Acol Dor chokes up when she talks about how she left her home in Sudan in 1995 with her son, fleeing the second Sudanese civil war between north and south Sudan.
Dor spoke at Queen’s last Tuesday along with Norman Epstein. Dor and Epstein are co-founders of Canadians Against Slavery and Torture in Sudan (CASTS).
Dor said international intervention in the Darfur region of Sudan is necessary because of what’s going on there, and because the government in Khartoum isn’t protecting the Sudanese people
“The Sudanese government shouldn’t take sides between the Africans and the Arabs, but they do,” she said. “I don’t care if it’s called genocide or not; the only thing of concern is that people are being killed.”
Dor said CASTS started out by lobbying local MP’s and writing letters, but has turned some attention to visiting schools across Canada.
“Students should be vigilant in trying to make the world a better place and get involved in grassroots movements to try and make a difference,” she said. “Read the news and talk about it. Educate yourself to make an impact.”
Epstein said he became involved with CASTS after being moved by a presentation on Darfur shown by a south Sudanese community group.
“The images (of the presentation on South Sudan) moved me and put a face to the conflict,” he said, adding that after seeing the presentation he felt he couldn’t ignore the issue.
“If we are complacent as Canadians when this goes on, then we are compliant.”
Epstein encouraged students to their MP, calling on them to take action on Darfur.
“Five hard copy letters to an MP makes it an issue, so writing an MP can get an issue attention in the House of Commons,” he said.
“ of all sides of the House get involved in the debate around Darfur,” he said. “It is not a right versus a left issue, bur rather a right versus wrong issue.
“We really have the power, we just need to use it.”
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