Refugee asks students to make a difference for his people
Mohamed Adam Yahya, a refugee from the Darfur region of the Sudan, described his journey from a violent childhood to founder and Executive Director of the Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy during a recent lecture at CU.
Yahya, who was born in a small village east of the capital of Darmassaleit in West Darfur, came to CU Feb. 5 as a speaker for the Institute for the Study of Israel in the Middle East, a part of the International Affairs Program.
After he moved to Cairo for schooling at Al-Azhar University, Yahya said his entire village was destroyed by a militia group called the Janjaweed.
Twenty-one of Yahya’s family members died in the massacre, leaving behind a young man with a strong desire to save the rest of his people.
Yahya said the events in Darfur are not wars between tribes for resources and land. Rather, the Sudanese government is portraying it in this manner to cover the genocide killing thousands of people.
Between 1999 and 2003, Yahya and the Representatives of the Massaleit Community in Exile worked with the United Nations to sponsor over 20,000 refugees from all over Sudan.
Yahya said he strives to get as many people out of the violent genocide while there are still people to save, and he asked those at the lecture for their help in doing so.
“You are not small, and you have a role to play,” Yahya said. “Write your senators, sign petitions. Help my people live.”
Yahya said he believes the United States can sponsor thousands of Sudanese refugees like himself.
“Israel has already taken in my brothers and sisters of Darfur into their land for protection, why can’t the United States?” Yahya said.
Israel has pledged to help the people of Darfur during the violent conflict.
Daniel Miron, head of Israel’s Ministry of Human Rights, said at a news conference in May of 2007, “Israel cannot stand by while such a severe humanitarian crisis is taking place – the most severe in the world today – without trying to reach out and help.”
Yahya said he firmly believes the United States, and the students of CU, can come together in a similar united stance against the genocide in Darfur.
Amy Stein, a sophomore majoring in sociology, said she wants the fire in Yahya to reach the CU campus.
“I hear about all the violence the government and the Janjaweed are creating in Darfur,” Stein said. “I want to help by spreading the awareness to others in Boulder.”
Yahya ended his lecture with a question for all in the room.
“How will you help save a country?” he asked. “How will you change a life forever?”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Justin Johnson at justin.johnson@colorado.edu
