Many people have heard of Darfur, but an astonishing number still do not realize the horrors people go through every day there.

Darfur is a province of Sudan, a country in Northeast Africa where thousands of men and boys are being murdered and women and girls raped. Sudan is located just south of Egypt on the eastern edge of the Sahara desert.

The estimated six million people of Darfur are among the poorest of Africa. They exist on either subsistence farming or nomadic herding.

“A group called the Janjaweed have been wiping out entire villages, destroying food and water supplies, and murdering, torturing, and raping hundreds of thousands of Darfuris since 2003,” Savedarfur.org reports.

The attacks against the people of Darfur have been occurring with the support of the government of Sudan's armed forces. With their own government supporting the genocide, the people live in constant fear.

The civilian death toll is estimated at 400,000. According to Savedarfur.org, 2.5 million Darfuris have fled their homes and now live in displaced person camps. More than one million Darfuris are still living in their villages under threats of bombings, raids and murder.

Savedarfur.org says that the safety of these civilians depends on African Union peacekeeping forces that amount to just 7,400 troops. Along with the African Union, 9,000 peace keepers--only one third of what was promised--aid to help in the struggle. The civilian protection is not nearly funded or armed enough to stop the violence and destruction.

With the events in Darfur being more than a conflict, but a genocide, an organized murdering of a group of people, the public needs to know about this crisis of humanity.

Save Darfur is an organization whose aim is to get the needed awareness out there to the people. Their mission statement says, "We utilize media outreach [and] public education…to pressure policy makers and other decisions makers in the United States and abroad."

The Save Darfur coalition has grown from 30,000 activists to one million in a year.  The coalition works closely with governments and policies to help ensure adequate funding and effective peacekeeping forces are being established.

Morrisville State College will present a Darfur event on April 17 at 7 p.m. in the STUAC gymnasium. Speakers will include John Dau, a refugee from Darfur now living in Central New York who was featured in “God Grew Tired of Us,” a documentary about the genocide.

Read about the event and the Darfur crisis at http://thechimes.morrisville.edu/Darfur.htm.