UK Students Act on Behalf of Darfur

London, England - Students in David Fisher's tutor group at Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys in London have turned what they learned from Facing History-which is infused throughout the school's humanities curriculum-into action on behalf of the people of Darfur. By studying the small steps that led to the Holocaust, students have realized that history is not inevitable and that their own choices can and do make a difference. When they discovered a genocide was occurring in Darfur, they knew that they could not stand by. They chose to speak up.

Just this November, Fisher delivered letters his students wrote to Tony Blair expressing their outrage over the genocide and urging the government to do something. "What if it was your children?" wrote one student.

Fisher said the boys enthusiastically took up the challenge. "One of the things I learned from Facing History is that there is no excuse for ignorance when we choose only to expose ourselves to the same old news agencies. When my boys saw the reports on Human Rights Watch and the Aegis Trust Website, of course they were outraged; they knew straightaway what they had to do and I simply had to facilitate their aims," Fisher said. "Since they wrote their letters, Darfur keeps ‘popping up' in the news. It was always there, but now we stop and read the stories because we've made that connection."

The students' words are getting the attention of the Prime Minister's office, which immediately wrote them back. The boys have also presented an assembly at the school to educate their peers and plan to participate in a Darfur protest on December 10th sponsored by the Aegis Trust.

Visit Facing History's webpage related to resources and action for Darfur.