Darfur native presents his side of genocide
By Ashlei Maltman
IV Leader Staff, May 3, 2007
A presentation by Mohamed Yahya on April 10
addressed the genocide that is occurring in Darfur. Twenty-one family members
and friends of Mohamed Yahya have been “killed, raped, or burnt alive in their
huts,” like many other Darfur families.
Yahya said, his parents “told me not to go back to Darfur
because they didn’t want me to be killed. They said they would tell me when they
found a place to go. That was the last time I have ever heard from them.”
He went on to tell everyone how more than 500,000 people have
been killed since 1993. Yahya said, “I do not know the definition of genocide,
but I do know that genocide is horrible.”
Student Daisy Castillo responded to Yahya’s presentation, “I
think it is a terrible situation. Also, I’m a little upset with our government.
Even though the speaker says the U.S. government is doing a lot, I feel that it
can do so much more. Why ignore Darfur? The U.S. is so involved in Iraq, but
what about the victims in Darfur?”
Yahya said, “Darfur is different from Iraq but no one is
helping Darfur because of Iraq. If we fail Darfur, imagine what will happen in
other places.”
At the end of the presentation Merri Mattison, the head of
Amnesty International, presented Yahya with a poster and encouraged students to
sign letters to help Darfur.
On this note, Yahya ended his presentation by saying, “We
need to stop this. It’s the only way to solve this genocide. They are human
beings and they deserve to be helped. We can make a difference. That is what I
wanted to tell you.”