 "Photo:")
Nov. 13, 2008
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The National Mall in Washington, D.C. was transformed into a refugee camp last weekend as more than 100 canvas tents were erected to draw political attention to the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan.
The sociology department sent three students to rally with more than 500 other students, church members and Darfur refugees at the "Gathering of the Tents," said junior Whitney Salis, one of the attendees. Salis got involved in the event because of a class she is taking.
"Genocide and Mass Persuasion in the 20th Century," an honors class taught by professor Carol Edelman, completed "Tents of Hope," a project that normally takes a year to complete, within eight weeks, Salis said.
The whole class helped make it a successful venture, but only three students went to represent Chico State in Washington, D.C.
"We broke into groups to design, fundraise and organize, but we all decorated the tent together," said junior Evan Wasserman another students that went to Washington, D.C.
Children and refugees from the conflict in Darfur will find asylum in the canvas tent, surrounded by silhouettes of students holding hands and messages of hope, Salis said. The tent was sent to the border of Sudan and Chad to be used as a classroom or housing for Sudanese refugees.
More than 200,000 people in Sudan have died due to violence, malnutrition and disease, according to the Genocide Intervention Network Web site.
"Their plight is recognized," Salis said. "It feels amazing to know our tent is on the way to helping people."
The tent was displayed Oct. 20 and 21 in the Free Speech Area where students helped decorate it and signed a petition to get the president of Sudan prosecuted for genocide.
"Omar al-Bashir, the president, has let tens of thousands of his own people die," Wasserman said. "We are trying to get him arrested."
Days before the rally in Washington, D.C., students tried to deliver the people's arrest warrant to the Sudanese embassy, but were stopped in front of the steps of the building, Salis said.
Another petition that students at Chico State signed was to make Darfur a no-fly zone, Wasserman said. The government uses helicopters to bomb and shoot people, and its goal is to limit their accessibility.
More than 500 students signed the Chico State petition, Salis said.
The three students that went to Washington, D.C. also attended a conference, hosted by STAND, a student-led division of the Genocide Intervention Network.
"We learned how to lobby, be leaders for the cause and influence our government," said Salis, who recently joined the Chico State chapter of STAND. "They spoke to us about other genocides in Burma and the Congo, and how we can help."
Donations and awareness are key to stopping the genocide, Wasserman said.
"The more awareness, the more people will try to stop it," he said. "The more people do nothing, the more it's going to occur."
Kelly O'Connor can be reached at koconnor@theorion.com
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