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Speakers to Include Rwandan Genocide Survivor and
Experts on Congo and Darfur
Genocide Intervention Network Carl Wilkens
Fellows Karine Shnorhokian and Tim Hardy with Congressman Donald
Payne (D-NJ-9),
Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee
on Africa during a Genocide Conference at Kean University
Eugenie was 6 months
pregnant with her daughter Mystica when the genocide in Rwanda
broke out in 1994, losing her husband Damascene to Hutu
extremists, she and her daughter escaped the genocide and now
reside in New Jersey. Eugenie will be one of the several
speakers that will share her story at the November 21st
workshop.
Hackensack, NJ- On Saturday, November 21st,
educators and human rights activists throughout the New Jersey
area will gather at Fairleigh Dickinson University for a
workshop to join the ongoing movement to end the cycle of
genocide, and further engage in educational opportunities on
human rights issues in New Jersey.
The workshop entitled: “New Jersey Voices
Against Genocide,” is a five hour workshop that will include
panel discussions of those that have expert knowledge of the
current conflicts, as well as those that are working locally to
continue the energy and support of this important matter.
Organized by a team of activists in the area including Genocide
Intervention Network 2009 Carl Wilkens Fellow, Karine
Shnorhokian, as well as Fairleigh Dickinson University faculty
Diana Cvitan and Khayti Joshi, student activists Nia Holston and
Lindsay Mulford, and several others have been active in
promoting the event.
“We are grateful to Fairleigh Dickenson
University for providing the venue for this conference and to
all of our speakers and cosponsors of the function who are
concerned and determined that New Jersey will not stand by as
men, women, and children continued to be killed, raped, and
victimized,” commented Shnorhokian. “As a descendent of
Armenian Genocide survivors, it is my duty and obligation along
with others to ensure that these present day acts of genocide
are stopped.”
Registration for the workshop will begin at
8:30 am, with the workshop promptly beginning at 9:00am, and to
conclude at 2:15pm. All attendees will receive materials, as
well as breakfast and lunch. Educators that attend the workshop
will receive separate curriculum instruction that apply to
teaching genocide during the afternoon sessions, as well as be
awarded 5 continuing education hours.
Those interested in attending the workshop
please register today
HERE. A $10 registration fee is requested to ensure your
spot. A $10 registration fee is requested to ensure your spot.
Attendees are encouraged to bring supplies such as index cards,
notebook paper, pencils and pencil sharpeners that will be
donated to the Ourebassoni Darfur refugee camp in Chad with the
help of the NJ Darfur Coalition.
Current speakers include Dr. Lee Ann De Reus,
Associate Professor at University of Pennsylvania Altoona;
Eugenie Mukeshimana, a Rwandan genocide survivor; Yahya Osman,
Vice President of the Darfur Rehabilitation Project; Jane Wells,
founder of Three Generations and Producer of Devil Came on
Horseback; as well as local community leaders and activists, and
invited Congressmen representing Bergen County.
FDU Director of the Office of Global
Learning, Diana Cvitan commented that, “as global citizens, we
need to be concerned about the protection of human rights. This
event will help students and other members of the FDU community
gain a deeper understanding of current realities and learn ways
in which they can engage in advocacy for the prevention of
genocide around the world.”
Shnorhokian was selected along with 19 others
as a 2009 Carl Wilkens Fellow with the Genocide Intervention
Network. In the last eight months, the Fellows have engaged in
a series of opportunities to further enhance the movement to end
the cycle of genocide, and create an anti-genocide constituency
within their communities. Formerly serving as the Eastern
Region Director of the Armenian National Committee of America,
Shnorhokian continues her efforts of genocide advocacy work and
awareness of this important issue.
Current cosponsors of the event include
Armenian National Committee of America, Fairleigh Dickinson
University, Genocide Intervention Network, New Jersey Coalition
Responds to the Crisis in Darfur, Ramsey High School STAND
Chapter, Three Generations, and 96 West Café in Allendale. New
Jersey Holocaust and Genocide Commission has also been
instrumental in their support of the conference.
For those interested in attending or
organizations that would like to cosponsor the event, please
contact Karine Shnorhokian at 201-788-5425, or email
njagainstgenocide@gmail.com.
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