 2006. After 35 days in jail, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson negotiated Mr. Salopek and Hari’s release. Soon thereafter, the U.S. government granted Mr. Hari refugee status.

Since February 2003, as many as 400,000 people are estimated to have died in Darfur and 2.5 million have been displaced as a result of what President Bush and Congress have call genocide. Suffering in Darfur continues to intensify as a result of the genocide, which is sponsored by the Sudanese government and perpetrated by the Janjaweed militias. In June 2007, a U.N. spokesperson stated that nearly 140,000 civilians have been displaced since the beginning of the year. Four million people are now affected by the crisis, which has spread from Sudan into neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic.

The Save Darfur Coalition raises public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and mobilizes a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of people throughout the Darfur region. It is an alliance of more than 180 faith-based, advocacy and humanitarian organizations. The coalition’s member organizations represent 130 million people of all ages, races, religions and political affiliations united together to help the people of Darfur. For more information on the coalition, please visit www.savedarfur.org.