The Last Supper a success!

Hey all! Congrats to everyone on the end of STANDfast. I know the Harwich and Dennis-Yarmouth chapters had some very successful fundraising, and I hope you all did too! We got some awesome publicity, and some not-so-awesome feedback. I thought I’d show you some of the user comments we got on one article:

--

‘Run2daylite’
Great symbolic gesture, but little will happen. Until these kids, and their parents, vote for people who actually care about the people of Burma, it will be business as usual. Perhaps when the students start thinking for themselves, that will occur

‘Orb’
Anyone want to bet that if you placed a globe on a table in front of this group with the names of the countries blocked out...and asked them to point to Darfur and Burma, not a one would be able to do it?

Mac (me)
Darfur is not a country, it is a part of Sudan.

And, run2daylite, the students at Harwich High School DO care about the genocides in Darfur and Burma. We work hard to stay up-to-date on the events happening in these regions, and travelled to DC a couple of weeks ago to attend the STAND National Conference and rally. We've sent 3 tents to refugees of the Darfur conflict to Chad, and we raised over $1,000. fasting last year. We've held Cape-wide battle of the bands, and all of them were very well attended, raising a significant amount of money. Our student population is very responsive to human rights and civil rights issues, and I am personally offended by your statement that we don't 'think for ourselves'.

‘run2daylite’
Your naivete is compelling. I am certainly not disparaging your youthful enthusiasm but the facts are this. Those areas are run by very bad people. The UN (A joke of an agency) peacekeepers have recently pulled out due to the dangers. The thugs that operate there take whatever they want from whomever they want. So in essence, the moneies you and STAND have raised more likely ended up buying more guns or feeding the murders themselves than getting to the people you are trying to help.

Now your trip to washington was, I am sure, well received. But what has George HW Bush, Bill Clinton, George W Bush or President elect Obama (while in the senate) done for these people? You see Burma has no oil worth the risk, so all of the above plus senators kennedy and Kerry as well as rep delahunt simply turn their backs on the innocents. Don't be offended by my statement, be offended by our elected leaders, for they are the ones with the power to help.

You will not learn this leasson from Mr. or Mrs teacher in the shinning hallways of Harwich High, but welcome to civics 101.... real world style.

‘Taxpayer123’
Think globally act locally. That 1000 dollars will never make it to those in need.

Mac (me)
Our $2,000 that we raise will be only a part of the $40,000 Massachusetts will make this week. Last year, the country as a whole made $200,000, which went directly to civilian protection. Seem like nothing? $2,000 helps 780 women in Darfur safely collect firewood, or save 74 households in Burma from impending attacks.

The money goes directly to civilian protection in these two countries, and not through their governments. The Genocide Intervention Network, headed by Mark Hanis, sends the money to ground efforts in Sudan. Our ‘Tents of Hope’ Project (look it up) sent over 300 tents to Chad for Darfuri refugees.

In the 1980s, Sudan was receiving more US monetary and humanitarian aid than any other African country, and rightly so, as the Second Sudanese Civil War had emerged. The Bush administration helped the CPA be signed by implementing diplomatic pressure. This ended the 20-year civil war that had killed over 2 million Sudanese people. Furthermore, in 2006, we pushed the Darfur Peace Agreement.

President-elect Obama, while in Senate, Co-sponsored the Darfur Accountability Act, the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, Civilian Protection, the No-Fly Zone, the Sudan Divestment Authorization Act, and the China Resolution. Senator Kennedy Co-Sponsored all of these except the China Resolution, which he did vote for. Senator Kerry did likewise, also co-sponsoring the Hybrid Force Resolution, which was introduced by Senator Biden. So you can hardly say that these men are doing nothing. Obviously, more could be done. There is always more work to be done. But a pessimistic attitude is never going to bring about change for these people.

‘Truthtalk’
Though the tangible results of their efforts may not be fully recognizable, the fact that they are raising awareness is a crucial step in addressing such atrocities. Though it is shameful and pathetic that most students(and adults)in this country are basically geographically illiterate, there is no need to criticize them. In an ever shrinking world it is truly a wonder that geographic knowledge is not a priority, especially in an imperialist country that asserts its will throughout the world. Unfortunately, geography was eliminated or combined with government or history classes to create social studies in the middle of the 20th century. It is no wonder that we lag behind most of the industrialized countries. That is why groups like this are crucial for raising global awareness and possibly rekindling the notion that teaching geography is important. Instead of criticizing lets wipe the dust off those globes and atlases and make geographic knowledge a priority again.

‘run2daylite’
Yes Saraiyu, all of that appears to be working quite well. Good luck, we will take this conversation up again in the future.

--

I hope I got all my facts right and didn’t embarrass myself on here, but I felt it important to let him know of all our efforts, both as a student-run group, and as a country. If I changed one person’s mind who might have read this, I did my job.

The Last Supper, last night’s closing event of STANDfast did well in Harwich, raising $900. We haven’t counted the rest of our funds from the rest of the week, but cross your fingers that we made it to our goal of $2,000. We donated the leftover food to the NOAH shelter last last night, and they really seemed to appreciate it.

We’re having another event in two weeks, ‘Darfurpalooza’, a show with a bunch of great Cape rock bands. Hope you can all make it!

-Mac
HHS STAND Co-president