Harwich High STAND

HHS STAND Members Testify on Beacon Hill

2011-06-14T18:47:00.007-04:00

Harwich High School STAND members - Kelly Murphy, Amanda De Oliveira, Elizabeth Ray, and Hannah Baker - testified today before the Massachusetts Legislature Joint Committee on Education in favor of House Bill 1064, An Act Concerning Genocide Education - the Teach Against Genocide Bill. We were joined by HHS STAND alum, and current STAND Northeast Outreach Coordinator at Smith College, MacKenzie Hamilton. The text and video of our testimony is below as is the video of MacKenzie's and some more photos. After the hearing, we were treated to lunch and a discussion of the bill with Rep. Peake, as well as a visit to the well of the House of Representatives, and later we met up with Sen. Wolf as well. Thank you to both of our legislators for their support of this bill and for taking the time to meet with us today.

Text and history of the bill can be found here.

Our testimony:

Testimony of Harwich STAND to the Joint Committee On Education, June 14, 2011, re:H1064

Introduction – KELLY MURPHY

Good morning. We as representatives of Harwich High School STAND (Stand Taking Action Now: Darfur) are here to testify in favor of House bill 1064, An Act Concerning Genocide Education.

STAND is a worldwide network of students that is attempting to end genocide. We involve ourselves with many anti-genocide projects. One of these has been to advocate for House Bill 1064. We believe that education about genocide will end ignorance of the problem and spark activism to hasten the day it will not happen again. This Act is an important step in broadening our students’ education and moving toward the elimination of this crime.

The Genocide Problem – AMANDA DE OLIVIERA

According to the United Nations Convention on the Preventions and Punishment of the crime of Genocide, adopted on December 9, 1948, Genocide is defined as the attempt to destroy in whole or in part a national ethnical, racial or religious group.” Genocide entails mass murder of innocent people, and as such is the most heinous crime known in history.

However, genocide is not history.

Genocides still occur in our modern world. Cambodia, Iraq, Rwanda, Bosnia, Southern Sudan, Burma, and Darfur are some examples. By some estimates, more people have been killed by genocide than have died in war in the last century. In Darfur alone, out of a population of 6 million, approximately 400,000 have been killed and 3 million displaced.

Therefore, learning about the Holocaust, while necessary and critical, is not enough.

The Need for Awareness – LIZZIE RAY

Genocide occurs because some dictators think that eliminating a group will consolidate their power, and because they think they can get away with it.

Therefore, only international diplomacy and intervention can stop or prevent it.

The need for awareness by citizens all over the world is great, because leaders will only take steps against genocide if their constituents demand action.

This can only happen if citizens have the educational background to understand the issue. As the STAND movement shows, when people understand and are aware of genocide, they insist that their governments do what they can to save lives.

The Importance of H 1064 – HANNAH BAKER

The Massachusetts Frameworks shape what our students are taught in their history classes. Currently, the frameworks include the Holocaust. Few schools go beyond this. Students are often left with the mistaken impression that genocide is a historical tragedy not a modern one.

By requiring education about multiple genocides, House Bill 1064 pushes educators to make the connection between the past and the present. This will lead students toward greater understanding of the issue, motivate them to follow global human rights issues, and lead them to become engaged and active constituents.

Conclusion – KELLY MURPHY

The ultimate goal of genocide education is the end of genocide.

When people are engaged on the issue, they can make a difference. In Southern Sudan, the January referendum on independence was widely expected to reignite the civil war that had previously claimed 2 million lives. However, international attention to the issue, initiated by the activism of STAND and other groups, changed Bashir’s calculation. Violence has since increased but hopefully renewed engagement can ensure a peaceful transition to Southern Sudan Independence.

Once, similar groups organized against the scourge of slavery. They organized toward an uncertain day when state-sanctioned slavery would be a phenomenon of the past. Today, the efforts to end genocide face a similar uncertainty. However, with initiatives such as House Bill 1064, we can progress to that day, hopefully in our lifetime, when genocide will also be history.

We ask today for your active support of this important bill.

MacKenzie's Testimony:

Mac:

In the Well of the House of Representatives:

With Rep. Peake and Sen. Wolf:

In front of the State House:

HHS STAND Talent Show 2011

2011-06-01T23:34:00.002-04:00

Tonight Harwich High School STAND hosted our Third Annual HHS Talent Show. We had nine acts entered - the videos are below. The winning act was "Teachers of Harwich Jeopardy"

STAND wants to thank our judges - Ms. Rose, Mr. Breski, and Ms. Levangie, our sound man, Seth Andreasson, our lighting director, Meghan Van Hoose, and our hosts, Mary Benedetto and Garret Ameida. Thank you also to the large crowd who joined us and helped us raise $600 to help our sister school for Darfuris at the Goz Amer Refugee Camp in Chad. The videos:

Rachel Trieble, Don Sanzo, and Kirby Smith perform "New York State of Mind":

Hannah Baker performs "Moondance":

The Dueling Drummers:

Don Sanzo, Mike Malone, Rachel Treible, and Camille Dings perform the skit "Teachers of Harwich Jeopardy":

Garrett Almeida, assisted by Mike Malone and Ryan Toleno:

Ryan Toleno and Friends:

Fred Fredburger Part 1:

Fred Fredburger Part 2:

Sabrina Mowatt and Shantol Grant dance to "Move Your Body":

STANDFast Day Four!

2010-12-03T09:14:00.003-05:00

Yesterday's Trivia Answer: The actor who visited Southern Sudan in October is George Clooney

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3 – STANDFAST DAY 4

Thank you to everyone for supporting our STANDFast this week. Today, we want to focus on what YOU can do to support the cause of peace in Sudan. Four things:

1. Visit the STAND website – standnow.org and participate in the 12 days of STAND campaign.

2. Visit sudanactionnow.org and sign the online petition to the White House.

3. Find more information at the websites for the Enough Project and the Genocide Intervention Network, and look for videos with George Clooney and John Prendergast talking about Sudan.

4. Come to the next STAND meeting! Stay informed and stay involved!

Today’s beard contest – mustache! Today’s trivia question: What HHS alum is a member of STAND’s National Leadership Team?

The Contestants:

Anthony:

Jimmy:

Mike:

Mr. D:

STANDFast Day Three!

2010-12-02T08:23:00.004-05:00

Yesterday's Trivia Answer: approximately 3800 of the Lost Boys came to the United States.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 2 – STANDFAST DAY 3

A.M. ANNOUNCMENT

Thank you to everyone who came to the screening of Rebuilding Hope last night, and a special thank you to Gabriel Bol Deng for taking the time to visit Harwich High School yesterday. Last night, we raised $600 to support Hope for Ariang and primary education in Southern Sudan.

We are focused this week on supporting the people of Southern Sudan as they vote for Independence on January 9. Sudan is also the country whose western region is Darfur. The dictator who controls the Sudan government in Khartoum, Omar al-Bashir, has conducted a campaign of genocide against the people of Darfur since 2003. Approximately 400,000 Darfuris have been killed and millions displaced. International attention and pressure has reduced though not totally eliminated the violence in Darfur. We hope that similar attention and pressure will convince Bashir not to react to the vote for Southern Sudan independence with repression and genocide.

Today’s beard contest – goatee. Today’s trivia question – what actor visited Southern Sudan in October to bring attention to the situation there?

Beard of the Day Contestants:

Anthony:

Ben:

Mike:

Shawn:

Spencer:

Tyler:

Mr. D:

Gabriel Bol Deng Visits Harwich High School

2010-12-02T05:19:00.004-05:00

Harwich High School today enjoyed a visit by Gabriel Bol Deng, founder of Hope for Ariang, and one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. Gabriel started the day by being featured on WCAI's show, The Point with Mindy Todd, discussing his experiences in Sudan, coming to the United States, his efforts to build a school in his home village of Ariang, and the upcoming referendum on independence in Southern Sudan. Following the show, he came to visit the school. After having lunch in the school cafeteria, he visited a government class, discussing the history and politics of Sudan. Then last period, he talked to a school-wide assembly about how to "Move a Mountain" - his motivational presentation based on his experiences as a refugee from the War in Southern Sudan (see below). Finally, in the evening, we hosted a screening and discussion of the award-winning documentary, Rebuilding Hope, which follows Gabriel and two other Lost Boys as they return to Sudan to look for their families and to begin to do humanitarian work in their home villages. HHS STAND would like to thank Gabriel for coming to Harwich High School and to Hope for Ariang Board Member Cynthia Davis for bringing him to the Cape. All of the proceeds of all of our STANDFast events this week will go to benefit Hope for Ariang to support education in Southern Sudan.

