The Duquesne Duke

Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Courtesy of Annie Dahlkemper Students paint shirts Tuesday during a hunger strike for Darfur.

Ten Duquesne University students went on a 24-hour hunger strike Tuesday to protest the lack of humanitarian aid reaching people living through genocide in the Sudanese region of Darfur.

The hunger strike was inspired by actress Mia Farrow's pledge to go 21 days with nothing but water in protest of the Sudanese government expelling all foreign aid from the country.

The Red Cross, the United Nations and 10 other agencies were driven out of the country after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Senior nursing major Katie Christa said she doesn't think people truly understand the desperation of the situation in Darfur, where it is common for people to go days without food or water.

"Even for us to just go one day without eating - and we're drinking water - is still tough," Christa said.

"We're willing to sacrifice something because we care about it so much," said sophomore psychology major Matt Mierski, adding that the strike was not meant to make people feel guilty, but aware.

Mierski will serve as the vice president of the Duquesne chapter of Students Taking Action Now in Darfur, or STAND, which the University recently granted status as an official student organization.

The group donned tie-dyed T-shirts that read, "Hunger Strike" and passed out literature that highlighted their reasoning for the strike. They also called for "citizens of conscience around the world" to join them in some form of sacrifice as a sign of solidarity.

Most of the students involved in the hunger strike are part of Duquesne's chapter of Amnesty International and the Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition (PDEC).

Many students were part of a group that traveled to Washington, D.C., last weekend to advocate the U.S. government to take action in Sudan.

"We're trying to spread awareness about genocide," said senior nursing major Annie Dahlkemper. "But I wish there was more we could do."

They also asked fellow students to fill out on post cards that will be sent to President Barack Obama as a call to action against the human rights abuses in Darfur. The campaign, sponsored by the Save Darfur Coalition, is hoping to deliver more than 1 million messages to the White House.

"I think the only way anything is going to change is if people think about it, and care about it and connect to it," Mierski said.

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