Affected Clapping

“In the afternoon we returned from school and saw the planes. We were all looking, not imagining about bombing. Then they began the bombing. The first bomb [landed] in our garden, then four bombs at once in the garden. The bombs killed six people, including a young boy, a boy carried by his mother, and a girl. In another place in the garden a women was carrying her baby son—she was killed, not him. Now my nights are hard because I feel frightened. We became homeless. I cannot forget the bad images of the burning houses and fleeing at night because our village was burned…”

Written by Taha, a 13 or 14 year old boy in Darfur.

Mr. Mayo, a teacher, started a campaign called Many Voices for Darfur, an attempt to gather as many teachers and students to rally around the genocide occurring in Darfur.

The online event took place for 48 hours starting March 6th. Mr. Mayo asked the following of everyone who wanted to contribute:

“Men, women, and children in the Darfur region of Sudan are dying. The Sudan militia and Janjaweed are responsible for as many as 500,000 deaths and 2,500,000 displaced refugees. You can learn more about the genocide taking place in Darfur by visiting the Many Voices for Darfur Wiki. Once you have had a chance to learn more about Darfur, please post your comment to one or more of the following prompts below:

1. If you could visit the camps in Chad and sit down one-on-one with a refugee who is your age, how would you explain what you or others are doing in your country to spread awareness and make a difference?

2. Write an open letter to Omar al-Bashir pleading your case for the Darfur region of Sudan.

3. Write an open letter to leaders in your country to make a case for government support of international efforts in Darfur.”
Check out the response the Internet had to this initiative here.

Check out some of the great, multi-media responses students created here.

Updates to come on what the turn-out looked like, how many students participated, etc.

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