His presentation at the school assembly:

Part One:

Part Two:

Part Three: (Video about Ariang School)

Part Four:

STANDFast Day Two!

2010-12-01T08:18:00.005-05:00

Yesterday's Trivia Answer: the Capital of Southern Sudan is Juba.

Beard of the Day winner was Tyler.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 1 – STANDFAST DAY 2

MORNING ANNOUNCEMENT

As a large conglomeration of tribes created by the British Empire, Sudan has been at war with itself almost constantly since it gained independence in 1956. The first war between Northern and Southern Sudan lasted from 1956 to 1972 and is estimated to have killed 500,000 people. The war began again in 1983, and was intensified in the 1990’s under the dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir. This second war featured genocidal tactics where villages were attacked and all residents who didn’t escape were slaughtered. The Lost Boys of Sudan were boys who banded together in the wilderness after their villages were annihilated and who walked hundreds of miles to Ethiopia and Kenya, many of their friends dying along the way. Many of the Lost Boys emigrated as refugees to the United States and other nations. Eventually, a Comprehensive Peace Agreement ended the second war in 2005, leading to the referendum on independence on January 9.

Today, one of the Lost Boys, Gabriel Bol Deng, is visiting our school. He will be in some classes after lunch, and last period, we will have a partial screening of his film, Rebuilding Hope, and a discussion with him in the auditorium. Tonight at 7, we will host a full screening and discussion of the film.

Today’s beard contest – freestyle. Today’s Trivia Question – how many of the Lost Boys came to the United States?

Beard Contest of the Day - Freestyle - The Contestants:

Tom:

Sam:

Joel:

Zach:

Mr. D:

STANDFast Day One!

2010-11-30T08:45:00.004-05:00

TUESDAY 11/30 – STANDFAST DAY ONE

AM ANNOUNCEMENT

Welcome to STANDFast. This week we will be focusing on the situation in Southern Sudan. On January 9, 2011, there will be a referendum on Southern Sudan independence. If the election is free and fair, then it is widely expected that the vote will be yes for independence. But Sudan is run by the same dictator, Omar al-Bashir, who killed 400,000 people in Darfur, and 2 million in Southern Sudan. So without international attention and pressure, there is concern that the vote will be rigged or suppressed, and that more war and genocide may result from this.

We are raising money this week for school children in Southern Sudan. Please give something up and donate money at lunch to help the cause, and please sign the poster in the building 3 hallway.

Also, you will be able vote at lunch for the best full beard. Donate money in the bin for the beard you think is the best - the bin with the most money wins.

We will also have a trivia question each day – to enter, fill out a slip in the main office with your answer before last period – today’s question: What is the capital of Southern Sudan?

Beard Contest of the Day: Full Beards. The Contestants:

Anthony:

Michael:

Spencer:

Tyler:

STANDFast This Week!

2010-11-28T04:53:00.003-05:00

We will be hosting STANDFast this week at HHS. Members of STAND will be fasting with sponsors contributing to the cause of Sudan relief and education. We will be challenging all students at school to give something up this week to support the cause. On Wednesday we will be hosting Gabriel Bol Deng, one of the "Lost Boys" of Sudan, for a visit to classes during the day, and a special screening that night of Rebuilding Hope (12/1, 7 PM, HHS Auditorium), a film about his return to Sudan to build schools. Also this week, we will have daily trivia contests, and daily beard contests as the culmination to No Shave November. See preview below:

We will post more every morning this week starting Tuesday.

Harwich Students Question the Candidates

2010-10-22T08:35:00.004-04:00

Harwich students hosted three election events and were able to get all the candidates to respond to genocide issues.

Rep. Perry:

On Tuesday, we had a Q&A session with Republican nominee for Congress Jeff Perry, and STAND co-President Amanda de Oliviera asked him how we can prevent civil war in South Sudan and support a broad anti-genocide strategy. While he did not advocate for a direct U.S. role in preventing conflict in Sudan (which we may have hoped), he cited the success of the Massachusetts divestment bill (that Harwich STAND testified to support in 2007), and he asserted the importance of our participation and support in U.N. efforts in this regard. This is probably a stronger answer than we might get from most Republican candidates.

Perry answers our question:

On Wednesday, we hosted two debates - one for the state representative candidates, and one for the state senate race. In both debates, we featured a question about the Teach Against Genocide bill that died in the House Ways and Means Committee this term - specifically would they sponsor and support its reintroduction next term. For the state representative candidates, Republican David Dunford, after admitting to be unfamiliar with the bill, gave a strong statement about the importance of teaching about genocides. Democratic incumbent Sarah Peake gave a strong statement of support, also citing our successful advocacy for the divestment bill.

Dunford, Peake answer our question:

In the senate debate, Republican Jim Crocker, like his colleague, acknowledge his lack of background on the issue, but stated that he would be open to meet with any constituents who wanted to advocate for a particular bill. Democrat Dan Wolf emphatically endorsed TAG and STAND's anti-genocide activities having attended our rally last summer in Hyannis, and having relatives who experienced the Holocaust.

Crocker, Wolf answer our question

These events are examples of how student groups can get candidates to respond to questions on genocide issues. Whoever wins, we can expect that when we go to lobby them, they will be familiar and hopefully sympathetic with our advocacy.

HHS STAND Talent Show 2010

2010-05-11T22:21:00.005-04:00

On Friday, May 7, we hosted our second annual HHS Talent Show, featuring 14 acts. The contestants were all outstanding, and the night was a great success, raising $728 for our sister school at Djabal Refugee Camp in Chad. Special thanks to Erik Raneo and Chris Walkley for setting up the sound system, Meghan Van Hoose for running the lights, Sheila House and Laurie Hamilton for judging, Andie Ramirez and Krista Davis for MCing, Ramsey Musk for running the door and the voting. The contestants and results below:

Intro - Andie and Krista:

Ellyn and Hannah - clarinet duet:

Abby - Single Ladies Dance:

Ellyn - original poem:

Alyssa - I Believe in Love:

Robert and Lauren - Santeria:

Kevin, Dylan, Tom - original:

John and Mike - Tiger:

Siobhan - ballet:

Bethany - piano:

Mary - tumbling:

Jeff - viola:

Pirtle - I'm a little monster:

Cynthia - original poem:

Blind Drive:

Results and Ensemble:

Congratulations to 2nd runner ups, John and Mike, 1st runner up, Abby, and winner, Blind Drive!

Pledge2Protect Day 3

2009-11-09T17:10:00.005-05:00

Minus Larry and Arielle who left early for a 9 AM flight to make it back for the play, we gathered for a quick bite around 8, checked our bags with the bellhop, and set up for our march up Capitol Hill. Of the 900 or so at the conference, about 300 stayed for this event. Holding signs and chanting, we marched to the Hart Office building where we gathered for a photo op. Our group actually went in the Russell Building and then followed the tunnels to Hart. There we gathered en masse. Having been warned not to disturb, we nonetheless held our signs up to the cameras and broke out in applause. From there, everyone rapidly broke up to head for their lobbying appointments.

On the March:

At the Hart Building:

We walked over to Rayburn for our appointment in Rep, Delahunt’s office. On the way we passed by the Supreme Court building where there was a long line, presumably to hear today’s arguments on the Florida cases involving giving life sentences to minors.

