Camp Darfur

Camp Darfur has been the most complicated, interesting, frustrating, exhilarating and explosive project I have ever been apart of at High Tech High. It has also been of the most fun and the most meaningful. How many high school students can say they have been part of the crusade to stop genocide? Not many. And when you think about it, that is all what High Tech High is about. This project has much to say about our school and what we do here. Basically, this genocide awareness project was a two part process. The first was titled In-Action, consisting of initial planning, researching and educating others about genocide. Here, we created an installation which represented the number of fatalities our genocide has experienced. This was the initial stage. The next part was called Camp Darfur. This was where we put all of our knowledge into. For two days, we hosted a genocide event where people would walk around, listen to guest speakers, and experience what is going on around the world. This project has taught me about the power of the people and how it is possible to make a difference.

My partners and I researched on the genocide in Burma, located in South-East Asia. For weeks, we researched the genocide and became experts on the subject. We then created an action plan that would be carried out at Camp Darfur. We wanted to demonstrate something – do something physical. We had the idea to read a collection of stories, recollections and poems of what is actually going on in Burma. While we gave this presentation, everyone would lie down, symbolizing the fallen civilians in Burma. All the people who were involved were given a candle to commemorate the victimized. This was an effective way to present the information while instilling the barbaric imagery to the people. When it came down to our demonstration, it was nearly perfect. We were told that it was brilliant and I whole heartedly agree.

I believe that this was an amazing event. It showed how students can actively change the world around us. While I do not believe it will change foreign policy, I do believe that it is a good example of genocide education. Camp Darfur has several guest speakers who shared their personal knowledge of varies genocides. A few Sudanese men spoke about their fight to escape and what the government is capable of. Intense stories of death, resistance and murder were told. People who had no idea of what was going on were amazed. How can we stand idly by while thousands of innocents are dying? was a common question. Well, it is a shame but that is how bureaucracy and politics work. While working on this project, I have learned why action has not taken place. Where was the action in Iraq, Rwanda and Armenia? It’s sad, but many countries do not acknowledge a situation a genocide until it is over. This just might be the case in Darfur. Hopefully, there will action if more people are aware of the situation.