[Peace] Darfur event at Channing-murray next Wednesday

[Nancy Dietrich]

Wednesday, November 1st, 7:00p.m.
at The Channing-Murray Foundation, 1209 W. Oregon, Urbana

Action Darfur at the University of Illinois presents “Stop the Genocide
in Darfur: An Evening of Education and
Action” in the Channing-Murray Chapel.  Admission is free and open to the
public.

The documentary, "Darfur Diaries," will be shown on the big screen, and
action items will be presented on what YOU can do to help the people of
Darfur.  This is the first in a series of events on the Darfur crisis
that will be presented by Action Dafur and other University of Illinois
student organizations.



Armed Conflict has been raging in the Darfur region of Western Sudan
since 2003 and the violence only continues to worsen. Air and ground
assaults have resulted in the complete decimation of countless villages.
During these attacks, civilians were murdered, women and girls raped,
children abducted and food and water sources destroyed. In the last few
months, according to the United Nations News Center and the UN Special
Reporter for human rights in the Sudan, Sima Samar, the situation has
“dramatically deteriorated,” bringing violence levels to unprecedented
heights. Death tolls ranging from 50, 000 to 400,000 have been reported
by various non-governmental organizations.

"Darfur Diaries: Messages From Home" is an hour-long film where you will
hear the people of Darfur (both those displaced inside Darfur and those
living in refugee camps in Chad) speak for themselves about their
experiences, their fears, and their hopes for the future, during a time
of conflict in the region which has been termed a "genocide." The film
probes the history, culture and heritage of Darfur as a means of
deepening understanding of the crisis and complicating easily assumed
perceptions by which the conflict is often portrayed (such as matters of
race, ethnicity
or religion).

Discussion and light refreshments, including “Fair Trade” Coffee, Tea and
Juice, will follow the event. Presented by UIUC Action Darfur, the
Channing-Murray Young Adult Group and the Channing-Murray Programming
Committee.

The Channing-Murray Foundation is a Unitarian-Universalist Campus Center
at the University of Illinois. Channing-Murray is known throughout the
UIUC campus community for its good music, great food, and the opportunity
to engage in nonjudgmental spiritual exploration. Social Justice Programs
and Writing, dance and arts workshops flourish, and our chapel hosts a
wide array of community forums, concerts, poetry slams, and student
theatrical productions.