ITHACA, N.Y. -- On three evenings last week, when most students were cramming for exams and writing papers, a handful came together to raise awareness about the slaughter of innocent civilians in the Darfur region of western Sudan, where genocide on the scale of that in Rwanda 10 years ago is taking place. 

Sponsored by the Darfur Action Group, a student group on campus, "Documenting Darfur" featured back-to-back three-hour showings of films and videos about the tragedy, on May 9, 10 and 11 in 165 McGraw Hall. On May 11, the films were followed by a discussion of the situation and what people can do about it. However, only about 15 people -- students, faculty and community members -- attended. 

A handout produced by the organizers summarized the situation: Since 2003, independent militia known as the Janjaweed, said to be armed by the Islamic Sudanese government, have burned hundreds of villages in Darfur, strafed them from the air and shot survivors, killing upwards of 180,000 men, women and children, the United Nations estimates. The actions also have displaced 1.8 million people now trapped in refugee camps in Darfur and 250,000 in camps in neighboring Chad. At least 100,000 are likely to die from disease and malnutrition if quick action is not taken to provide them with resources, estimates the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Two thousand African Union soldiers have been dispatched to intervene, but they are far too few and lack a mandate to stop the killings. 

"I got involved in Darfur activism because my grandparents are Holocaust survivors," said Marielle Macher, Arts and Sciences '08, an audience member who is part of the Darfur Action Group. "Unless we do all that is in our power to end this act of genocide, we are the same as the millions who watched idly as the Jews and others were slaughtered only six decades ago during the Holocaust."

Panelist Grace Ritter of the Catholic Workers in Ithaca talked about her recent visit to four internally displaced people's camps in Darfur. "People there said that by being confined to the camps, they have no political voice. They asked us to go back to the United States and protest in front of the Sudanese embassy," she said. Their hope is that such public exposure of the killings in Darfur will prompt the international community to take stronger action. Such a protest did take place, related Ritter, and the seven people arrested will be tried in a Washington, D.C., court May 25. A Web site, http://www.pieandcoffee.org, has further information. 

Ritter also spoke about the opportunity for U.S. activists to take part in nonviolent action in Darfur, such as taking up residence in the villages to prevent them from being attacked by the militias. 

Panelist John Weiss, professor of history, said the Muslim government that came to power by force in 1993 and is behind the slaughter and displacement of millions of innocent civilians in Darfur is lying when it claims it is merely putting down a rebellion and is not arming the Janjaweed militias. 

"[The country's rulers] are exploiting ethnic and cultural differences to their own advantage," said Deborah Hyams, a local activist in the audience. She accused them of "marginalizing" their population's African component and inventing an ethnic conflict between Africans and Arabs to expand their influence in the Darfur region.

In "The Witness," a film that aired on ABC's "Nightline" and was one of the films shown, Samantha Power, author of "A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide," stated, "The claim that genocide is just a tribal war is a tried and true tactic" of the perpetrators.

Also in "The Witness," U.S. Army Capt. Brian Steidle described footage he had taken of villages in Darfur being strafed by military helicopters and burned, with villagers being shot at as they fled. One particularly disturbing image was of a boy who had died from a bullet hole in his back, killed as his mother tried to carry him to safety. Steidle said he was deeply troubled by his inability to intervene and expressed his hope that his footage would motivate others to act. 

"Awareness through events like the Darfur Film Forum is important because many people are only nominally informed about the events in Darfur," said Macher. "Once people become better informed, they may become more willing to help," she said.

For more information or to contribute to the Darfur Action Group, contact Andrew Garib, asg29@cornell.edu. Donations earmarked for Darfur relief also can be made to STARS -- Cornell Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Group through Shiri Sandler, sbs37@cornell.edu, and to the Genocide Intervention Fund at Swarthmore College.