Darfur refugees visited the Health Science Center to make the public aware of the mass killings in Darfur.
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The Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics sponsored an enlightening presentation April 6 when it welcomed 11 refugees from the Darfur region in Sudan. “Stop Genocide In Sudan” was planned by a group of medical students who are eager to help end massive suffering of men, women and children in the Darfur region.

Three hundred faculty, staff and students filled the Pestana Lecture Hall to witness the testimonials of Sudanese refugees and listen to a presentation by Caesar Ricci III, M.P.H., first year medical student, who gave shocking information.

“In the Sudanese government’s brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing, 180,000 indigenous black Africans have been killed,” he said. “Two point four million people have been driven from their homes, countless women have been raped, men and boys summarily executed, and villages bombed and burned to the ground. It’s the first genocide of the 21st century, and yet people are just standing by and doing nothing.”

Caesar Ricci III, M.P.H., MS1, gives a presentation about Darfur.

The disturbing information was later described by one of the refugees, Ismail Ibrahim, who was driven from his home and came to the United States five years ago. He has spent several years trying to make the world aware of the issues in Darfur and thanks Americans for the help they have already provided.

“People in Darfur are in desperate need of everything,” said Ibrahim. “They have little food, water or clothing. Thank you, America, for all that you have done.”

For years Sudan has been dominated by Muslims who have targeted Christians in the South. Ibrahim said Darfur also is Muslim. Therefore the war is not a holy war.

“This war is a war on identity,” Ibrahim said. He said nomadic Janjaweed fighters target darker-skinned farmers of Darfur.

Ian Thompson III, second-year medical student, said he hoped the presentation created more awareness among the general public.

“We only had about a week and a half to plan for this event,” Thompson said. “The Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics lent credibility to our message and the support they provided was priceless. Our group of students who planned the event is not a formal organization, but a group of concerned students. However, many classmates have approached us about joining and getting involved. So maybe it will evolve into something bigger and better.”