Happy New Year! 2008 was a great year for student anti-genocide activists. In the past calendar year, we came closer together as a movement, students standing united against genocide. This spring, we reaffirmed our resolve at conferences across the country and again in Washington DC when we urged President Bush to SEAL the Deal for Sudan. In the last few months, we’ve made genocide in Darfur a campaign issue, raised funds for the Genocide Intervention Network’s civilian protection program and together mapped the future of anti-genocide activism at the 2008 STAND National Student Conference.
A few numbers for the books…
- 1,000 Darfuris were displaced in 2008
- 250,000 Congolese were displaced in 2008
- 500 students gathered in Washington D.C. for the National Stand Student Conference
- Hundreds of STAND chapters participated in STANDFast
2008 was not the beginning and 2009 will not be the end. Ours is a movement dedicated to permanency. For all of the work you’ve put in during the past year, we have a more powerful network of students better equipped to fight the long fight against genocide.
For all of the work that you’ve put in, I thank you.