International Justice Events

"Justice for Darfur" speaker tour highlights

The crisis in Darfur continues to shock the conscience of the international community. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed by both deliberate and indiscriminate attacks, and over 2.5 million civilians have been displaced. To date, no one has faced trial for these abuses, and the violence continues.

In 2008, Amnesty activists hosted the "Justice for Darfur" speaker tour on college campuses, at law schools, high schools, and community spaces. Darfuri human rights advocates shared information about the conflict in Darfur and their perspectives on pursuing justice for human rights violations in their homeland.

This series of events would not have been possible without the support of Ms. Niemat Ahmadi and Mr. Bushara Dosa, who generously donated their time to participate in events nationwide and inspired hundreds of individuals.

Here, event hosts and volunteers reflected on their experiences of coordinating, experiencing and organizing action after their "Justice for Darfur" event.

Denver, CO
The University of Denver Sturm College of Law chapter of Amnesty hosted Bushara Dosa in October 2008 to share his experiences with working toward peace in Darfur. We hosted two events with Bushara. The first was a small dinner get-together consisting primarily of the DU Law Amnesty board members where we got to have an intimate conversation with Bushara about the work he does and his experiences with family and friends who remain in or have returned to Darfur. The second event was a lunch speaking event at the law school where Bushara gave a presentation about his organization, the Darfur People's Association of New York, which was followed by a question and answer session with the students in attendance. Both events were very successful and produced insightful discussions. All of us at the Sturm College of Law enjoyed learning about Bushara's experiences, and he brought much hope to those of us who share the common goal of achieving peace in Darfur.
(Submitted by Lisi Owen)

Gulfport, FL
The Amnesty International Chapter from Stetson University, College of Law invited Niemat to speak with us on the Dafuri genocide in November of 20008. About 25 people, including a professor and a member of the Florida Center for Survivors of Torture, attended the luncheon to hear Niemat speak about her experience. I swear you could hear a pin-drop when she was retelling her story. The follow-up questions were just as thought-provoking as Niemat's personal story. It seemed like the questions were getting at the core anxiety for us all: why did this happen and what can we do now. Niemat's story was so profound that I felt guilty for making her retell it just for our benefit. In any case, I'm sure I'm not the only one who walked away with a since of duty and renewed motivation for change. Our Amnesty Chapter also provided the audience with ample action materials and information on the event.
(Submitted by Zee Tran)

Tampa, FL
The minute I received the email that Ms. Niemat Ahmadi was going to be in the Tampa area and possibly speaking at USF I knew this was an opportunity we could not let slip by. Since being involved with the anti-genocide movement in 2006 with my student organization STAND, I am constantly looking for ways to bring the messages and cries for help from Darfur to USF and the Tampa Bay community. The event at USF came together very quickly, in about 2 weeks. It was my first time working with Amnesty International at USF and Tampa, and without all of us coming together quickly and working together so well this event would not have happened. I could not have asked for a better group of people to work with! The turn out was something we, or at least I, was not expecting. There was standing room only; it was cramped in our small room, and I felt overwhelmed that so many students and community members came out to here the story of a genocide survivor, and even more excited at how all the attendees wanted to get involved at both the campus and community level. This event showed that when we all come together and work hard together, we can make our message that much louder and that much stronger and help bring an end to the atrocities in Darfur.
(Submitted by Jen Drenth)

New York, NY
Amnesty-NYU, Amnesty-Brooklyn, and the Amnesty International Justice and Accountability Team co-hosted an event at New York University to support the International Criminal Court's work in Darfur. The event consisted of: a speaker presentation by Bushara Dosa, President of the Darfur Peoples Association of New York; the screening of a clip from the film, "Darfur Now" (2007); and discussion of what people can do to support the people of Darfur and to bring about the arrest and prosecution at the International Criminal Court of the two individuals for whom the ICC has issued arrest warrants. The event drew an audience of approximately 30 people.

During his presentation, Mr. Darfur gave a very descriptive overview of the history of the conflict in Darfur, the egregious human rights violations that have occurred there and the Sudanese government's responsibility for them, and the International Criminal Court's work in Darfur. He then answered questions from the audience. Afterward, Kathy Polias, Group Coordinator for Amnesty-Brooklyn, gave a very brief overview of the functioning of the International Criminal Court and highlighted the parts of Dosa's speech that focused on the International Criminal Court. The screening of the clip from "Darfur Now" followed. Then Kathy asked audience members to sign petitions to U.S. Secretary of State Rice and the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations requesting that the United States support the ICC's work in Darfur and mentioned other things that people can do to support the ICC's work in Darfur. The event ended with more questions for Mr. Dosa about the situation in Darfur.
(Submitted by Kathy Polias)

Los Angeles, CA
Hosted by the International Criminal Court Alliance, the Center for International Studies and Amnesty International, Bushara Dosa visited the University of Southern California (USC). In addition to USC students and professors, Bushara met with staff from the Center for International Studies and with Sean Butler (L.A. branch of the International Criminal Court Alliance) before addressing approximately 60 people. The crowd included noted community leader Reverend Cecil "Chip" Murray, Ted Braun (writer-director, "Darfur Now"), and a representative from the International Institute of Los Angeles. Bushara's talk was followed by 40 minutes of Q&A.
(Submitted by Kathy Brown)

North Hollywood, CA
At Campbell Hall School in North Hollywood, Bushara addressed a gathering of 30-40 students and teachers at Campbell Hall School (a private K-12 school). Attendees included members of the A.I. and STAND clubs at the school and other students who'd been excused from class to attend the talk. Students and teachers had many good questions after the talk and participated actively in discussions.
(Submitted by Kathy Brown)

Ojai, CA
Thacher School, a boarding school in rural Ojai, provided a warm welcome to speaker Bushara Dosa and AIUSA staff member Kathy Brown. Thanks to a phone interview a couple days earlier, the Wednesday edition of the Ojai Valley News (local newspaper) carried a front-page story about Bushara and announced the event. We had a good-sized crowd in the auditorium, including students, faculty, and some people from the community who'd read the newspaper article. Thacher School has four student clubs (including an A.I. club) working on Darfur, a strong showing of human rights activism in this school of about 200 students. The students and the adults present had very thoughtful questions. Afterwards, Cecilia Ortiz (Thacher School A.I. club faculty advisor) took us out to dinner in town. Many thanks to Ms. Ortiz and her students for hosting Mr. Dosa and Ms. Brown!
(Submitted by Kathy Brown)