By Brian Zanzonico
Rising earlier than they would even on a school day, students from all five Sewanhaka High School District schools marched from Sewanhaka to Elmont High School, some holding banners declaring solidarity with the people of Darfur, and some locking arms, symbolizing a human bond with people a continent away living in constant fear.
The march, which concluded with a short program at Elmont High School, wrapped up a weeks-long, districtwide awareness campaign designed to draw attention to a crisis students said has not made its way into the public conscience due to a lack of mainstream media coverage. Upperclassmen from each of the schools visited younger students during social studies classes to give them a brief history of the conflict and the latest developments.
Students also sold green bracelets that say "Not on our watch" and T-shirts that read "Darfur" on the front and "Just Google search it" on the back to raise money for the Save Darfur Coalition, an organization comprising more than 100 human rights groups working to raise global awareness of the situation. H. Frank Carey High School social studies department chair Marc Isseks obtained permission from the search engine's executives to use the Google name. Other students created their own shirts with messages scrawled in marker.
"This is a blatant hate crime," said Sewanhaka senior Joe Cappellino. "If we can draw some attention to it, maybe action can be taken to get rid of it."
In Darfur, government-sanctioned genocide, the widespread killing of non-Arab, mostly black Sudanese, began in 2003. The Sudanese government is using Arab janjaweed militias to destroy crops, poison water and prevent humanitarian aid from reaching the region. Girls as young as middle-school age are routinely raped, and young boys are forced to take up arms. Though this is in violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention banning government attacks on civilians, there has been no end to the daily massacres.
In the most recent development in Darfur, Sudan's government has not decided whether it will allow United Nations peacekeeping troops into the region. It has agreed, however, to let a U.N. technical team in to determine its potential role. The U.N. Security Council hopes to deploy tens of thousands of peacekeepers to relieve undermanned African Union troops overseeing a cease-fire.
"This abuse can't be ignored any longer," said Kiran Singh of Elmont High School.
The walk started at Sewanhaka and proceeded south down Covert Avenue toward Hempstead Turnpike. With police escorts leading the way and bringing up the rear, the students crossed Hempstead Turnpike and took Meacham Avenue to Dutch Broadway. Roars rose from the crowd as drivers honked their horns in support. Early risers outside an Elmont deli held cups of coffee in one hand and waved rolled up newspapers with the other.
A driver stuck behind the walkers on Meacham Avenue said he had no problem with the delay. "It's a beautiful Saturday," said Oscar Salazar of Elmont, noting that he had recently read about the situation in Darfur. "I've got the windows open, the music playing. I don't mind following these kids. The fact that they're out so early means they stayed out of trouble last night."
The marchers took a right on Dutch Broadway and proceeded straight to Elmont High School on Ridge Road, where they were greeted by band students playing African drums. Assemblyman Tom Alfano was the keynote speaker, and announced a bill he is sponsoring out of the Banking Committee that would divest all New York State money from Sudanese businesses.
Alfano said he was impressed by the large turnout. "As I marched down Dutch Broadway with the students, I talked with them about the issue, and it gave me a sense of pride that they were making a difference and sending a message," he said. "You couldn't help but say to yourself that here are high school students who woke up at 7:30 on a Saturday and marched four miles to protest what is happening in the Sudan. For me, it spoke volumes that these young people are true leaders that make a difference."
Not only students and teachers took part. Sewanhaka district administrators and school board members were on hand, as were family members who encouraged their children's cause. "Like most people, I wasn't aware of what was going on," said Kenneth Loewy, whose nephew, Brandon Smith, is a student at New Hyde Park Memorial High School.
New Hyde Park social studies chairman Tom Galvin said the department's curriculum was designed with special emphasis on Darfur not only for students, but with the hope that they would pass what they learn on to parents and others. Sewanhaka's chairman, Matthew Schwartz, said he hopes the time students spent banding together to raise awareness throughout the schools and the march have imparted a lesson that will not soon fade.
"It's a great opportunity for students to get involved for a human cause," Schwartz said. "I hope they remember this as time spent making a difference."
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