Columnist echoes students' cries

Last week, a mock refugee camp stood near Polk Place, drawing attention to the deaths of thousands in Sudan.

Today, in what some hope will be the state’s largest demonstration against genocide in Darfur, about 100 students will stand in the middle of campus, holding photos of the casualties in a battle over land and resources.

Wednesday night, Nicholas Kristof brought those images into focus.

The long-time New York Times columnist and arguably the biggest media voice opposing genocide shared his experiences in Darfur through the words of others.

He told the story of a woman who had her baby son torn from her arms. She saw his throat slashed in front of her.

She and her two sisters were carried off by militia on horseback and gang-raped for two days. Her sisters were killed, and she was stabbed in the leg, marked as a rape victim.

Kristof told a packed house in 111 Carroll Hall to imagine themselves in the victims’ place and to feel empowered to act against the horror in Darfur. The overflow crowd forced some to watch this sobering call to action on a video screen in a separate room.

At least 300,000 blacks have been killed by the Sudanese Arab government and its rebel armies, and more are dying at the rate of about 10,000 each month, Kristof said. More than 2 million have been chased from destroyed villages.

“I wish you could see the people on the ground,” he said.

The atrocities deserve international attention, Kristof said, but the United States and other developed nations have mishandled genocides like this in the past, in part because they thought little could be done.

The presence of Western troops would aggravate the situation, but the United States could help aid African Union troops on the ground, he said.

President Bush already has saved tens of thousands of lives by negotiating peace in a separate conflict — the Muslim North’s massacre of the Christian South of Sudan, Kristof said.

He argued Bush could do the same for Darfur because the Sudanese government will listen to reason. “They saw a problem and tried to solve it in the most economical way they could,” he said.

The United States has helped with Darfur’s humanitarian needs but has ignored its security, he said. “When people are being slaughtered and raped and mutilated, then you offer them food afterwards, a pat on the back and a Band-Aid — it’s kind of missing the point.”

Kristof noted the importance of public awareness. One of the bloodiest months of the genocide came in January, when the world was distracted by the Southeast Asian tsunami disaster.

The more eyes there are watching Sudan, the less violence there will be, he said. “Moral force really does count for something,” he reminded the crowd.

After Wednesday’s lecture, audience members had the opportunity to sign pre-written letters addressed to U.S. congressmen, vocalizing their desire for government action.

Today’s student demonstration, Stand for Darfur, will take place in Polk Place from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and feature speakers including Abdalla Adam of the Darfur Peace and Development Organization.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.