New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof brought many of his own visions regarding the genocide in Darfur, Sudan to Fairfield’s Open VISIONS Forum Thursday night at the Quick Center. “On issues like these, the leadership usually comes from students,” said Kristof to a crowd of about 600 members of the Fairfield community. “If there is going to be leadership [in Darfur], it has to start at Fairfield.” At the forum, Kristof discussed how genocide has ruined the African region and displayed “graphic images” from his travels to the ravaged country. The images included a man who was shot in the neck, two women who were killed and then put into a well to contaminate the water, and a man with his eyes that were torn during struggle.
Kristof said the images were necessary in getting his point across because “that’s what Darfur is.”
Members of the Fairfield community expressed how Kristof changed the way they looked at the situation in Darfur, including University President Fr. Jeffrey von Arx. “Whenever you hear a first hand account from someone who has been there it reaches you,” said von Arx. “It is incredible to see the way he presents this issue.” Von Arx said Kristof displayed how important it is to get students interested, as they appeared at the forum. Amanda Stote ’11 shared the same sentiments. “I thought the slide show was effective in changing the way I look at Darfur,” said Stote. Dan Kagdis ’10 felt that Kristof’s clarity reached the students of Fairfield. “He was easy to understand in presenting a complex topic about Darfur,” said Kagdis. “Some of his stories were graphic, but they show just how much evil there is in Darfur.” One of the Kristof’s narratives that resonated with several audience members was when was a father that was beheaded in front of his two daughters. “My colleague and I asked the two girls what we could do for them, and they said they just want to die,” said Kristof.
“Genocide more then anything else exposes evil.”
Look for extended coverage in the Thurs., Nov. 1 edition of The Mirror.
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