Camp Darfur Reflection

Camp Darfur and its whole entirety seemed to be a great impact on the people that participated one of the two days we held this event. It not only impacted the visitors but impacted me as well, with the speakers, information given throughout each tent, and the environment we created with the tents, stage, In-action projects, and installations. Even though not as many people came as we hoped and expected, I strongly believe that each person, activist or not left our camp with a more in depth knowledge of genocide and what is happening currently around the world. One thing I felt was really helpful for the visitors was what each person could do to make a difference at the exit tent. I thought that the exit tent was a great concluding aspect to get people more aware and in action. Another thing I really enjoyed was creating our tents, they really added to the whole event, while also providing an in-closed area to present each groups information. I really liked the way my groups overall presentation came out with the tent and our in-action project. Burma’s being one of the only in action projects put into camp Darfur was a big thing to live up to, and I was kind of worried about how it would turn out. Once we started presenting I felt that it turned out really well, and impacted the people that were present at the time. It made me feel a lot better when people would come up to our group and compliment the demonstration we had done, with compliments such as: “that was a great way to reach out to the people” and “the poems and quotes you read made the demonstration so much more personal.”
One speaker who really stood out to me was the Sudanese woman named: Rachel. She had a way of connecting to the audience with her stories from when she lived in Sudan and facts that I had never heard of in any of the US websites or news. I think it was so deep and personal because it was such a close connection to the events happening in Sudan currently and when she began to speak in her native language I felt even more connected and educated. It seemed as if the whole audience was captivated when she spoke, more so than any other speaker.
This whole project has educated me immensely, and I feel as if what I was before this project was like comparing a child’s knowledge to a wise old woman. Feeling this way made me want to educate society, and transform their childlike minds into a wise ones. Because so much of society does not know what is happening outside of America, we are so sheltered from the outside world, and I believe it is horrific that most do not know what is happening and how we keep repeating ourselves in history.