The University of Idaho Argonaut

Martin Forum brings speakers to campus today

Ibrahim Musa Adam recalls a difficult conversation with his mother. Calling from Illinois, Adam had confided in his mother his longing to return home to Africa.

“I don’t want you to come back,” he remembered her saying. “I want to see you. I want to see you alive, not dead. We’ll be OK.”

Adam was raised in Jadara, a village in northern Darfur. There he worked as both a farmer and teacher. Despite being homesick, Adam understood why his mother was so insistent on him staying in the United States. 

In July of 2003, Jadara crumbled under the Sudanese army. Eighty people were killed. Twenty were members of Adam’s family. More than 100 members of his family are now split, taking shelter in various refugee camps across Darfur and Chad. Adam’s sister has been separated from her husband and children for three years.
Thinking back, Adam said he agrees with his mother’s advice.

“If I put my foot in Sudan, I will be killed,” he said. “They don’t want to see educated people like me there.”
Instead Adam is working to solve the problem long-distance by spreading knowledge of this disaster.

Adam will be speaking at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre during today’s Martin Forum. The forum is a monthly event held by the University of Idaho Martin Institute, a research and teaching institute focused on global conflict and policy issues.

Adam will be speaking with Mohamed Abdelrahman, another refugee and president of the Darfurian Association of Illinois.

Both are part of the Save Darfur Coalition, a collection of more than 100 faith-based organizations dedicated to stamp out indifference on the subject. Adam and Abdelrahman have traveled the U.S. to speak with all kinds of people.

The lecture will begin with a documentary created by the  SDC and end with a question-and-answer period. Elisa Briesmeister, student and co-coordinator of the Martin Forum, said the video is designed as an educational tool for viewers who may not know the details of the Darfur genocide.

“I think seeing the images for yourself lets you have that personal touch,” she said. “It makes it a real conflict in my mind.”
She said although the video is purely educational, it is graphic and not recommended for
younger audiences.

Adam said his goal is to make people understand what really happened. He said talking about his life history is not difficult for this cause.

“They needed people who have experience with this genocide,” he said. “This is the only way we can have a relationship with the students.”

Adam will cover many issues including reasons why other countries are not getting involved.
The United Nations and the African Union have established a peacekeepers committee in order to develop means of
fighting back.
The committee consists of 26,000 members. 
Adam said in order to have any chance the committee needs at least 24 helicopters, a donation they have yet to receive.

“They need equipment but no country responds,” Adam said.
Adam said making a difference is easy. Students can join local groups.
UI students can join the International Affairs Club or the Student Anti-Genocide Coalition to jumpstart involvement. Adam said he hopes more students will get involved to raise funds, donate and to simply “make more voices” about the issue.

“I ask people to just do something,” he said. “This is genocide. People of Darfur can’t help that genocide by themselves, we have to work together.”