At the USSC:

We met with Tracey Jacobsen, who is counsel for the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight, which Delahunt chairs. This puts Delahunt (and Tracey) in a strong position to influence the bills we are advocating. We showed her a video that STAND had produced on the Genocide Prevention Task Force, which emphasized that preventing genocide is both achievable and in our national security interest. We have the ability and responsibility to do so. We then gave her our five legislative priorities.

1) Begin to implement the GPTF recommendations, specifically support the creation of a Emergency Crisis Fund at the high level of $100 million as passed by the Senate.

2) On Sudan, support the Obama administration’s policy review, and sign on to the Wolf-Capuano letter urging the President to make Sudan a high priority in his upcoming discussions with China.

3) Support HR 898 calling for the UN Security Council to form a Commission of Inquiry into the ongoing human rights abuses in Burma.

4) Consider signing on as an original co-sponsor for a pending bill to require all mineral producers to make their processing facilities auditable for the source of their minerals, so that we can begin to trace where the conflict minerals from the Congo are going.

5) Support HR2478 on the disarmament of the Lord’s Resistance Army in NE Congo and to fund recovery from their past atrocities.

Tracey was impressed by the presentation and also alerted us to another bill which Rep. Delahunt is sponsoring – the International Violence Against Women Act. This is a piece of legislation that could impact policy in all of the conflict we are focusing on and is something we definitely want to support. Overall, this was an exhilarating and informative exercise in human rights lobbying. It helps that Rep. Delahunt is already such a great advocate for human rights causes!

Behind Rep. Delahunt's desk:

From there, we headed to the new Capitol Visitors’ Center for a Capitol Tour. This was a new and different experience from past visits. We saw an interesting film then were whisked through for a very brief and partial 20 minute tour. Delahunt’s office had given us passes for the House Gallery, so we got to visit that as well – I think the first time I had been there. We all had a similar reaction that it isn’t as big as it seems on TV during a presidential address.

In the Capitol:

We managed to keep a tight schedule and get to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee offices in the Dirksen building for an appointment with Andrew Weintraub on Sen. Kerry’s staff. Andrew had already been lobbied by a STAND delegation this morning, so we kept to a general conversation about the issues rather than being completely repetitive. Again, we are fortunate that our Senator is in such a key leadership role as the chair of the Committee – we actually met with Andrew in the hearing room – the same room where he once testified as the head of Vietnam Veterans Against the War and where I was motivated by watching a subcommittee hearing on the Iran-Contra Affair as a 16 year old. Like Tracey, Andrew was very knowledgeable, and very supportive of the students and the cause.

In the Senate Foreign Relations hearing room:

From there, we headed back to the hotel to get our bags, after one last picture on the Capitol steps:

We then walk one last time to Union Station for a late lunch and to catch the MARC train to BWI. We got to our 5:40 flight to Boston in plenty of time and had another great JetBlue experience on the way home. We had time for a quick bite at Logan and then caught the 7:45 P&B bus to the Cape – arriving at exit 6 at 9:40.

At Union Station:

Overall, we had a great trip. We made all our connections and appointments on time. We fit in a wide variety of capitol experiences, and most importantly, we leave educated, informed and inspired to redouble our efforts to pursue our anti-genocide mission. I come back to the analogy of the anti-slavery movement and the comment from the gentleman from Congo. We need to both take the long view that our efforts push slowly toward a world without genocide, and at the same time try to take actions that make a real difference for the victims of genocide today. We will continue, and to record here, our efforts in this mission.

Pledge2Protect Day 2

2009-11-09T16:42:00.007-05:00

Good morning! We had a wonderful run this morning around the Washington Monument (well I did anyway). Then on to breakfast, and a fascinating plenary on Burma. Well, depressing. Dr. Tom Van Dyke started - to summarize: The military junta, led by Than Shwe, has perpetrated genocide on ethic minorities in Eastern and Western Burma, for example the Karen people. They (the government/military) use forced labor (including military porters who are shot when they stop), narcotics trafficking, torture, rape, religious persecution, landmines, forced relocation into concentration camps, destruction of food supplies, landmines, burning villages, disease, and direct attacks on civilians in free-fire zones. They do this for ethnic dominance and “burmaficaiton”, for the control of natural resources, and for increasing political control. The situation is so bad that essentially no outside organization can operate there. But domestic groups have sprung up to try to provide protection and relief – such as the BNRA and the Free Burma Rangers.

At the Burma plenary:

Next Myra Dahgaypaw of the Karen National Union spoke. She spoke in vivid terms of the mass atrocities there. At one point, as she recounted the murder of her family members, she stopped and broke down. After a minute of silence, we broke into an applause of support. After a few more minutes she was able to continue and describe the fate of her aunt who was raped to death while her husband was forced to watch and then her husband was skinned, smothered with salt and chiles and left to bleed to death. Even in this room of people who confront this issue all the time, her account was stunning.

Giving Myra a standing O:

Patrick Cook-Deegan gave us a review of current Obama administration policy on Burma, led by Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State. There are four pillars – 1) release political prisoners (est. 2100), 2) End all conflict with ethnic minorities (i.e., stop the genocide!), 3) establish a tripartite dialogue between the junta, the democracy movement, and the ethnic minorities, and 4) accountability for human rights abuses. While Burma has been under this brutal regime since 1988, there is a sense of a worsening crisis for the ethnic minorities there. We must act!

After the Burma plenary, we attended regional breakout to prepare for Lobby Day on Monday, for which (our own!) MacKenzie Hamilton is the overall coordinator. Our Massachusetts session was led by Allyson Neville, who led us through the basics of the process – what to say, how to approach issues, etc. We are pretty fired up for our meetings tomorrow!

Ms. Kehoss then led the students on a walk down the mall to the National Archives – another gorgeous 70 degree day in DC. Meanwhile I attended a session on the Carl Wilkens Fellowship to which I have applied. This was informative session, in which several current fellows described their work. One memorable moment came when a gentleman from Congo asked a question about whether what we do actually makes a difference? It hasn’t for him people in eastern Congo – the genocide goes on. In one of the responses, one of the fellows made the analogy to the anti-slavery movement. Many people lived and died working for the end of slavery and never seeing it. But their actions helped eventually to bring that day. Perhaps our efforts to end genocide are similar.

We met up again for lunch at the concluding panel of the Conference. Carl Wilkens himself started with his story from Rwanda – he was the only American to stay when the U.N. evacuated Rwanda as the genocide began. He stayed and helped shelter and feed hundreds of orphans who would have otherwise perished, while his wife Theresa took their kids to Kenya. As he told his story he shoed pictures of the children who he helped and w who survived and those who were killed. Carl is a dynamic and poiwerful speaker. When MacKenzie did genocide recovery work in Rwanda last summer with Global Youth Connect, she became friends with one of the orphans he saved – it was an emotional moment as I took her picture with the Wilkens.

Carl Wilkens:

MacKenzie with Theresa and Carl Wilkens:

The panel continued with Joey Cheeks, gold medalist speed skater, who told of how he came to decide to use his celebrity to combat genocide. He talked about he bystander effect where people often ignore people in peril rather than risk getting involved. But as he said, if it was you on the ground getting beat up, wouldn’t you want someone to stop and help? Oscar Morales spoke – he who started the One Million Voices against the FARC movement, which culminated in a international march in which 14 million people participated. Also, Johnny Strange, a high school student who has scaled the seven highest peaks in the world, spoke of his commitment to the issue, posing on the top of Everest with a sign “Stop Genocide.” Then Layla Amjadi, STAND’s Student Director told her story of commitment to the cause. Then after we acknowledged the Coordinators who organized this fabulous conference, the day ended with an inspirational speech by Sam Bell.

After the conclusion, we walked down the mall on this spectacular afternoon to the Holocaust Museum. This experience is powerful to the point of being indescribable. For most of our group, it was their first time through the museum – what an invaluable experience. We walked back in the last fading colors of dusk to Capitol Hill, and went to enjoy another dinner at the food court at Union Station – this is one of my favorite places to eat anywhere!

