Genocide Power Point

           John Heffernan addressed the topic of genocide in today’s world; he stressed that the way to make sure genocide never happens again is to create a community of conscience that will affect the entire world, including decision makers.  This concept is important because it is vital not only to respond to genocide but also to prevent it.  Although there are different tools to help this happen, such as the U. S. Holocaust Museum, the Genocide Prevention Task Force, and over 1,000 chapters of Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, there were more than 800,000 tutsis systematically murdered in Rwanda, about 250,000 people murdered in former Yugoslavia, and 450,000 murdered in Sudan.  Still the world dares to say: “NEVER AGAIN!”
            John Heffernan traveled to Darfur, Sudan, to collect testimonies and saw firsthand the situation.  The men there were murdered, and the women were raped; their lifestyles have been destroyed with the loss of homes, family, and livestock.   Many of the people who managed to escape died slowly in the dessert because the Sudanese government blocked any kind of international help.  Historic tensions between ethnicities in this territory have been the cause for the more than 450,000 deaths, 2.5 million homeless, 230,000 people in refugee camps in Chad, and thousands of villages being destroyed.  If you would like to take a closer look at the situation, you may download Google Earth and activate the “Global Awareness” control.
            Heffernan finished with a quote by Elie Wiesel that reads, “Let us remember: what hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor but the silence of the bystander,” and said “let us stop being bystanders.” If you would like to find out what you can do to help, click here.