Swarthmore Student Speaks Out On Darfur For ‘Berg's Center For Ethics Series
Stephanie Nyombayire, a 20-year old Rwandan student and representative for the Genocide Intervention Network, will speak as part of Muhlenberg College’s Globalization From Above and Below series on November 7 at 7:30 p.m. in Miller Forum, Moyer Hall.Tuesday, October 30, 2007 01:59 PM
The lecture, “Darfur: It’s Time to Globalize out Responsibility,” is free and open to the public and is co-sponsored by Hillel.
Nyombayire, a student at Swarthmore College, has worked tirelessly to help end the genocide in Darfur. She speaks from experience, having endured the trauma of losing dozens of family members in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. In 2005, she was asked to introduce President Bill Clinton at the Campus Progress National Student Conference. Highlighting Clinton's apology for the world's inaction during the Rwandan genocide, Nyombayire encouraged the audience to "always follow our words with action." Also in 2005, Nyombayire traveled to Darfurian refugee camps in Chad after she was denied entry to Sudan. Her trip, along with fellow students from Georgetown and Boston Universities, was documented in the film, "Translating Genocide."
She will speak about the atrocities her family faced during the Rwandan Genocide. Given her personal history, she will compare the West’s inaction in Rwanda to its ongoing failure in Darfur. She will explore the ways in which, despite its promise of "never again" and its commitment to the UN Convention on the Punishment and Prevention of Genocide, the international community continues to allow the genocidaires of Sudan to act with impunity.
During her visit, Hillel will partner with others on campus to raise funds for the Genocide Intervention Network. The Genocide Intervention Network was created by students at Swarthmore College in the fall of 2004 as a way to empower average Americans to fulfill the promise “Not on My Watch.”
Through its landmark collaboration with the African Union Peacekeeping Mission, GI-Net created a way for private donations to help save women and girls from being raped upon leaving their camps in Northern Darfur. Now an official non-profit based in Washington, DC, GI-Net has raised over $1.5 million for these firewood patrols.
For more information on the College’s Center for Ethics, or to view the schedule of events for the fall semester, please visit: www.muhlenberg.edu/cultural/ethics.
Muhlenberg College gratefully acknowledges the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation’s support of the Center for Ethics.