At the Washington Monument:

At the Holocaust Museum:

On the walk back to the hotel:

The Capitol:

Dinner at Union Station:

At 7, we met Tess back at the hotel for a night monument tour. We spent time at the WWII Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, The FDR Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial (also walking through the Vietnam and Korean War Memorials). The night tour never disappoints . . .

On the night tour w/ Tess - the WWII Memorial:

At the Jefferson Memorial:

Hangin' with Abe:

At the Korean War Memorial:

Pledge2Protect Day 1

2009-11-07T21:49:00.005-05:00

What a crazy day! We all got up around 2 AM to make it to the bus at 3. Check that. Most of us never went to bed having spent the night at the Leadership Lockin. This made for a quiet bus ride to Logan. We got through Logan fine and got our DD. Then we boarded on time for the hour flight to BWI.

Arrived BWI at 8 and were loaded up with our van driver Tess by 8:30. Strolled into the Hyatt at 9 just as the first plenary on Sudan was starting.

We listened to several speakers, including MA’s own Rep. Jim McGovern – who was excellent – “It doesn’t take a gun to commit genocide, germs will work just as well” if we leave people malnourished and without health care in refugee camps. Also, “The world will not get better on its own.” Michelle Gavin, from the NSC, urged us to 1) focus on not just what must be stopped, but what must be built, 2) help us multilateralize, and 3) hold us (the administration) accountable. Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah, of el-Fasher, Darfur, expressed that people in Darfur are disappointed. People are still raped, killed, left homeless – nothing has changed. We must keep up the pressure on our government to DO something about it – the only people who should feel “Darfur fatigue” are the Darfuris!

At this point, 10:30, most of us retired to the rooms for a badly needed morning nap. I attended a fascinating breakout session on the Congo. We got a quick review of the origins of the conflict – starting in the late 90’s as Rwanda supported a force to battle the remnants of the Interhamwe from the Rwandan genocide, leading to the fall of Mubutu, and the rise of Kabila. Since then, changing alliances and the absence of any real Congo army has created deepening instability and an infestation of forces using rape and mass murder to control areas and exploit the spiraling price of minerals fond in Congo that are critical to modern electronic devices – Conflict Minerals. This conflict has left approx. 5,000,000 dead in the last decade or so. Learned some of the actors – FDLR – bad guys (everyone with guns pretty much are mass killers, including the “army” – the horrid Kimea II campaign this year). Also got a primer on the brutal LRA that has migrated from N.Uganda/S.Sudan to NE Congo. Overall, you get the picture of a failed state with vast remote ungoverned territory leaving local populations exposed to these mass atrocities.

I also attended a really informative and depressing session on the elections in Sudan. Folks from the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute (not partisan groups, but agencies doing the work on the ground trying to help fledgling democracies around the world) described the work they are doing learning from and informing citizens about the elections. My takeaway is that we are heading for a train wreck. The presidential election in 2010 will not be “free and fair” or even likely “good enough”. They are in the middle of supposedly registering the entire country – which there isn’t the infrastructure to do. But despite the sham, the South Sudanese will want the election to go forward since this a step toward the referendum on independence for S, Sudan in 2011. But the 2010 election will “legitimize” and embolden Bashir, who will probably sabotage the 2011 referendum. Whether he cancels or rigs or ignores the referendum, it seems certain to trigger violence that will kill thousands, probably hundreds of thousands.

The gang reemerged for lunch at 1, as we listened to a plenary on the Congo. It started with a dynamic “positive rapper” Omekongo Dibinga, who inspired us:
Knowledge is power,
Ignorance is bliss
I will do what I can,
To end this crisis.
He decried the media that seems to only be able to pay attention to one conflict per decade. He reminded us of the history of our activism against the exploitation of the Congo to Mark Twain and W.E.B. DuBois who spoke out on the issue of rubber exploitations. He encouraged us to take actions, such as to have a cell-out, where we turn our cellphones off for a day but leave a message explaining that we do this to bring their attention to issue of conflict minerals in Congo. As he put it “We are Consuming Congo”. The second speaker was a Congolese woman talking about sexual violence there, but people were too loud eating lunch to follow what she said. The final speaker was John Prendergast (!), who urged us to take action by 1) pressuring Congress, 2) Demanding conflict free products form major electronic companies like Apple (go to raisehopeforcongo.org) and 3) push for our schools to call for conflict free products. He reminded us that in a decade or so, we reversed the effects of “blood diamonds” in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Angola and we can do the same in Congo. We need to get more active on Congo!

After this we took a walk – to the Capitol then down the mall to the National Archives and back – too long a line there, so we stopped at the National Gallery East Wing. We came back to a session on Global Advocacy in Sudan. Again, I left feeling pretty depressed on what will happen in 2011 especially.

We then walked to Union Station, and went to the food court there for dinner – my favorite food court anywhere – dozens of local vendors, no chains. We then came back for one more session on video advocacy, which was outstanding. Gave us some great ideas on producing a video to advocate and pressure our legislators – remember to focus on goal, message, messengers. Examples at 350.org, videoforchange.wordpress.com.
Also do a search on youtube for “Walldemart” – a hilarious Harry Potter spoof.

Back up to our rooms around 8, I gave them (and me) the rest of the evening to relax and go to bed early – 10:00 curfew. Back at it bright and early – breakfast at 8!

Dinner and Concert Fundraiser nets $4170

2009-08-07T08:20:00.016-04:00

Congratulations to all the members of Harwich STAND who helped make this week's fundraiser a huge success. We raised over $4000 at our dinner and concert featuring performances by Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, and talks by Enough Project's Omer Ismail. This money will go to help start a school at the Djabal refugee camp in Chad.

Dinner for Darfur

We started the night with a fabulous dinner at the Chatham VFW. Fifty people attended. Special thanks to Jan Crowell (!!) and the VFW for donating the facility and doing so much to make it successful.

The event wouldn't have happened without Ed Ramirez who donated his time to head chef the dinner.

This event was made possible by the generosity by these restaurants who donated all delicious dishes:

Buca's
Campari's
Marion's Pie Shop
The Mason Jar
The Corner Store

Also, Mermaids on Main, and Tara Owen who prepared and donated gift bogs for our special guests and their families, and Stop and Shop who donated additional food.

Please patronize these businesses and thank them for supporting the fundraiser.

Also, thank you to Rolf Schmalzer who prepared two trays of food, Anne Hynes who helped arrange all the last minute details, and Jeff Howell who MC'd the event.

We also had a very successful silent auction. Items were generously donated by Brian Hamilton and Eastward Ho (Golf for 4), Rolf Schmalzer (two wood carvings), Buca's (gift certificate), Eastern Mountain Sports (kayak rental) and John Dickson (sailing outing and Alaskan salmon). Thanks to all!

We were treated to a slide show review of her mission to Rwanda by MacKenzie Hamilton, then a talk by Omer Ismail, a Darfuri exile and senior policy advisor at the Enough Project, and finally a performance by Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion.

Concert for Darfur

From the dinner, we scampered across town the Bandstand for our outdoor folk concert. We entertained an audience of about 150-200.

Special thanks to Brian Boyle - our expert Lighting Technician, and lighting guru at the Cape Cod Melody Tent, who has been donating his time, equipment and talents to us for years.

Also, thanks to Erik Raneo, who set up and ran the sound system, also donating his time, equipment and expertise. They both did a fantastic job producing a professional event.

Thanks also to The Wayside Inn, who lent us tables, power cords, and outlets. And most especially to the Chatham Parks and Recreation Commission, who generously granted us permission to use Kate Gould Park and supported our mission of genocide relief.

We had wonderful opening performances by Chad Wimberly of Harwich High School, Anna Hirst of Nauset, and Lillian Terry-Welsh of Chatham and Cape Cod Academy. John DIckson also led us in singing the Preamble as a warmup.

We were then treated to an outstanding set by Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, featuring songs from their "Folksong" and "Exploration" recordings among others - visit sarahleeandjohnny.com and buy these!

Omer Ismail gave a stirring and emotional appeal for us to keep up our work on Darfur, Sudan, and other human rights issues.

