Witnessing Darfur

Witnessing Darfur: Press Release

Witnessing Darfur, a multimedia expo to raise awareness about the current humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of the Sudan, will be presented by the Wits Darfur Awareness Committee in conjunction with the South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS). The exhibition will run from 24 - 30 April 2007 from 8am - 5pm in the Senate House Concourse. The public is invited to attend the open days from 27-30 April.

The exhibition aims to draw attention to the ongoing atrocities that have been occurring in Darfur for the past three years, which have been described by the United Nations as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. The conflict has claimed the lives of over 400,000 people and resulting in over two million refugees. From 24-30 April 2007, human rights activists from all over the world will come together to mark the Global Day for Darfur.

Caylee Talpert, Wits Darfur Awareness Committee member, says: "The exhibition coincides with Freedom Day on 27 April. As South Africans commemorate the end of the oppressive apartheid regime, we need to show we are not indifferent to those who are still suffering."

She continues: "We believe that as South African students it is time to add our voices to the call to end the ongoing violence and show that we will not turn a blind eye to the suffering of others. The Darfur conflict is rooted in Africa and the international community has been ineffective in its attempt to stop the bloodshed. It is therefore up to us, South African civil society to take a stand to try to ensure Africa takes the lead in resolving this crisis."

The Darfur Awareness Committee consists of individuals from different backgrounds and prominent members of a variety of Wits societies including the Model UN, SASCO, Golden Key, SAUJS and Rag clubs.

Zaakirah Ismail, another committee member states: "As societies of different backgrounds we are united by the common link of upholding human rights and justice upon which our democratic country is founded."

The event will feature:

• An exhibition, Genocide and Darfur, created by the UK-based Aegis Trust which was launched in London in September 2006 to mark the Global Day for Darfur.
• Wall-size images from the Darfur/Darfur exhibition which were projected onto the outside walls of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington during November 2006.
• Multiple screenings of the documentary film, Darfur Diaries: A Message From Home, directed by Aisha Bain, Adam Shapiro and Jen Marlow. The film records the testimonies of refugees who have fled the conflict. Through the voices of Darfurians from all sectors of society, an appeal is made to the world to hear their plight.

"We cannot claim to have learned the lessons of the 1994 Rwandan genocide if our action in the face of genocide or violence remains half-hearted. Action is particularly needed in Darfur, where the threat of genocide continues to loom large."

Juan Mendes, Special Adviser to United Nations on genocide.

For further details contact Russel Brueton 084 519 0236, Zaakirah Ismail 083 640 6596 or Caylee Talpert 082 363 8864.

Comments

[Gary]

"Multiple screenings of the documentary film, Darfur Diaries: A Message From Home, directed by Aisha Bain, Adam Shapiro and Jen Marlow".

Is this Adam Shapiro the same terrorist thug and kapo from the International Solidarity Movement?

[Richard Griffin]

Yes, I believe it is he.