Posted December 10, 2006

One Voice leads to Portland Voices for Darfur

One voice changed how Mackenzie Miller of Portland would talk about the genocide in Darfur. Thousands more at a rally in Washington, D.C., galvanized her compassion, energy and talents to form Portland Voices for Darfur earlier this year with Ellen Hockley and Nancy Weintraub. Yet, it is the voices of the victims in Darfur that compel her to continue speaking out at public events and with a website. As she completes her college exams this fall at Western Washington University, Miller hopes to add more voices to stop the suffering and slaughter in Darfur.

One Voice Eminates from the Past

Keir Pearson, author of Hotel Rwanda, invoked many responses from Portland audiences during his visit in 2005. The Academy Award nomination of the film, based on the account of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who sheltered over 1,000 Tutsis during the Rwandan genocide in 1994, brought Pearson to Portland on a speaking tour that included Lewis and Clark College and an event that changed Miller’s life. Itafari Foundation President Vicki Trabosh hosted Pearson to speak at “An Evening with the Women of Rwanda” event during the launch of the humanitarian organization in August, 2005. Pearsons’ speech and Trabosh’s inspiration became the catalyst for Miller’s commitment to Darfur. Itafari was launched to help rebuild Rwanda “one brick at at time” with micro-loans and support for widows and orphans. Miller would seek Trabosh’s energy and passion, a year later, for her own major event.

“I knew then that I could not watch another Rwanda without doing something,” Miller said. Rwanda would play a role in Miller’s pursuit in Darfur. She said Pearson’s speech illustrated many similarities between the two genocides. “Once I learned more about the situation, I was horrified by the lack of response in the States,” said Miller. “No one seemed to know about Darfur and that shocked me.”

So, with the help of friends and other concerned people, Miller organized  Portland Voices for Darfur on a Sunday evening in September. The event included speakers, musicians and organizations offering their talents and passion to highligh the attrocities of the genocides in Rwanda and Darfur.Trabosh opened with provoking introductions that segued into each performance and speaker, much as the Rwandan genocide segued into the similarities of Darfur.

Many Voices, but Few Listen

 Miller attended the Save Darfur rally in Washington, D.C., in April and left with a need to do more. Simultaneously, Portland hosted a similar event, which would feature Trabosh, along with Oregon Representative Earl Bluemenauer and many others at Pioneer Square. The momemtum to push for change in Darfur seemed to work with President George Bush promising emergency food aid. But the situation in the Western region of Sudan soon worsened as the voices from those rallies lost their intensity.

Miller would keep the intensity alive by forming Portland Voices for Darfur. She was helped by Hockley, who had just returned to the U.S. to finish her studies at Evergreen State College in Washington, and Weintraub, who would watch the Pearson’s movie and want to do more to help. Miller said they formed a small committee to find speakers, musicians and volunteers to set up the event. Much of it was based on Trabosh’s event held a year earlier.

Miller’s event raised $3,000 for Mercy Corps International’s ongoing work in Darfur refugee camps and raised the awareness of the situation in Darfur for the audience. But, as well as the program was put together, the response from the community was less than Miller envisioned.

“The lack of response from the media surprised me,” said Miller. “And I did not realize how hard it is to get people to attend events.” Miller said the the difficulty in generating publicity and a response was hard to understand. “A lot of people who seemed interested in the event did not attend.”

Miller’s dismay was not focused on an affirmation about her event, but direted at the lack of response for the horrors continuing in Darfur. “My greatest fear is the genocide in Darfur will continue until there are no more citizens to rape, mutilate and kill,” she said. “I’m afraid people will get tired of fighting or will never fight to stop the genocide.” Miller said the lack of action is what she fears. “People seem to be interested in helping out, but the majority of people don’t seem to know how to get involved.”

For Miller’s part, her involvement now focuses on events at college and through her blog. While at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, Miller first stepped up to the crisis by publishing an article in the student newspaper. Miller focused on raising awareness through a rally on campus. By the time she attended the Washington, D.C., rally on April 30, Miller decided to form her own group back home. Miller, along with former Wilson High School students and others organized Portland Voices for Darfur event to connect the genocide of Rwanda to that in Darfur. Held at the Congregation Havurah Shalom in Portland, echoes of the Holocaust added a deeper meaning to the event and the crisis continuing in Darfur.

Trabosh spoke eloquently of her desire to rebuild Rwanda and to make a difference in Darfur as she opened the event. “Genocide is premeditated,” Trabosh told the audience. “We must be premeditated in our response.” Trabosh urged the audience to get informed and act. “It will only help if you believe that one human life in Portland is worth one human life in Darfur.”

The horrific reality of genocide is difficult to imagine even for those interested in Darfur and past attrocities. But Jean D’Arc Campbell conveyed the depth of despair, destruction and inhumanity of genocide as he recounted his story surviving the genocide in Rwanda. He told the audience to use any tools to make a difference. “Your words can be enough,’ said Campbell. “The human to human message is very important. You can give hope.”

Portland Voices for Darfur includes the passions of some of the youngest advocates in Portland. Ethan Rafal, a senior at Reed College, shared his extraordinary trip into Darfur in July. His photos of the fighting and destruction were featured in Rolling Stone magazine.

Miller included music and art to transcend between the different voices of the speakers. Piercing images of villages bombed by helicopters and armed Janjaweed on camels killing civilians at close range hung in the upper hall. They were especially haunting because each was drawn by children. The prints provided a poignant reminder to why Miller and others continue to work to stop the genocide.

 The Work Continues

As long as the genocide in Darfur continues, so will Miller’s work to stop it. Even though her college schedule fills her days and nights, she maintains the Portland Voices for Darfur blog with updates of events, like the Global Day for Darfur last month and a recent DarfurFAST, held recently on college campuses.

“I would like others to hear about the severity of the situation and understand the human component,” said Miller. “I want people to know the statistics, but to be able to translate those into something that hits home.” Miller sees the situation in Darfur growing worse and fears for the safety of those left in the region. “I want people to know the situation in Darfur will only get worse without international attention and pressure to stop the genocide,” said Miller.

Miller hopes that one day soon the people of Darfur will safely return home and live out their lives. “I would like the people of Darfur to enjoy basic human rights, such as food, clean water, a home, education and security.”

© 2006 Foreign Interest

For more information:

Portland Voices for Darfur: www.pdxvoicesfordarfur.org

Portland Coalition for Genocide Awareness: http://genocideawareness.net

Students Taking Action Now for Darfur: http://standnow.org

Itafari Foundation: www.itafari.org

Contact the author: sharbert@foreigninterest.com