Sarah Lee and Johnny concluded their set, and then came into the audience for an intimate sing-a-long encore, ending with a rendition of This Land is Your Land that is still running through my mind.

Thanks to all the STAND members who made this event happen - MacKenzie Hamilton, Andie Ramirez, Ellyn Schmalzer, Cynthia Miranda, Ethan Razinha, Abigail Hynes Houston, Mary Hall, Robert Pirtle, Colin Hamilton, and Ellyn's cousins!

To see more pictures of the concert, check out this slide show on flickr.

A great event - looking forward to our second annual event Summer 2010!

First Annual Dinner for Darfur Honoring Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion

2009-07-21T14:52:00.002-04:00

Harwich High School STAND Presents the
First Annual Dinner for Darfur

Featuring and Honoring:

Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, folk singers,
for their work on behalf of Peace and Justice

And Omer Ismail, Sudanese Exile, of the Enough Project, Sudan Democratic Forum, Darfur Peace and Development

Monday, August 3, 2009
At the Chatham VFW, George Ryder Road
5:30-7:30
Ticket Price: $40

To reserve tickets, call HHS STAND Advisor John Dickson, 508-274-7367

All Proceeds to benefit the Sister Schools Program of the Enough Project and our Sister School at Djabal Refugee Camp in Chad – Helping to establish a school for victims of the genocide in Darfur.

Featuring a buffet of delicious dishes form the best local restaurants, including Buca’s, Campari’s, The Corner Store, The Mason Jar, Marion’s Pie Shop, Pate’s, and more!

Harwich High School STAND - Student Taking Action Now: Darfur

Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion Play A Concert for Darfur

2009-06-19T11:50:00.001-04:00

Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion
The First Family of Folk Perform
A Concert for Darfur
At the Chatham Bandstand
Monday, August 3rd, 2009
7:30-10 PM
Don’t miss this unique folk experience!
Also featuring local performers

All proceeds to benefit the Sister School Project of Harwich High School’s STAND (Students Taking Action Now: Darfur), helping to build a secondary school for Darfuris living at the Djabal Refugee Camp in Chad.

Suggested Donation: $10 - Rain date: August 4th

State House Testimony Videos

2009-06-14T20:31:00.003-04:00

Here are the videos of the our testimony last week.

Part 1: MacKenzie Hamilton and Andie Ramirez

Part 2: Emily Cunningham and Questions/Comments from the Committee

Harwich STAND Students Testify at the State House

2009-06-09T15:52:00.006-04:00

Harwich STAND Students Testify at the State House

Two Harwich High School students testified before the Joint Committee on Education today in support of H.S 463, An Act Concerning Genocide Education. MacKenzie Hamilton and Andie Ramirez, members of Harwich STAND (Students Taking Action Now Darfur) argued why the state needs to increase its commitment to genocide education, in order to help prevent future catastrophes. Eight STAND members traveled to the State House to support the cause and to lobby their representatives.

We also were able to meet with Sen. O'Leary for an hour prior to the hearing to discuss the bill. Sen. O'Leary chairs the Education Committee, so this was a valuable opportunity to try to sell him on the merits of the bill. Hopefully we made some headway. Here's Pirtle in his chair:

Below are the statements of Harwich STAND members MacKenzie Hamilton and Andie Ramirez, and the statement of Emily Cunnigham of Cardinal Spellman, state chair of Teach Against Genocide, delivered as a panel before the Joint Committee on Education today.

Testimony of MacKenzie Hamilton to the Joint Committee on Education, June 9, 2009

Good afternoon, my name is MacKenzie Hamilton and I'm a recent graduate of Harwich High School here to testify in favour of HR 463.

As Elie Wiesel, genocide survivor and author of Night once said, "Education in the key to preventing the cycle of violence and hatred that marred the 20th century from repeating itself in the 21st century."

Time and time again, we hear quotes like, "Never Again," but more and more, victims not so much of the Holocaust, but of Bosnia, Rwanda, and Darfur are being forgotten. People do not realize that during the three and a half month Rwandan genocide that the number 800,000 stands for real people: 333 per hour, 5 per minute slaughtered, tortured, raped, and hacked apart. People do not realize that 400,000 dead and 2.5 million driven from their homes represents a majority of the pre-genocide population of Darfur. In schools, we are neglecting human rights issues to prepare students for standardized tests. Testing may be important, but the lives of innocent civilians also need to hold importance in our society. As Samantha Power stated so eloquently in her book, A Problem from Hell, "Time and again, decent men and women choose to look away. We have all been bystanders to genocide." It is time for you to make your own decision. Will you look away, or will you do what you can for our mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters in Darfur?

Children are the most valuable resource we have. The only way we can end such atrocities is to educate our children, and teach them to care, and that what they think matters. We need to teach them to act politically, socially, and stand up for what is right.

Three years ago, my school formed a chapter of Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, the student-led division of the Genocide Intervention Network. Dozens of students in my school have worked to raise money in any way they could. We've held numerous concerts to generate funds for relief, fasted to raise money for refugee protection, made presentations teaching the conflict in history classes, and helped start a school for refugee students in Chad. Their students have something to teach us. They wish to teach us how fortunate we are. They wish to teach us courage in the face of hardships, starvation, and sorrow. They wish to teach us that as we sit in these cushioned seats with our Sunday Best on, and shoes on our feet, that there are millions out there that are starving and without any semblance of schooling. With all of our resources, we have our own responsibility. Not only do we have a responsibility to protect, but we have a responsibility to teach our own students to think beyond themselves.

We've been to Washington, DC, and lobbied our representatives. We've been here in Boston, to lobby our legislators to divest from Sudan. We've organized ourselves to combat genocide. We've set our list of priorities. Human life first. I've witnessed children in my school as young as 14 calling Representative Delahunt to ask for his help. We've done our part, and will continue to do so, but now it is time for you to act. No bickering over a couple of dollars for materials for schools, no arguing over whether this atrocity is or is not genocide, no looking away, because Africa is too far away, and we don't think we can help. As I speak, women are being raped, men are being killed, and children are dying of hunger in Darfur. This is real, and this must be addressed now.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have done our part, and now it's time that you do yours. What you can do as legislators is to pass HR 463. To date, only 9 out of our 50 states have any semblance of Genocide Education in their curriculums, and only California and New Jersey have funded mandates. We cannot let children finished their high school careers with only a warped view of the Holocaust and blank stares at the words, "Armenia," "Bosnia," and, "Rwanda." I can think of few things more important to teach than humanity and 'good will to men.' We need to tell our children the truth--the world is not a perfect place, and there is so much that we take for granted; we hate doctor's appointments, while millions around the world would do anything for adequate medical care; we won't eat our mother's aparagus, while millions more are malnourished starving around the world; we cry over a three week relationship, while there are a hundred thousand women being raped in Sudan.

These children have the capacity and right to learn. We cannot close their eyes any longer and shelter them from what is truth to hundreds of millions of people around the world. We also cannot teach just the Holocaust and leave it at that. We need to give the children the material and resources with which they can educate themselves and fight for what is right.

Testimony of Andie Ramirez to the Joint Committee on Education, June 9, 2009

Hi, my name is Andie Ramirez I’m a junior at Harwich high school. I’ve been a member of STAND for two years and I became interested in STAND my sophomore year after hearing two genocide survivors speak. Their stories made me realize that we need to help, and we need to take action.

In my remarks id like to focus on the amendment we are proposing to HR 463. We are proposing that In Section 1, paragraph one, to replace the words "any one such genocide may" with "at least two genocides should" so that the sentence will read: "Case studies of at least two genocides should be used to demonstrate the concept of genocide."

As the bill stands now, it only requires that schools teach one instance of genocide, and that is not likely to change anything. This is because every high school in Massachusetts most likely teaches about the Holocaust, but that is certainly not enough. For current and future generations to understand the gravity of genocide, they must be educated on present day atrocities in Rwanda, Darfur, Burma, Congo and elsewhere, as well as the Holocaust. The past and present genocides must be connected, not only will this make history real, it will create a force against the unlawful extermination of millions of innocent people. Genocide isn’t just an awful thing that happened once, it’s something that has happened, and is still continuing to happen to this present day. Through the education of not one, but multiple genocides, children will realize that genocide is a current issue, and one that must be stopped. So please consider this amended language.

