Every day students at Hendrix College are immersed in the current events of nations around the world, but often it takes hearing first-hand experiences for the reality to sink in.
And that is exactly what happened in the Staples Auditorium on Thursday during the Voices from Darfur national speaking tour.
Cait Conn, a Hendrix student and co-chair of the Volunteer Action Committee that hosted the event, said although she knew about the genocide and other atrocities taking place in Darfur, a western region of Sudan, she didn't understand just how inspired she was to help the people affected.
"One of the biggest things that inspired me from this event was the fact that we are not just Americans, we are part of a big global community and I can't just walk around and let this happen," Conn said Saturday. "This is happening everyday and I can't really ignore that - I could choose to, but I know I shouldn't."
The program began with a film introduced by Katie Pratt, the Hendrix student who was instrumental in bringing the tour to Conway, which showed the group exactly what is going on in Africa, and the main speaker was Abu Asal Abu Asal, a refugee from Darfur.
Conn said Abu Asal offered a different perspective on his homeland than most of the audience had heard on the news or seen in documentaries.
"He really didn't want to talk about the atrocity going on in Darfur and he said he didn't want to tell any horror stories about the specific things that happened to him," Conn said. "Instead he talked about good stories of his life growing up in Darfur and then how that all changed. And the Hendrix students really appreciated the fact that he didn't tell all the horror stories and he was very relaxed and professional and positive, but still kept it realistic."
During Abu Asal's speech, Conn said he pointed out to the audience that the genocide in Darfur is the only time a situation has been declared genocide while it is happening.
"He said his main point was that he wanted to end genocide not just in Darfur, but everywhere, because this is not the first time it has happened in this region and of course it isn't the first time it has happened throughout the world," Conn said. "He told us we are all one big human family and he didn't think the situation would change without international help and international intervention."
Conn said she and other students agreed after the event that the group of people who could make the biggest impact on what is happening all over the world are those in her age group.
"College is a time when your eyes are open to the world and you don't have your parents there to guide you," Conn said. "And you are starting to see a bigger world out there and all these people are in it."
Although Conn said the event was a success and she was very pleased with the presentations, she was a bit disappointed with the turnout of the community outside of Hendrix.
"When I was sitting at the table giving people information, I had a lot of people asking about what is happening there and I was really floored that anyone at our school or in the community didn't know," Conn said.
However, she said she did see a man come in about 30 minutes before the event started, sit down in the auditorium and read a recent newspaper article about Darfur.
She said this was exactly what she wanted to see and if she and other members of V.A.C. could raise awareness one person at a time, then it was worth it.
Conn said Pratt worked hard for more than a year to bring someone from Darfur to speak to the Hendrix students and the central Arkansas community and she added the event was funded by a grant through the Student Initiated Grant program.
She also said after the event, audience members were given contact information for local senators and representatives so they could open discussion with government officials about ways to improve the situation.
(Staff writer Jessica Bauer can be reached by e-mail at jessica.bauer@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1236. To comment on this and other stories in the Log Cabin, log on to www.thecabin.net. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)
