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Tents for Darfur
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In war-torn Darfur, millions of people have fled their villages and now live in tents along the Chad-Sudan border. A year-long awareness campaign culminated in November 2008 in Washington, D.C. Hundreds of tents from across the U. S. were set up on the National Mall bearing messages to lawmakers. Kim Riemland reports. |
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SCRIPT:
(Locator: Washington, DC)In the shadow of the United States Capitol, a tent city has sprung up overnight.
Annie Wild, Memorial Drive United Methodist Church: “I saw a tent from Hawaii, and there’s ones from Austin also. I go to school in Boston and there’s tents from Boston.”
Three-hundred-fifty tents, each hand painted, represent a growing chorus of Americans who want U.S. leaders and everyday people to take action to end the genocide in Darfur.
Steve Cragg, Memorial Drive United Methodist Church: “We want people to learn more about Darfur because we know when they do, we know that people care. It’s just that we’ve got to get them undistracted.”
In the Darfur region of Sudan, 300 thousand people have been killed and two and a half million more have fled their homes.
(Teen putting tent stakes into the ground) “It’s really hard ground.”
Youth from Memorial Drive United Methodist Church in Houston have spent the last year raising money and awareness for Darfur and carefully crafting their message.
Amanda Poerschke, Memorial Drive United Methodist Church: “The people in this picture kind of look like they’re kind of darting out at you, staring at you, want you understand kind of what they’re going through and to like kind of help out.”
Thousands of young people from 48 states put their hearts and hands into these “Tents of Hope.”
Mark Bogart, Memorial Drive United Methodist Church: “Three years ago it would have been tough to find five kids that knew what was going on in Darfur, and now it would be tough to find five that didn’t know what was going on.”
From D.C., most of the tents will be sent to Darfur and Chad to serve as schools in refugee camps. They’ve already taught valuable lessons here.
Annie Wild: “I feel really, really hopeful that this really is going to make a difference.”
Mark Bogart: “Write a letter, sign a petition, just tell one other person what’s going on in Darfur. Wear a t-shirt or wear a button, but the idea that we are helpless in this fight is simply untrue.”
TAG:
During a year of events leading up to “Tents of Hope,” participants from Memorial Drive United Methodist in Houston sold t-shirts, waged an e-mail campaign on the White House and mailed plywood postcards to elected representatives in Washington.
Memorial Drive United Methodist will continue to post updates on their efforts for Darfur. Visit the Web site for more information on “Tents of Hope” and ideas on how your group can take action.
Also, see: Tents of Hope send message of love to Sudan
Posted: Nov. 19, 2008