Local Woman Helps Bring Global Concern to Farmingdale

Local Woman Helps Bring
Global Concern to Farmingdale

Group to Host Fundraiser for Darfur Genocide Victims

By Jaime L. Tomeo

After Farmingdale resident Nancy Walsh watched the movie Hotel Rwanda, she said she could not believe that she was so unaware and uninformed about the genocide occurring in Rwanda at the time.

ìI could not believe our country or other countries†did not†send help or aid to the people of Rwanda,î she added. ìI do not remember hearing about it on the news or reading about it in newspapers or magazines.î

This is why Walsh said she feels raising awareness about the atrocities in Darfur is so important.

ìWhenever I see something tragic happening I†say to myself, ësomeone should do something about thatí,î she said. ìWell, I decided that I should be that someone for this cause. I want the people of Darfur to know that someone, that people in our country,†care about them and we are trying to do something to help them.î

Over a month ago, Walsh joined the Long Island Darfur Action Group after seeing an ad in Newsweek about the Save Darfur Coalition. According to their website, the Save Darfur Coalition's mission is to ìraise public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and to mobilize a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of two million people in the Darfur region.î

The Long Island Darfur Action Group is one of over 170 advocacy and humanitarian organizations in alliance with the Save Darfur Coalition.

She and other members have organized a fundraiser called Strike Out Genocide! for May 12. All proceeds will benefit the Save Darfur Coalition.

Walsh lives in Farmingdale with her two children, ages 13 and 17. She said she encourages her children to help other people in need also.

ìI feel people should join because it is our responsibility to help people in need,î she said. ìWe are so fortunate in this country†we have enough to eat, we have the safety and security of†our families around us. The people in Darfur are starving, and they have no safety or security; most of their loved ones have been killed or brutalized, they are living in a constant state of fear. There is no peace of mind for†Darfurians. People†should join because it is about time we all speak out and stop tolerating the inhumanity that is happening now in Darfur.î

According to SaveDarfur.org, Darfur has been embroiled in a deadly conflict for over three years.

ìAt least 400,000 people have been killed; more than 2 million innocent civilians have been forced to flee their homes and now live in displaced-persons camps in Sudan or in refugee camps in neighboring Chad; and more than 3.5 million men, women, and children are completely reliant on international aid for survival. Not since the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of displacement, starvation, rape and mass slaughter,î the website states.

Strike Out Genocide!†will take place at the Farmingdale Lanes on Conklin Street on Saturday, May 12, from 1 to 4 p.m. for information on how to join the Long Island Darfur Action Group, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.SaveDarfur.org" www.SaveDarfur.org. and click Get Involved.