Student groups speak out about Darfur

While December usually finds IU students and faculty pushing through crowds to get to their seats at basketball games, this year, several organizations are pushing crowds to take action against genocide in Darfur.\nMembers of Students Taking Action Now: Darfur are fasting today for the second annual DarfurFast and are giving up luxury items in order to raise money and awareness to fight the genocide in Sudan’s western region. A fast-breaking dinner will be held at 6 p.m. today in Woodburn Hall Room 111 and will be followed by a screening of the documentary film, “Darfur Diaries.” \nThe idea behind this fast is that the money people would have spent on food or luxury items, such as coffee or snacks, will go to the Genocide Intervention Network’s civilian protection program,” STAND President Katie Wolt said.\nThe Genocide Intervention Network is a nonprofit organization that believes governments must protect their own citizens from genocide and other human-rights violations.\nIndiana has become a center for refugees fleeing Darfur, where United Nations reports have placed the dead at more than 400,000 with millions more displaced from the region.\nJoe Johns, director of missional living at the Fellowship Missionary Church in Fort Wayne, said many of the refugees in Indiana struggle to make new lives for themselves.\n“When Sudanese moved here, they usually have had some kind of formal education and are more capable of integrating into American culture,” Johns said. “For Darfuris, the transition is much more difficult.”\nJohns said while refugees with some education can receive a livable working wage in a manufacturing factory, many barely have enough English skills to hold a job.\n“In a family of six or seven, a wage of $6 or $7 doesn’t go very far,” he said.\nAs Americans, Johns said people can still never provide enough of what a refugee needs once displaced from his or her home country.\nLocally, however, the Bloomington Faculty Council is trying to improve conditions for Darfuris by lobbying for IU to divest its funds from Sudan.\n“I don’t know if the University will follow this resolution (or) not follow this resolution, but what I do know is the faculty has made its intentions very clear, and I hope the University will respond,” said Steve Weitzman, professor of religious studies and Jewish studies.\nThe resolution, B10-2008, calls for IU to pull its investments from any business that supports the Sudanese government. Weitzman said the idea for the bill came with the state’s approval of a similar bill.\n“If the state felt so important about this and did something about it, certainly IU should do something about it,” Weitzman said.\nBut, he said, this is not only a bureaucratic issue. Universities around the country, such as Brown University and Harvard University, are joining the movement of divestment to financially hinder the progression of genocide in Darfur.\n“This is the first time in history that a genocide has been recognized when it was still happening,” Weitzman said. “This is the first opportunity people have had to make a difference and hopefully stop it.”\nRight now, the money affected would be the trustees’ retirement fund and operational monies, but Weitzman said it’s a tricky matter because many businesses are not invested directly in Darfur, but still have hidden interests.\nFor example, several faculty members have their retirement funds entrusted in Fidelity Investments, which this summer claimed to have no U.S. monies invested in Darfur, Weitzman said. While this is technically true, he said, the company does depend largely on Chinese oil companies that supply the Sudanese government with about 60 percent of its military needs.\nWeitzman said IU President Michael McRobbie’s visit to China further complicates the issue. \n“I think the University really needs to grapple with the moral responsibility that relationship entails,” Weitzman said. “It’s not just an economic relationship, but there are moral implications as well.”\nWolt agreed, saying although STAND encourages partnerships between nations, there is no reason for McRobbie to take such an economic initiative to establish stronger ties with China. \n“There are ways of having an ethical bond with China. If we do divest our funds, China will not look kindly upon this,” Wolt said. “But we have a moral obligation of while we’re doing that to say that ‘We want to work with you, but we also want to let you know that we don’t support this investment in Sudan.’”\nSome members of STAND e-mailed McRobbie to discourage him from tightening economic bonds with China in what they view as an unethical fashion, Wolt said. \nAs fuel is added to the fiery debate at IU, Johns said people continue to suffer in Darfur.\n“Getting to know refugees means you’re just one degree away from making a difference in world crises,” Johns said. “Refugees are people who come from some of the worst places in the world, especially from violence and social injustice.”\nEven though groups around the state are making efforts to ease tension in Darfur, only about 50 students are expected to attend DarfurFast.\n“Now we really want students to stand up to make their voices clear,” Wolt said. “Write to the newspaper and administration. ... If faculty hasn’t made too much of an effect, maybe students can. We want people to really push this hard and see that this is the most practical and effective way to get involved with a huge complex problem.”