Our bill faces another difficulty because it mandates $50,000 in spending by the Department of Education. Our numbers come upon the advice of the legal representatives of the Telling History Project and the Children's Fund for Creative Education. Our legislation is not unprecedented, as other specific education programs are funded individually, and at a much higher cost. Funding could provide teacher trainings, more detailed guides and curricular materials, and the spread of such materials and knowledge to middle and high schools throughout the Commonwealth. However, if funding is not attainable at this time, I urge you to move the bill forward without it, to find another way of giving this bill teeth and substance, or of delaying the funding until a more economically feasible fiscal year.

Another possible objection might be to an additional mandate on the Department of Education. This legislation is by no means intended to infringe upon a teacher's right to creativity within his classroom, but to dismiss, glaze over, or provide a one sided perspective on the deaths of millions of innocent civilians is to create holes in a child's history education so great that they distort the very fabric of the curriculum. We hope you will see the value of this in improving the education of all our students.

Testimony of Emily Cunningham to the Joint Committee on Education, June 9, 2009

Regrettably, everything I know about genocide, I did not learn in school.

My interest in the history of genocide began during my freshman year of high school when the situation in Darfur started to make headlines. I was outraged at the atrocities that were being committed under the complacent eye of the world's most powerful governments, at the ignorance and indifference of my friends and family toward the situation, but mostly at my own ignorance when I began to learn more about the genocide in Darfur and realized that it was not an isolated incident, nor was it the first genocide that had taken place since the Nazi Holocaust. Where had my history teachers failed me?

I began to research and develop an addition to the current curriculum framework that would integrate genocide education in an effective way. In my research, I came across a similar effort made over ten years ago. The Massachusetts Legislature and Governor enacted Chapter 276 of the Acts of 1998, a law directing the Department of Education to make recommendations on curricular materials and resources related to teaching about genocide and human rights. The result was The Massachusetts Guide to Choosing and Using Curricular Materials on Genocide and Human Rights.

Said Commissioner of Education David Driscoll, "It is important that students acquire knowledge about genocide and human rights issues to deepen their understanding of both past and current events."

Why then is this document hidden within the depths of the Department of Primary and Secondary Education's website? Why have several high school teachers I have interviewed with a vested interest in genocide and human rights education had no idea of its existence? Why do we continue to inadequately teach our youth about one of the most gravely important issues facing humanity today? This guide is a first step in recognizing the need for genocide education in schools, but I am here from the perspective of a student to tell you that your work is not done.

I have identified five improvements that could be made to the existing frameworks which I believe this bill will help to implement.

1. Curricular materials need to be genocide specific. In the existing frameworks and supplements, there is no mention of the definition of genocide, or the Genocide Convention. Slavery, human rights issues, war casualties, and genocide are lumped into a single document, but in order to address each topic correctly, they must be acknowledged, approached, and taught differently.

2. There is no mention of US involvement or lack of involvement in any curriculum framework or supplement.

3. There is a strong tendency of teachers to rely on the chronology, dates, facts, and figures rather than to address the underlying causes of genocide and the common threads which connect such atrocities of the past and present.

4. Curricular recommendations and materials must be kept up to date. There is no mention of Cambodian genocide, the Kurdish Genocide, the Darfuri genocide or the slaughter of the Karen people of Burma.

5. Finally, this bill needs funding. Though it may be difficult in a time of economic crisis, I urge you to think of the money spent on teacher trainings, conferences, and outside curricular materials in terms of an investment in our future. In fact, our request is a drop in bucket of the Department of Education's near five billion dollar budget.

The lessons, stories, and common threads among the Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Burma, and Sudan should echo from the blackboards and lecterns of every middle and high school across our Commonwealth. If not, for what have these millions upon millions of innocent mothers, fathers, and children died over the past century?

Samantha Power, genocide scholar and advisor to President Obama states

"No US President has ever made genocide prevention a priority, and no US President has ever suffered politically for his indifference to its occurrence. It is thus no coincidence that genocide rages on."

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel tells us that "the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference." I urge you as legislators not to be indifferent to the opportunity to create a place in the curriculum framework for genocide specific education which shows the connection between the past and the atrocities that continue to take place in Congo, Burma, and Darfur today. You have a unique opportunity to breed a generation of political will in Massachusetts that will continue to stand up against human rights abuses everywhere.

Harwich Has Talent! A benefit for the Sister Schools Project

2009-06-04T09:49:00.018-04:00

On May 22, Harwich STAND hosted the first annual Harwich Has Talent! contest to benefit our new partnership with Djabal Refugee Camp in Chad through the Sister Schools Project, for which we raised over $600. From twenty diverse and entertaining entries, we chose four category winners and an overall winner. Interspersed in the show were presentations on the genocide in Darfur and the fate of refugees such as those at Djabal.

Special thanks to Joe Rebello and Andie Ramirez for hosting the event. MacKenzie Hamilton for presenting the Darfur segments, Megan Van Hoose for running the lights, Erik Raneo for running the sound, Amira Downs and Zack Jamous for providing the introductions in Arabic, and Sheila House, Mrs. Hemeon, Dr. Frankel, and Officer Davis for being judges. Thanks also to Laura Grose for posting the show segments on youtube and to Arielle Kiefer for shooting the video. Also to Jamie Gallerani for taking the photos posted below, and to all the Harwich STAND members who helped organize and run the show.

A few snapshots of the event below, and at the bottom a link to the youtube clips:

Our hosts doing their catwalk routine with Ellyn:

Amira doing an Arabic intro in front of the judges:

Bethany, who was part of three outstanding acts:

Pirtle, reciting his poem for which he won in the Spoken Word category (I took it as an allegory about Bashir):

Sabrina and Darnika, who sang Is This Love? with Erik and I accompanying:

Two images of Siobhan doing a beautiful ballet routine:

Robert reciting his Caesar monologue:

Chad and Sean, who won in the group musical category for their rendition of "Sounds of Silence":

Amira, singing "Iris" accompanied by Erik:

Mary, performing her gymnastics routine for which she won the Miscellaneous category:

Ashley, reciting her poem "Horses, Horses, Horses":

Pirtle, who won also for the individual music category:

Blind Drive, doing an acoustic set for which they won the overall award:

And all the winners on stage:

Here is the link to the first part of the video of the show. You can find the rest in the Related Videos box at youtube.

Here is a link to one of the videos Mac presented about Djabal - about Tracy McGrady's visit there:

Watch more ESPN videos on AOL Video

No Prom for the Homeless

2009-05-09T20:17:00.014-04:00

No Prom for the Homeless was a smashing success last night at the Chatham Community Center - what a great place for this kind of event. A quick tour of the activities.

In the gym, the mechanical bull,

the obstacle course,

and the velcro wall.

On the main floor, we had tattoos,

t-shirts,

and one of many food stations.

Downstairs, there was a videogame tournament,

Rock Band and Guitar Hero,

and a room full of ping pong, pool, air hockey and more.

And upstairs was a pretty intense dance party

More than 300 students attended from all over the Cape. The event raised more than $8000 to benefit Homeless Not Helpless.

All-Cape Battle of the Bands

2009-05-02T20:14:00.002-04:00

D-Y hosted this years All-Cape Battle of the Bands, with us in a supporting role - especially Brenna on the lights and MacKenzie as a judge. Ten acts competed and all were exceptional. Mocha Joe and the Creamers of Barnstable HS were this years champions. Over a thousand dollars was raised for Doctors without Borders and My Sister's Keeper.

Harwich Students Raise Over $2300 for Humanitarian Relief in Darfur, Burma

2008-12-11T14:18:00.001-05:00

PRESS RELEASE: Thursday December 11, 2008

Harwich Students Raise Over $2300 for Humanitarian Relief in Darfur, Burma

Harwich STAND last week (December 1-5) completed is second annual fast for genocide victim relief. They have raised $1431 so far (some donations are still coming in) from participants and sponsors of the week-long fast, and $904 from the end-of-the-fast celebration at the Harwich Community Center last Friday (December 5), for a current total of $2335.

