Hi fellow upSTANDers!

 My name is Mickey Jackson, and I’m a sophomore at the Catholic University of America in DC. Like many of you, I’m currently in the process of forming a new STAND chapter on my campus. I’ve agreed to live blog the “new chapter experience” over the upcoming semester to share observations, ideas, tips, and (perhaps most importantly) lessons learned from my efforts to build a sustainable and active student anti-genocide organization.

 For this initial post, however, I want to share my “story of STAND”—why and how I came to be involved in the anti-genocide movement. My interest began in my freshman year of high school when I watched Hotel Rwanda, which, in addition to being a moving story of human compassion, strongly indicts the rest of the world (and the United States in particular) for its abandonment of Rwanda during the 1994 genocide. The film concludes with an appeal for action to address the conflict in Darfur, which at the time had only recently been labeled as the first genocide of the 21^st century.

 After seeing the film, I did a little more research about Rwanda and Darfur, and came across a quote from the late Senator Paul Simon: “If every member of the House and Senate had received 100 letters from people back home saying we had to do something about Rwanda…then I think the response would have been different.” This was the moment when I realized two things: one, which the world would continue to allow such atrocities to occur unless ordinary citizens rose up and demanded otherwise; and two, that I didn’t want to sit on the sidelines, but rather wanted to be a part of that movement. Inspired by Senator Simon’s words, I began encouraging my family and friends to write letters to their representatives about Darfur. Shortly thereafter, I found out that another student at my high school had formed a STAND chapter, and quickly started attending meetings and helping to plan events.

 I served as the president of my high school chapter during my sophomore and junior years, and then, at the beginning of my senior year, joined the Student Leadership Team as the Southwest High School Regional Outreach Coordinator. After that, during my freshman year of college, I served on the Managing Committee as the National High School Outreach Coordinator and got to work with absolutely incredible activists from all over the US. At the end of last year, I left the MC to focus on building the new chapter at CUA.

 Ultimately, my story is probably pretty similar to yours, and to the stories of thousands of other STAND activists around the country: I discovered that genocide was still occurring in our world, and decided that I wanted to do my part to make “Never again” a reality instead of an empty slogan. That, in a nutshell, is why I’m still involved with STAND, and why I’m starting my chapter. I look forward to sharing that experience with you over the next few months, and hope that you find it both interesting and informative.

 Thanks for reading, and stay posted!

Mickey

Invitation from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Sudan at the Crossroads:

An Update on the Current Situation

Date: Friday, October 8, 2010

Time: 9:30-10:30 AM

Location: U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum 

100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW

Washington DC 20024

Classroom A (lower level)

*Enter on 15^th Street side of the building

Overview:

Michael Abramowitz and Andrew S. Natsios have just returned from a Museum-sponsored bearing witness trip to South Sudan where they met with key political leaders, members of civil society, and representatives of the international community. They will provide an update on the challenges facing the region in the lead-up to and beyond the January 2011 referendum on southern independence.

Michael Abramowitz is the Director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s genocide prevention program. Prior to his appointment in February 2009, he served as an editor and reporter at the Washington Post, including as White House correspondent and National Editor.

Andrew S. Natsios served as the U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan from October 2006 – December 2007 and is currently a faculty member of the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is the author of the upcoming book What Everyone Needs to Know about Sudan and Darfur.

Please RSVP as soon as possible to genocideprevention@ushmm.org with your name and organizational affiliation; space is limited.

Blog written by Outreach Coordinator and UNC at Chapel Hill student Erin Murphy.

Two weeks ago The New York Times columnist and human rights advocate Nicholas Kristof visited the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  UNC students poured into the crowded venue to hear Kristof talk about his latest book, Half the Sky, and UNC’s STAND chapter quickly took advantage of this rare opportunity.  

