The students came in cars, on buses, by rail and on foot.
They came with friends, siblings, parents and teachers.
They came from the suburbs and the city, from public and private schools.
They came in the rain, toting umbrellas and ponchos and cameras inside plastic bags.
But they all came with one missionto unite their voices against the genocide in Darfur, Sudan in a youth rally in Federal Plaza, which is on the corner of Dearborn and Jackson streets in Chicago.
The rally was organized by Youth United for Darfur, an organization comprised of student groups throughout the Chicago area who are dedicated to the cause, said Ethan Barhydt, a Deerfield High School student who helped organize the rally.
“The fact that it’s raining and so many people still came outit really shows the youth commitment to this,” Barhydt said.
The speakers at the rally included the student organizers,
Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky, community leaders and more. Local musicians, including Company of Thieves, The Hood Internet and School of Rock students performed.
Deng Akoi Jurkuc, one of the “Lost Boys” of Sudan, shared his own story at the rally, telling participants it was the first time he had stood out publicly.
“It’s the first time for me to step up here and talk about my brothers and sisters in Sudan,” Jurkuc said. “I’m standing here as a survivor. I am alive today because I am in America. If I were still in Sudan, I would be a dead man.”
Jurkuc’s passion radiated as he expressed his frustration with the political system in Sudan.
“If you are not elected by the people, then you are not a president, you are a hypocrite,” he said. “We are a new world. We are a new generation. We can stand up against this.”
He thanked the students for coming out and showing their support.
“We have been tortured. I tell the truth. I was a victim. We lived in a nightmarea nightmare of killings,” he said. “So now we stand here today, and we are crying for our brothers and sisters.”
Organizers tied the event to Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is April 21, Barhydt said. Jewish student groups held a memorial service to remember those who died in the Holocaust and in the Darfur genocide along with the rally.
The rally also coincides with Genocide Prevention Month, which is April. Hundreds of communities across the country are organizing rallies in April to support an end to the genocide in Darfur.
The rally featured an informational booth where participants could donate money to help buy school supplies for people in the refugee camps in Sudan or read about the situation there. Artwork by children who were victims of the violence also was on display.
The Rev. LaDonna Sanders, founder of the South Africa Ubuntu Project, was one of the speakers. She told the crowd that by banding together and recognize that all people are of the same human race, they were already helping to end the genocide.
“We are all brothers and sisters. Africa is a part of this planet. It is a part of our world,” Sanders said. “And young people are going to change the world.”
Deerfield High School seniors Christine Eisen, 17, and Alissa Rosen, 17, both loudly showed their support at the rally, garnering support from drivers traversing Dearborn Street.
“We feel very passionately about the topic,” said Rosen, who wore her “Save Darfur” T-shirt under another layer of clothing protecting her from the rain. “We feel like we’re lucky enough to go to school, to be safe, to have these privileges, and if we could just take some of our time to come to this rally and show our support, it could make a difference.
“Doing something so little can become something so big in the long run.”
For more information or to get involved, e-mail Youth United for Darfur.
Story by Tara May Tesimu | Triblocal.com reporter
Photo by Genevieve Schatz | Company of Thieves
