These lessons focus on the film Darfur Now, which profiles the work of six individuals who have responded to the violence in Sudan in different ways.

• Pablo Recalde, director of the World Food Programme in West Darfur, coordinates shipments of humanitarian aid to Displaced Person Camps throughout Darfur.
• Don Cheadle, an Oscar-nominated actor, meets with heads of state in Egypt and speaks to groups throughout the United States to raise awareness of the dire situation in Darfur.
• Adam Sterling organizes a campaign to pressure the state of California to divest from companies that do business with Sudan.
• Luis Moreno-Ocampo, a prosecutor, works to bring perpetrators of war crimes to justice at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
• Hejewa Adam joins the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) a rebel group that opposes the Janjaweed [7]^{1 [8]} and Sudanese army.
• Sheikh Ahmed Mohammed Abakar secures food and shelter for the 47,000 displaced Dafurians living in the Hamadea Displaced Persons Camp.

One of the goals of theonese lessons is to help students understand the work of these activists. However, connecting with people whose experiences seem removed from our own can be challenging. Although most students have probably never met with foreign diplomats or helped pass legislation, they are likely to have had similar feelings of caring about something so much that it roused them to take action. So, this unit begins by having students identify these moments and the factors-the feelings, the personal experiences, and the values-that inspired them to make an extra effort. At the end of the unit, students will compare the factors that inspired their commitment to act to the factors that motivated the six individuals in the film.

To understand the efforts of the activists profiled in Darfur Now, students also need to have a basic understanding of the conflict in western Sudan. Although ethnic groups living in Darfur have competed for essential resources (e.g., land and water) for centuries, this conflict reached a new level when rebels representing the three main African ethnic groups in the region (Fur, Massalit, and Zaghawa) attacked a government air force base in 2003. These primarily agrarian tribes felt marginalized by the central government in Khartoum, especially since the military coup in 1989. This coup, led by Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, created what is effectively an Islamic state which has favored Sudanese Arabs over Sudanese Africans (even though many of these Africans are also Muslims) and has ignored the basic needs of many of the people living in Darfur. Khartoum responded to the rebels' attack not only by targeting members of the rebel groups, but also by attacking Darfurians belonging to the tribes associated with the rebels (Fur, Massalit and Zaghawa). International observers, journalists, and human rights organizations report that the Janjaweed¹ and Sudan's own army are responsible for horrific war crimes: the raping of women is widespread; innocent civilians, especially men, have been killed en masse; children have been kidnapped and forced to be child soldiers; and wells have been poisoned.

One of the most widespread crimes being committed by the Janjaweed and Sudanese military is the burning of villages. Although many of the villagers survive, they are left homeless by these attacks and are deprived of their most basic amenities (e.g., their farms, jobs, animals, and cooking equipment). In the wake of the death and panicked flight caused by these fires, families and communities are splintered apart and scattered. Thus, many refugees arrive in camps without social or economic resources; they must depend completely on humanitarian groups, such as the World Food Programme, for aid. As of 2008 the United Nations reports at least 2.5 million refugees² [9] and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Darfur region.Darfur is now considered to be the world's largest relief effort [10].

Lesson One [11] introduces students to the situation in Darfur and encourages them to process the gravity of these crimes-crimes that have been called genocide by the United States government and many international organizations. This lesson prepares students to understand the circumstances that have motivated the six individuals profiled in Darfur Now to take action to end the suffering of victims in Darfur. In Lesson Two [12], students watch or read the transcript of the remainder of the film to learn more about the work of these activists. The suggested activities in Lesson Three [13] help students develop a deeper appreciation for the complexity of responding to an international crisis involving millions of victims, hundreds of organizations, multiple constituencies, conflicts over sovereignty, and unchartered legal territory. Lesson Four [14] guides students in synthesizing the material they have learned about responding to the genocide in Darfur and in connecting what they have learned from the film to their own lives. Ultimately, we hope that a thorough examination of the motivations and inspirations of the individuals profiled in Darfur Now helps students understand how activists sustain their commitment to their work in the face of indifference, resistance, violence, and limited evidence of success.

As of the fifth anniversary, in 2008, of the commencement of violence against ethnic groups in Darfur, the atrocities continue unabated in the region. Recent reports indicate that nearly 75,000 people have been displaced in Darfur since the beginning of 2008, in large part because the Janjaweed have stepped up their "scorched-earth strategy [15]" of burning villages and terrorizing residents. At the same time, it is important to take stock of all that is being done, by so many people and on different fronts, to end this genocide. For example, students are organizing divestment campaigns on college campuses; celebrities and others are pressuring China, a major trading partner and arms supplier to Sudan, to use its relationship with Khartoum to help end the violence; and the United Nations has recently sent more peacekeepers to the region in a collaborative effort with the African Union. The activism of groups and individuals around the world, including those profiled in Darfur Now, brings us a step closer to saving lives, restoring peace to a conflict-torn region, and perhaps preventing future genocides.

This historical overview was written in February 2008. Visit our Darfur resources for educators [16] for updated articles, documents and resources related to Darfur. For other information about events in Darfur or for more background on the history of genocide and genocide prevention, refer to one of the following resources:

• The Enough Project [17] - information on what individuals and groups can do to respond to the violence in Darfur and other conflicts in Africa
• International Association of Genocide Scholars [18] - background information on genocide
  Genocide Intervention Network [19] - information on genocide prevention
• PBS Online NewsHour-Crisis in Sudan [20] - regularly updated reports on Darfur:
• The Council on Foreign Relations, Crisis Guide: Darfur [21] - an online video providing more background on the genocide in Darfur:
• Statement by Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo [pdf] [22], Report on the conflict in Darfur presented to the United Nations Security Council on June 5, 200 by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court