Stefani Jones is a rising junior at Duke University, where Sanjay Kishore is also a rising senior. Stefani and Sanjay have spearheaded Duke’s Conflict-Free Campus Initiative. This post is a reflection on their experiences in Juba, South Sudan earlier last month.
Throughout the past two weeks, an emerging, dynamic protest movement has spread across Sudan, challenging the National Congress Party’s (NCP) waning grip on political authority. In addition to #SudanRevolts’ domestic uprising, Khartoum confronts internal schisms and a three-front military conflict–violence in Darfur, Sudan’s South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, and with South Sudan threatens civilian security and livelihoods.
"Women do not make sandwiches
Women make revolutions
Women make dreams come true"
–Fatma Emam, Nubian Egyptian Diaspora member in Cairo
On January 9, 2011, in a referendum provided for by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the people of southern Sudan voted overwhelmingly to secede from the north. The new nation of South Sudan attained its official independence on July 9 of that year. Unfortunately, violence in both countries has continued.
United Nations observers monitoring violence in Syria suspended operations today amidst increasing violence and threats to their safety. The lead monitor, Robert Mood, became concerned after some of the monitors came under fire last Tuesday as they entered the scene of a massacre. This comes over a month after a ceasefire was supposed to take effect.
We like to take ourselves seriously. Really seriously. We like to wear suits and suitpants, write letters to our congressmembers, use acronyms like GenPrev or R2P, and write legislation that divests our government from black-listed oil companies.
But we can have fun too.
Get a peak into our fun side at our new tumblr: #WhatShouldSTANDCallMe. Feel free to ask us any questions there and even submit your own posts or ideas. We’d love to hear from you and feature your ideas!
A quick sample:
As the school year winds down and summer begins, our jobs as civilian protection advocates are not complete. As Burma slowly continues down the road to civilian control, the Obama Administration is ready to lift a first round of sanctions. However, many activists, both American and Burmese, have urged caution as the US normalizes its relationship with Burma. Renewing the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act is a crucial step to maintaining pressure on the Burmese military and urging more reform.
By Social Media Coordinator Emma Goldberg
By Advocacy Coordinator Maria Thomson
Being the National Education Coordinator for STAND during the past school year allowed me to grow as an individual, advocate, and student. My primary jobs included making educational materials for existing conflicts in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Syria, Skyping with chapters to discuss current events, distributing information about emerging conflicts in North Africa, working with a task force consisting of conflict experts, contributing to campaign planning, and publishing a weekly news update. These duties are critical for maintaining STAND’s identity
