The Darfur Heroes program, started last year by the coalition, highlights individuals and groups who play a crucial role in helping end the violence in Darfur through awareness-raising and other efforts. This month, Save Darfur is honoring Chicago teen Ethan Barhydt.

Here is his story:

On the final day of my 7th grade class on the Holocaust, our religious school teacher unexpectedly announced that we would be taking a final exam.  As he passed out the exam face down, I became nervous that I would be unable to conjure up all of the information that we had learned throughout the year.  However, when I turned over single sheet of paper, I realized with relief that it was not a typical final exam.  Instead, it consisted of a single paragraph we had to read that simply stated: Your final exam in how you conduct the rest of your lives. Can it happen again? The answer is up to YOU and to YOUR CHOICES.  Will YOU CHOOSE to get involved or will you be a bystander?

It was on that day that I promised never to by a bystander to injustice.  Five years later, I continue to use those words as a reminder of my responsibility to stand against human rights atrocities.

Throughout my high school career, I have worked with a lot of amazing people to improve the lives of victims of the genocide in Darfur.  While the following paragraphs will discuss the actions that I have specifically taken, effective activism results from a community of people working together towards a single goal.  Through this unity, great change occurs.

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As Congress prepares to adjourn prior to the November elections, the Senate has passed an important resolution, S. Res. 684, which demonstrates the continued resolve of Congress to ensure that the U.S. Government remains dedicated to ending the conflict in Darfur. The resolution reaffirms Congress’ 2004 finding that genocide is occurring in Darfur, and highlights the need for a just and inclusive peace process, the full deployment of UNAMID, and the free flow of humanitarian aid.

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Posted on behalf of Congressman Jim McGovern (MA), Co-Chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus.

As millions of people around the world get ready to tune in and watch the Olympics in Beijing, they are probably unaware that their TVs likely share a common trait with the weapons used to kill up to 400,000 people in Darfur: they bear the stamp “Made in China.”

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Save Darfur. It’s a concept that sends people running to action, willing to volunteer time and money to do what it takes to save the people of Darfur from rape, murder and displacement. We have taken action, we have sent the messages to world leaders, we have raised the issue in our communities and we have built a movement more than a million strong. So why haven’t we yet saved Darfur?

At times, the victories of this movement seem few and far between. The violence continues and the peacekeeping force has yet to be deployed. The problems are deep and complex.

But amid the frustration, there are real victories. There are triumphs that are difficult to gauge, such as the impact of country-wide awareness of the genocide or the personal impression left on someone after taking action to help another person half way around the world. These small victories are often hard to recognize or even pin down. But sometimes, we can see them.

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