February’s Darfur Heroes

The Darfur Action Group of South Carolina (DAGSC) was formed in late 2005 by 6 people who refused to accept that concerned individuals did not have the power to make a difference. Our primary purpose has been to make the citizens of South Carolina more aware of the atrocities occurring in Darfur, Sudan. In October, 2007 we organized a rally for Darfur at our State House entitled "South Carolina Responds to Genocide." The response was overwhelming. Please check out this link to our website to see a short video montage of the rally.

A rally, however, is only a beginning. It's the effect it has on those attending and what comes after, that really makes the difference. Please read this entry from Shannon Looney, a senior at South Aiken High School, and I think you will agree:

"Last October, my friends and I from South Aiken High stood among the thousands gathered on the South Carolina State House grounds at the ‘Rally for Darfur'. At the time we didn't imagine that three months later we'd be traveling around the state as Darfur activists. At the event we signed petitions, bought bracelets, cheered, and even danced wildly as we committed ourselves to saving Darfur. That day nearly 5,000 people came together to show their support for the people of Darfur. Collectively, we shared a newfound responsibility to do what we could to bring genocide to an end.

"The upcoming South Carolina presidential primaries would soon provide a perfect opportunity to share our newfound commitment with presidential candidates and fellow voters. As part of a statewide effort to ‘Ask the Candidates' about Darfur, we donned orange shirts, which boldly stated, ‘I Vote for Darfur', and set out to meet the candidates as they asked South Carolinians for their votes. We attended multiple rallies and town hall meetings and talked to voters about why they should consider the genocide in Darfur an important issue for the next President. We answered questions such as, ‘Who's Darfur?' and ‘Will it really affect us if we help people in Africa?'

"We worked hard to make our presence known. We were excited when the candidates started recognizing us at their events and saved clippings mentioning us in the local paper. We collected hundreds of signatures on letters to President Bush at rallies in Columbia, handed out flyers about Darfur to people attending town hall meetings in Aiken, and collected more than 1,700 signatures on letters to the candidates in a single day at our school. When Jo Read, the DAGSC field organizer, called to tell us that our letters had helped get three of the candidates to sign a resolution written by DAGSC asking candidates to pledge full support for UNAMID peacekeepers, we were proud of all our hard work.

"The primaries have come and gone, but we have not forgotten the promise that we made to ourselves at the rally last October. We will soon implement an education plan at high schools and in communities to help people better understand the situation in Darfur. We will build a ‘Tent for Hope', paint it with pictures of our hope and passion, and camp in it at a statewide rally. We will have a concert, raise our voices in song, and give money to help the people of Darfur. Our group is diverse in many ways, and that only makes us stronger. Each new voice has a new perspective and a new approach to helping end the crisis in Darfur. If I could tell people one thing we've learned from getting involved with Darfur Action, I'd say: ‘Use your voice. Join the chorus, because eventually people are bound to listen'."