STAND Fanshawe hosts Drawings by Children in Darfur
During a mission to refugee camps in Chad, two Human Rights Watch researchers gave children paper and crayons while their families were being interviewed. Unprompted, the children drew scenes of devastation: aerial bombings, villages being sacked by ethnic militias, and rape. The children insisted that the drawings be shared with the world.
On February 8-12, the Fanshawe College chapter of STAND will be hosting the exhibit, “Smallest Witnesses: The Crisis in Darfur Through Children's Eyes,” in the Siskind Gallery in H-Building. The Gallery is open daily from 8 a.m. — 4 p.m.
Rich Hitchens, an instructor in the School of Language and Liberal Studies and the founder and president of the Canadian Centre for Genocide Education, is working with STAND Fanshawe to host the exhibit.
“I think that it is important that students who might be inclined to try to make a positive contribution to the world that they live in be given opportunities to do so, and that is why I make myself available to support STAND Fanshawe,” explained Hitchens. “I have worked with STAND Fanshawe for a few years now and STAND Canada for many years before that, and I have not considered it a sacrifice of my time to do so because the younger citizens who are part of Stand — at Fanshawe and beyond — are real heroes.”
According to Hitchens, it has been younger citizens — like those involved with STAND — who have done the most for Darfur, who have established associations to more effectively raise awareness about Darfur and to lobby other citizens and members of government for much needed action as one example.
“If students are going to step up and be global citizens in that way, faculty must support them,” said Hitchens.
Hitchens and members of STAND Fanshawe will be hosting classes at the Siskind Gallery for a brief film screening about Darfur and for a discussion of the exhibit. The focus of the class sessions will be on global citizenship and what concerned students can do as global citizens. If you are an instructor at Fanshawe and are interested in booking a class session with Hitchens and STAND Fanshawe, please contact him at rhitchens@fanshawec.ca.