NSU Horizons Winter 2008 - 2009

“He was glad that someone wanted to learn more about the genocide, and he was willing to come to campus and be part of a symposium about Rwanda,” she said. Tapping into all of her resources, Hutchinson began a grassroots effort to organize a public forum to highlight the Rwandan conflict. The 2006 collaboration between NSU’s Fischler School of Educa- tion and Human Services, Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Divi- sion of Student Affairs resulted in “Genocide in the 21st Century: Colloquium on Rwandan Genocide.” The forum, which boasted standing-room only, put human faces on the unspeakable atrocities by featuring two survivors of the mass killings, as well as Rwandan Ambassador Zac Nsenga, United Nations Representative Jose M. Da Silva Campino, and several NSU faculty members, who spoke in roundtable discussion. The event received tremendous support from the NSU and local communities, and it lit such a fire in Hutchinson that when she heard about the rape of women and genocide in Darfur, she immediately began making plans to visit the region. While working on the next forum, “Global Crisis in the 21st Century: Darfur Crisis,” Hutchinson called her contacts from the conferences and arranged travel to Sudan. Undaunted by feelings of uncertainty and the possible threat of violence, she traveled alone to Africa in the summer of 2007, and she stayed with a family in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan and of Khartoum State. “I wanted to know about the local people and to hear stories of survival, so I needed to go there and see what they were doing to survive. And I wanted to get some perspective to see if any of it made sense be- cause there was not a lot of understanding about the crisis,” she explained. “But upon reflection, some of the situations I was in could have been dangerous.” For her own safety, Hutchinson was not permitted into Darfur, but she talked about the conflict with Sudanese locals, journalists, scholars, and people who had fled from Darfur. After talking with some of the contacts, she began to understand how one’s self iden- tification plays a role in societal conflicts. “I was surprised that some Sudanese, mostly the northerners, considered themselves Arab. I thought of them as black because they looked like me. They called themselves ‘Arab’ because the black Africans in Darfur are the ones being victimized and killed,” she explained. “What really shocked me is that many of the people in Khartoum did not believe that women are being brutally raped; they said, ‘Oh those Darfurians are just loose women.’” Hutchinson was also taken aback when the local people insisted that she was not black nor African but white. “Even though some Sudanese are of a lighter complexion than me, they still thought of me as white. It’s a thought process,” she said. “They associate black- ness with slavery and with evil so they do not call themselves black. There are so many subgroups and separations in Sudan.” Hutchinson’s culture shock did not end there. She said that she could not have envisioned the meager conditions under which most people lived: “You cannot imagine poverty until you have visited a third-world country like this. Flies were everywhere, and the people don’t even seem to notice. Most of the streets are unpaved with garbage piled up. It was unbelievable.” Hutchinson also had to deal with the strict Muslim custom of having her arms and legs covered, even in the extreme heat: “I almost got arrested because I had on a short sleeved top. My arms were exposed. I found out that women must have their arms covered to the elbow. I didn’t know why everyone was staring at me until the secret policeman starting yelling at me. My interpreters told me that they were asking if I was an American. Once they realized that I was, they left me alone, assuming I didn’t know any better.” Hutchinson discovered that the government controlled every aspect of its citizens’ lives and the lives of their guests. Although her movements were restricted and she was not allowed to speak with a class of university students, she still gathered valuable infor- mation and returned home with a renewed admiration for the United States. “Going there gave me an appreciation of what we have here,” Hutchinson stated. “As an American citizen, I have faith that my government will protect me when I travel abroad. But, they do not have faith in the government. They have faith in their tribe. Na- tional identity is an American concept. In Sudan, people depend on their tribe.” In spite of the challenges, Hutchinson was able to find humor in her surroundings. “I received so many marriage proposals!” she said with a laugh. “All the men wanted to marry an American so that they could come to the United States.” In addition to giving her significant insight into the culture of a nation in conflict and the minds of some of its people, the trip provided considerable substance for her academic interests. Hutchin- son found a parallel in the subject of identity and the part that it has played in Darfur, as it has in other international atrocities, such as in the Holocaust and Rwanda. After completing her coursework, she plans to write her dissertation on the impact of identity in these conflicts and its role in the victimization of people who were black Africans, Jews, or members of the Tutsis tribe. She hopes her schol- arship leads to her long-term goal of working as a U.S. ambassador in an African nation: “I want to work with the next generation of peace makers to make a difference in the lives of local people and help them in their fight for peace.” When asked if she ever wants to return to Sudan, Hutchinson replied, “I would love to go back and get all of the success stories. The stigma of rape is so great that a husband will reject his wife after she’s been raped. Although there are terrible stories com- ing out of Darfur, there is a beauty in how we survive as human beings. I would love to report a few of the positive stories of hope and survival.” If her tenacity and fearlessness are any indication, Careen Hutchinson may indeed one day make such a report. n 25 horizons