For the fast, members of STAND and other students gave up their lunches, snacks, coffees, and/or other items for either a day or a week. STAND members found sponsors for their fasts, and participants donated the money they saved by fasting.

This money will be sent to STAND, a division of the Genocide Intervention Network, where the money will be used to protect Darfuri refugees and villages in Eastern Burma.

Harwich STAND still has one more event for this fund drive – the Darfurpalooza concert being held at the Harwich Community center on Friday December 19 from 5:30-9:30. For a $5 donation, attendees will get to see some of the best local bands – Blind Drive, Chasing Suns, NokSide, The Handsome Pool Boyz, and Epilogue to Sleep. HHS graduate Brian Boyle will be presenting the light show. Food will be served. For more information call Sheila House at (508) 430-7836 or email shouse@town.harwich.ma.us

John Dickson
STAND Advisor
Harwich High School
jdickson@harwich.edu
508-274-7367

The Last Supper

2008-12-05T22:47:00.004-05:00

Harwich STAND celebrated the end of STANDFast tonight with our Last Supper fundraiser at the Harwich Community Center. Approximately 50 people attend the dinner, organized by MacKenzie Hamilton and the rest of Harwich STAND. The event raised over $900. Special thanks to Devon Chiapetta (picture above) and her family, whose restaurant, Buca's, donated all the food for tonight. Please tell them you appreciate their generosity the next time you go to Buca's for dinnner. Thanks to our special guest, Emily Cunningham (picture above), the Northeast Regional Coordinator for STAND - who came all the way down from Boston and delivered a moving speech to remind us that all death is personal. Thanks also to Jeff Howell (pictured above), Taryn Williams, and all the D-Y STAND gang who came out. Thanks to all a congratulations on a great event!

Darfurpalooza is coming up on Friday 12/19 back at the Community Center, featuring the best live music (Blind Drive, Chasing Suns, The Handsome Pool Boyz, NokSide, Epilogue to Sleep) and the best light show (Brian Boyle) that you will see on Cape this year. See you there!

The Last Supper

2008-11-28T07:55:00.002-05:00

From MacKenzie:

THE LAST SUPPER - December 5, 2008, Harwich Community Center, 5:30-8

The event is this upcoming Friday, the cost is $20. and will be from 5:30-8, so mark your calendars. It IS a semiformal event...this means NO JEANS PLEASE!

The Last Supper is an event to celebrate the end of STANDfast, We are advocating and raising money for Civilian Protection, not aid. Why? Laurent Nkunda says it in terms we can all understand, "We are hungry and thirsty, but we don't want any aid. We want security. We want this war to stop."

As the holidays approach, and we start out Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Saturnalia, etc. celebrations, we need to take the time to think about those in need--those who cannot see a sunrise without wondering "When will I be next?" Those who have lost their mothers, brothers, fathers, children.

$3. can allow a woman to safely collect firewood for a week.
$5. enables urgent warnings of attack to reach a village in Eastern Burma.

STANDfast is not about denying yourself food, but giving up ONE luxury item, either for the whole week, or on December 5th, and donating the money to civilian protection. Checks can be made out to Town of Harwich, but make sure to write in HHS STAND, and mail to:

Harwich High School Stand c/o John Dickson
75 Oak Street
Harwich, MA 02645

or if you're a student, you can make donations to any STAND member, or drop in your extra change in the lunch line.

Thanks for your time, and I hope to see you all there!
MacKenzie Hamilton
HHS STAND Co-President

STANDFast - December 1-5

2008-11-28T07:53:00.001-05:00

PRESS RELEASE: Harwich High School Students Fast for Darfur and Burma

HARWICH – What are you willing to give up to save lives in Darfur and Burma?

Having recently returned from a national conference in Washington, DC, members of Harwich High School STAND are fasting for the week of December 1-5 to raise money for the Genocide Intervention Network. Members will forego their lunches, snacks, and/or other items for the week and donate the money they would have spent. They are also getting sponsors to pledge an amount for each day they fast. In addition they will be educating their fellow students all week about the conflicts and encouraging them to participate in a school-wide fast on Friday, December 5.

The money raised in this year’s STANDFast will pay for innovative civilian protection programs in Darfur, Sudan and Eastern Burma. The Genocide Intervention Network (of which STAND is a division) plans to fund programs that would protect women in Darfur as they gather firewood, and that would provide villages in Eastern Burma with satellite phones so they could be warned of impending attacks by government forces. STANDFast, with hundreds of groups participating across the nation, will provide the bulk of funds for these projects. More information on this plan is available at http://standnow.org/campaigns/standfast.

Harwich STAND is hosting an end of STANDFast celebration on Friday at the Harwich Community Center. The Last Supper is a $20 semi-formal dinner from 5:30-8 being hosted by STAND C0-President MacKenzie Hamilton. Food is being donated by Buca’s restaurant in Harwichport. Those interested in attending should contact Hamilton at macnham@comcast.net.

As a follow-up fundraiser, on Friday, December 19, Hariwch STAND will be hosting DarfurPalooza, a concert at the Harwich Community Center from 5:30-9:30 featuring some of the best young bands on the Lower Cape. Admission is $5. For more information contact Sheila House at shouse@town.harwich.ma.us.

The plans for this years STANDFast were developed on our recent road trip. Fifteen members of Harwich STAND (together with 10 members of Dennis-Yarmouth STAND), attended the STAND National Conference and the Tents of Hope National Rally in Washington, DC on November 5-9. For more details of our trip, check out our blog at http://hhsstand,blogspot,com.

Hamilton states, “As the holidays approach, and we start out Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Saturnalia, etc. celebrations, we need to take the time to think about those in need--those who cannot see a sunrise without wondering ‘When will I be next?’ Those who have lost their mothers, brothers, fathers, children.” STANDFast is one of the ways we’ll be truing to make a difference for others this holiday season.

For further information, contact Harwich STAND advisor John Dickson at jdickson@harwich.edu or 508-274-7367.

A Few Last Tents of Hope Pics

2008-11-10T14:00:00.000-05:00

What a great trip we had! A bit tired in school today . . .

In looking through the pictures, I think I didn't give a full sense of the spectacle of the tents, so here's a few more, including one of us reassembling tents Sunday morning. It was really something to behold.

Final Day

2008-11-10T07:43:00.005-05:00

Our final day:

A wind storm last night blew over our tent and about half of the others on the mall. So we started our day by bringing our team to help for an hour and a half putting them back up. I'm guessing we reset about 50 tents. It was nice to see the tent display restored - I suppose the tents should have all been staked (some were), but that part of the mall was like cement - very hard to get stakes in the ground.

From there, we returned to the STAND conference, and got to attend the last of the break out sessions on topics such as the use of media. We also were there for the regional breakouts (picture above of MacKenzie reporting to the Northeast group about our Massachusetts group ideas). Then when the next rotation came for optional programs, about half of us headed to the festivities on the mall and the other half stayed to the end of the conference, then joined us at the mall. We got to take a final stroll through the tents - many of them really are works of art. We also participated in a parade of the cities where the various groups strolled past the stage and were announced (Cape Cod!). We then got to hear the Voices of Mercy again as well as Sarah Lee and Johnny, and some compelling speakers.

At 2, we dragged ourselves away and loaded up on the bus for the long drive home. After a few hours of quiet home time while we still had light, we stopped for dinner, then got stuck in traffic getting to the GW bridge in NY. We passed this time with an extended sing-a-long, and some of us even got some sleep through Connecticut. We pulled in to Harwich HS at 1:30 in the morning. See you in school at 7:25!