Kristof’s talk conveniently landed right in the middle of our regular chapter meeting times, and rather than compete with him for attendees, we encouraged all of our members to attend his talk in place of our meeting.  After all, who can compete with this guy?  We then at our meeting this past week used this opportunity to discuss the impact of Kristof not only in advocating for his book’s topics (primarily women’s rights issues and empowerment), but also his advocacy for issues related to STAND and the greater genocide prevention movement.  Most people in the meeting had previously heard of Kristof, but many did know about his support for the movement, which he fairly frequently expresses in his column.    

I moved to Saudi Arabia when I was 8-years-old. I became a student in a school unlike any I had been in; I was one of five Americans in my grade, and the rest were from all over the world. My best friends were from Lebanon, France, Sweden, and India. Every time something happened in the world, it wasn’t just a current event or something you read in the news- it was something that affected one of my close friends’ relatives or friends in their home country. Things happening in different countries were suddenly much more personal and real than they ever had been before.

When 9/11 happened, I was in 7^th grade in Saudi Arabia. I walked into school the next day, noticeably upset, and my friend Faraz from Bangladesh approached me and said, “You think this is bad? In my country, this sort of thing happens every day, and no one notices.” Though obviously not the most sympathetic response, the comment shocked me into thinking about the world in a much different way. The way I felt about 9/11, and the dismay I felt when the stability of my country was threatened, was something that affected people all over the world, all the time.

I returned to the United States the next year, only to realize that in a lot of ways, Faraz was totally correct. People in my high school were much less aware and much more apathetic about things happening around the world than they had been in my school in Saudi Arabia. Just as I was beginning to lose hope on ever finding American students who cared about the rest of the world, a friend of mine told me about the genocide of Darfur and about the thousands of amazing students around the country who were actively involved in trying to end that genocide. I found a community of people who cared very deeply about problems that affected people thousands of miles away from where they were, and who were willing to spend their time working towards goals that they would never personally see happen. Five years later, I’m proud to say I’m still a member of that community. 

ASU STAND Chapter and Darfur and Beyond Host STAND Up 4 Africa Conference

The journey I now follow began my senior year of high school when I opened my mind to the knowledge, history, terror, and hate of the Holocaust. Following soon after, I learned about Darfur, Sudan: a Holocaust of my generation. It was, and still is, rather impossible to fathom the indefinite fear and horror experienced through the eyes of genocide victim, a victim of evil. This knowledge is what inspired me to be an activist, and most recently, help plan the Arizona conference, STAND Up 4 Africa.

Living a comfortable life in this country, I can never understand how that feels. How though, do I combat this? For the last five years I have struggled with this question of overcoming the grief I feel when envisioning and hearing stories of another fifty women gang-raped in the Eastern Congo, of hundreds of boys ripped from their mother’s arms and forced to murder, of another village burned to the ground, with only corpses to reveal any prior human existence. But I found my voice through this path and through this journey I have met the most amazing, determined people.

My life has been blessed with friendships of refugees from around the world, from human rights activists like myself who devote their lives to ending cyclical hate and genocide, to fresh minds eager to learn how they can help. STAND is a large part of this, and in fact it has changed my life. My journey with STAND has enabled me and my fellow upSTANDers to stand, indefinitely, against genocide and human rights atrocities. It has become the medium through which I, among others, utilize our voice for the voiceless.

This past weekend my STAND chapter at Arizona State University alongside the incredible team of our local nonprofit, Darfur and Beyond, hosted the first student conference on African crises to take place in the state of Arizona: STAND Up 4 Africa. For years we have dreamed of organizing this event, of bringing the tools, skills, and education needed to effectively become the generation to end genocide. We’ve all attended such conferences ourselves, from Davis, CA to Washington D.C., and decided we must bring such a humbling, but inspirational experience to our state, to the awaiting students who wish to do their part.

Many of us devoted our summers and free time to making this a success — and we did just that, together. We were honored with guest speakers and individuals like Naomi Natale of the One Million Bones Project, AZ Representative Kyrsten Sinema, local Sudanese refugees who brought their radiant spirits, ASU professors, and many others that led informative workshops to best educate their audience. Throughout the day, students approached us restless in their enthusiasm to inform us of their intense gratitude and appreciation for this event. Our hearts were warmed and our faces could only smile.

It is incredible the profound effect a small group of activists can have on their communities, thus proliferating into a global ripple effect, empowering others and surmounting to historical changes towards peace. To plant a seed in just one young mind is an accomplishment, but to empower and inspire the whole crowd is a victory. We want young minds across the nation to know that though this group is small, we are powerful. STAND Up 4 Africa, and the many other events to come, is one stepping stone simply laying out the path to peace on this planet, for this generation and all youth to alter the course of history for a better tomorrow. Their fight has become our fight and we must show the world our strength.

Name: Ashton Simmons

Position: National Education Coordinator

School: DePauw University

City: Greencastle, IN

What’s your story?

 My life has been largely defined by the stark differences between the rural Midwest and European cities.  I grew up in small-town Indiana, but have studied in three European cities:  I spent my junior year of high school in Zurich, Switzerland; and spent two semesters of college abroad, one in Strasbourg, France, and the other in Cork, Ireland.  I am currently a senior at DePauw University, majoring in Political Science and History, with minors in French and European Studies. 

Why do you care?

How can you not care?  In the end, I really believe that everyone cares, or would care if they took the time to understand the incredibly amount of suffering that exists in the world.  But there is a fundamental difference between caring and acting, and I choose to act.

 What are your goals for the year?

  When I was a little kid, my bedtime stories didn’t consist of fairy tales; instead, my dad used to read sections of the encyclopedia to me.  It instilled in me a deep desire to understand as much as possible.  Without a strong educational foundation, how can we go about enacting change in the world? 

My goal for the year is to provide all STAND members such a foundation.  Instead of just passing along random, Jeopardy-esque facts, I want to work on building a framework of understanding.  Genocide is not just numbers of deaths or names of perpetrators, but rather a complex policy decision.   Understanding this complexity is key to successfully advocating its end.

What makes you STAND?

 My life is a constant balance of my many interests.  Working to understand and act against genocide has been one of my biggest passions for a few years now.  In addition to my work with STAND, I am currently writing an honors thesis on genocide prevention.  Travel has probably always been my true love, whether exploring the cultural or the natural.  I am currently planning a trip back to Ireland in October and a three week service trip to India in January.  I also live for outdoor sports, whether it’s snowboarding, hiking, wakeboarding, beach volleyball, the list goes on forever.  I am the oldest of four kids – the youngest of which is eight – so my siblings keep me on my toes.

 You would never guess that I…  have been to more countries than US states.

 Zach’s UpSTANDer Story

I see my life as having two phases: pre-STAND and post-STAND. My life prior to STAND was a life limited in scope, a blind existence in which mass killings were something the world cleaned up after, but never prevented. I was always conscience of these atrocities unfolding, but the idea of preventing or even ending genocide was just too distant for me to grasp. And with this limited view, the stories of these killings became words on a page, pictures on a screen. To me these were problems without a solution and I was very wrong.

STAND was my vehicle for understanding. I joined as something to do, but like a good book I had trouble putting it down. As I got more and more invested, I began to realize that the STAND model had it right: build a permanent grassroots constituency to end genocide. I was not a voiceless head in a sea of voiceless heads, but a member of a community that together could reach tangible, meaningful goals. I lobbied Congress three times and every time the legislative aids sat there writing down every fact and figure I gave treating me as though I was an expert because I was. STAND opened my eyes and enabled me push for change something I will always be grateful for.

So I start this year with a simple goal: allow others to share in my experience. For me, this year is not about making individuals feel empowered, but ensuring that they are empowered. Each of us will have our own role to play and as an Outreach Coordinator I am eager to solidify this community and movement that we all hold so dear. I invite everyone to join me in being part of the permanent anti-genocide constituency because even one more voice makes us louder.