ROCK 4 DARFUR

 The University of Missouri St. Louis chapter of Amnesty International, a non-governmental agency widely known for staging protests to end abuses of human rights throughout the globe, shook the walls of UM-St. Louis’ Pilot House on Saturday with “Rock 4 Darfur.” 

Student activists associated with Amnesty International hosted the benefit concert for refugees in Darfur. About 40 students engaged in the event which provided cultural food, a speech by an advocate of Sudanese rights, and of course, music. 

Volunteers collected five dollars at the door, and bands “Lucid in Obscurity” and “Rhyme or Reason” did their best to keep the mood light with uproarious anthems. However, the serious overtones of the night lingered through both sets. 

 

Darfur is a region of Sudan. The Northern and Southern sections of Darfur have been in a state of civil war for decades. According to BBC news, Darfur has never held a public election, but rather a series of military coups. The current government, headed by President Omar al-Bashir, rose to power by coup in 1993, and is still recognized as a military regime. 

In 2003, violence flared up in Darfur. Black African rebel organizations, the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), began attacking the government. BBC News reported complaints of discrimination and neglect by their largely Muslim government. 

 

President Omar al-Bashir has overseen a bloody response with the deployment of “self-defense militias.” The UN estimates since 2003, over 300,000 people in Darfur have died and 2.7 million have been displaced. Entire villages have been burnt to the ground. To this day, the conflict remains sensitive and often explosive. 

 

“The issue in Darfur has been going on for too long, hundreds of thousands have died, millions of people have been displaced. ” Rachelle Kuhl, senior, political science said. “We want to raise enough money to get more attention for the situation.” 

 

Last year Kuhl, president of the UM-St. Louis chapter of Amnesty International, helped organize a similar event, “Reggae 4 Darfur.” This year the event was renamed “Rock 4 Darfur” because the group could not bring back reggae groups to perform. 

 

Eric Ndichu, a Washington University graduate student who has had first-hand experience with the situation in Darfur, made a poignant connection to St. Louis during his speech on the matter. 

 

“People are being killed because they are Christians and they are black. We are talking about 400,000 people. 

That’s like the entire population of St. Louis. 

Just close your eyes and imagine the entirety of St. Louis being wiped out by a government bomb,” Ndichu said.

Ndichu was attending the University of Nairobi when the Northern and Southern regions of the Sudan were engaged in heated civil war. 

 

He mobilized a group of six students to travel through the Sudan and volunteer as teachers and help with war relief.

“Why bother? It is a country way out there. Why bother?” Ndichu said of the conflict. 

This deals with a question echoed by some Americans. “Well, this is genocide. It has happened in 2008 and it is happening today.”

The issue, as Ndichu described it, is a global concern. 

 

Aside from the African Union, which hopes to bring peace to the Sudan region, the United States and China are key components to its resolution. 

Both remain in opposition regarding the conflict. 

 

“The U.S. has played a big role in relief efforts and organizing a peace agreement between the North and South, so there is a lot of hope,” Ndichu said. 

“But China remains a big player in the Sudan conflict. 

It mines a lot of oil from the Sudan, and gives arms in exchange.” 

 

Events like “Rock 4 Darfur” are one way to raise money for awareness and refugees in Sudan. 

There are a number of organizations that help directly with Darfur as well. 

 

The St. Louis Save Darfur Coalition and Amnesty International in particular are continuing to influence legislation, and appreciate any and all help to further their cause.