A busy Saturday

2008-11-08T23:54:00.003-05:00

I should break this down into separate posts - but it's late and I'm tired. We started this morning with a run to the Jefferson and FDR memorials (well, two of us did), then we headed to the L'Enfant Plaza at 7;30AM to sign in for the STAND conference. We listened to a number of panels tell us more about STAND and the state of various human rights crises. Sabina, one of the student leaders of STAND was most impressive, and we learned about the importance of connecting the Darfur issue to the larger problems in Sudan, especially in Southern Sudan. We also got ideas about how to be to take action on Burma. After Lunch, some of us stayed to listen to more panels and attend the first breakout sessions, while the rest of us headed to the mall for the Tents of Hope events. Our tent was set up in the AM by Mr. D, Mrs H and Ms. K. We got to see it surrounded by hundreds of others. On stage, they had a celebration of the cities open mike where each group could go up - we went up and sang the Preamble and If I Had a Hammer. After us they had a preview of the show tonight with Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion (Arlo's daughter and son-in-law) - they borrowed my guitar! (I'll never wash it again . . .) After taking an hour to explore the tents, most of us went to the Museum of the American Indian, then back to the hotel. For dinner, we headed to the Tents of Hope Youth Dinner at Church of the Resurrection. This was a wonderful meal, and we were the only youth group to go- so they were real happy that someone could put a dent in the food they made - we did our best. After, most headed back to the hotel to catch up on homework (after an unsuccessful mission to find blue hair dye at Union Station). Some of us hung around for the benefit concert at the church, and were treated to an amazing concert featuring a vocal group from Berklee School of Music, Omar Ihsas - a Darfuri singer, and Sarah Lee and Johnny again. After helping out a bit after the show, we ended up giving the Berklee singers a ride on our bus to their hotel (with a bus sing-a-long), which put us near the White House for a brief evening visit. Finally we got home and are now in bed asleep!

Night Tour

2008-11-07T21:49:00.003-05:00

After dinner at the food court at the Pentagon City Mall, we headed off to see some monuments. We went to the Iwo Jima/Marine Corps monument, which is particularly powerful at night overlooking the city. Then we went to the Lincoln Memorial, where we spent the rest of the evening. We also saw a very colorful artist, and a massive card/sign for President-elect Obama, which we signed. While Alyssa wanted to spend the night, we decided to head back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

Chasing the Rally

2008-11-07T20:30:00.000-05:00

We were a bit confused about the STAND rally - thinking it was on the Capitol and we were early - it turned out to be down by the White House, and we were late. After realizing that they had already started marching up toward the Sudan Embassy, some of us headed back to the hotel, and some of us tried to catch up with the rally. We all met up back in our rooms on the sixth floor of the Holiday Inn Capitol. Next, dinner and the Monuments at night!

The Capitol

2008-11-07T17:45:00.000-05:00

After our meeting we got a tour of the Capitol arranged by Sen. Kennedy's office. The architecture, art and statues are breathtaking. Some seniors needed a photo with Sam Houston to send to his cousin Rich. We also took a picture on the steps outside after we finally got a bite to eat in the Russell building.

Sen. Kennedy's Office

2008-11-07T15:30:00.000-05:00

After a long and purposeful walk, we got to the Russell Senate Office Building just in time for our noon appointment. Henry Sanford discussed Darfur policy with us for 40 minutes. This was very informative for us. Thanks Henry!

The Holocaust Museum

2008-11-07T14:00:00.000-05:00

Next we visited the National Holocaust Museum. This was an extremely emotional, disturbing and important exercise for us - particularly given our purpose of raising awareness of the Darfur genocide. This took a long time, and we could have stayed hours longer. We left shaken, but with our eyes more open to the reality we are trying to confront.

Washington Monument

2008-11-07T12:30:00.000-05:00

We walked form the Castle down to the Washington Monument, enjoying the views of the city on this beautiful and unseasonable warm day.

The Castle

2008-11-07T12:00:00.000-05:00

We started our marathon this morning with a quick visit to the Smithsonian Castle. This gave us a good overview of the institution, and it has beautiful gardens.

We're Here!

2008-11-07T07:22:00.000-05:00

Yes Brenna, we're finally here. After a 9 hour drive orchestrated by our drivers Al and Kurt (and watching Darfur Now and the Goofy Movie), we are here at the Holiday Inn Capitol. After some freshening up we will be heading to breakfast and then to the Holocaust Museum and possibly the Smithsonian Castle. Then we have a 12:00 appointment at Sen Kennedy's office, a Capitol tour, then a STAND rally on the Capitol steps before getting back to the hotel. I'll post more then.

Chasing Suns wins the All-Cape Battle of the Bands

2008-05-03T05:30:00.000-04:00

Chasing Suns of Dennis-Yarmouth High School defended their crown last night as they took the Second Annual All-Cape Battle of the Bands at Harwich High School. About 150 people were entertained by eight different performances. The event raised $1200 to help the victims of genocide in Darfur, proceeds going to benefit the Genocide Intervention Network.

Highlighting the event, the crowd was addressed by Mr. Mangok Bol, a survivor of the civil war in Southern Sudan who came to the U.S. in the '90's in a group known as the "Lost Boys." Mr. Bol thanked the crowd for taking a stand for the people of Darfur, and for making a difference.

Synesthia, also from D-Y, came in second in the Battle, while Harwich's Blind Drive came in third. Special recognition was also given to Devon McFadden and Nicki Blodgett for their acoustic performance. The crowd was dazzled by a sound and light show coordinated by Harwich alum Brian Boyle. The show culminated in a performance by the legendary local band Roots Down Below, who also judged the event.

Harwich STAND (Students Taking Action Now: Darfur) who hosted the event would like to thank all the participants, volunteers, and attendees for a great evening of music and activism.

Pictures of the show can be viewed here.

Some Videos:

Mr. Mangok Bol:

Chasing Suns:

Synesthesia:

Blind Drive:

Devon McFadden:

Green for the Graft:

Handsome Pool Boyz:

All-Cape Battle of the Bands - May 2, 2008

2008-04-29T13:39:00.000-04:00

Harwich STAND will be hosting the Second Annual All-Cape Battle of the Bands on May 2, 2008 at the Harwich High School Auditorium (75 Oak St, Harwich, MA). The show begins at 7 and will end by 9:30. Bands from various schools across the Cape will compete. The judges will rate each band's performance leading to the crowning of the All-Cape Champion. Local band extraordinaire Roots Down Below will help judge the event and will treat the crowd to a set at the end of the night.

Admission will be $8. The event is a fundraiser for Harwich STAND - Students Taking Action Now: Darfur - and the money will go to benefit the victims and refugees of the genocide in Darfur. All are welcome.

Also scheduled to speak at the event is Mr. Mangok Bol, a "Lost Boy" and survivor of the violence in Southern Sudan. We are thankful for his generosity - he will help us gain perspective on the importance of reaching out to help the victims of far away conflicts.

We're looking forward to a great event - Be there!

DarFUNdraiser

2008-02-09T13:27:00.000-05:00

We had a great time last night at the DarFUNdraiser. Thanks to all the bands and especially to Brian Boyle for donating his time and equipment to provide a light show, and Mike Raneo for doing the same for the sound system. Thanks also to Sheila House for arranging the space at the Community Center and the volunteers, and providing the pizza! Our press release:

Press Release 2/9/08: Harwich Students Host Band Showcase to Benefit Darfur

Harwich STAND (Students Taking Action Now: Darfur) hosted a band showcase Friday night at the Harwich Community Center to raise money to aid the victims of genocide in Darfur. About 100 people attended and the event generated over $600 to benefit the Genocide Intervention Network. Bands from Harwich, Chatham, and Dennis-Yarmouth participated, including Corrupted Youth, Blind Drive, Synesthesia and the Handsome Pool Boys, and the event was headlined by Cape sensation Roots Down Below. Also at the event, the students painted a refugee tent that, when completed, will be displayed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. later this year, then sent to Darfur. For more information on the tent, visit http://www.tentsofhope.org/.

See an album of photos from the event on Flickr, click here.

For more info, photos and video from the event, check out our sister blog - STAND Now Cape Cod.

Some video clips from the bands:

Roots Down Below:

The Handsome Pool Boys:

Synesthesia:

Blind Drive:

Students painting a Tent of Hope: