University Park, Pa. -- During an arduous journey this summer to Chad, where they spent time with Sudanese refugees, two Penn State professors saw firsthand just how fortunate and privileged Americans are. Their experience became an invaluable teaching tool for them to use in the classroom.
"I feel a responsibility to try and make a difference in some way for people living in the most dire situations," said Lee Ann De Reus, Penn State Altoona associate professor of human development and women's studies. "As far as the most tragic (circumstances go), I don't think it gets any worse than genocide."
De Reus is the co-founder of the local chapter of Save Darfur: Central Pennsylvania. She was unsettled with what Sudanese refugees were going through and wanted to be able to speak to them in person to create a more defined awareness, as a scholar, based on what she had seen.
Lorraine Dowler is no stranger to violence. The University Park associate professor of geography and women's studies has lived in Belfast and China in times of political turmoil and is working on a book about gender and nationalism in war zones. When De Reus approached Dowler about joining her in Chad, Dowler thought it would be a bonus to the work she was doing. In addition to the book she is writing, Dowler thought her students would better appreciate what she taught in her geography classes because she would be able to speak of what she had actually witnessed.
De Reus and Dowler began their trek in Africa, leading Penn State students in volunteer work in Tanzania. De Reus said the opportunity to go to Chad was too great to pass up since they were already on the same continent. Once the volunteer work was over and the students had made it home safely, the two professors left for Chad. Their intention was to meet women at the refugee camps and talk to them about what keeps them going despite all the tragedies and atrocities they had been through -- how they found the strength to continue to provide for their families with very few resources.
Getting to Chad, however, was no easy feat. De Reus said the country was difficult to navigate, especially in 140-degree weather. They were hitching rides on U.N. planes that were only eight-seaters as well as getting car rides from non-government organizations. Security throughout the area was tight, and just before their arrival four U.N. vehicles had been hijacked. Dowler added that it was strange attending security meetings and going through convoys. They had to deal with conservative male values in order to be respectful in the foreign culture. At one point, Dowler said she became extremely ill, a sickness beyond anything she'd experienced before in her life.
Despite all the problems, once they arrived at Abeche, the refugee camp in Chad where the Sudanese were living, Dowler and De Reus spoke with about 25 women in the camps.
"They were as interested in speaking with us as we were with them," said Dowler. "My sense is that they want to move on. They feel safer and are grateful to be in the camps but they want their independence; they want to go home but don't believe they ever will."
De Reus said the women's stories were heart-wrenching. They spoke of the attacks on their village, the awful things they had witnessed, the family members they saw being murdered, being stranded in the bush and traveling at night to escape the Janjaweek (government sponsored Arab militias).
"They're not victims, they're incredible models of strength," said De Reus. "They're still raising their families and functioning as mothers. It was so revealing that these are incredible women."
When asked what the two professors could do for the women, the reply was simple: educate. These women, whom Dowler described as beautiful and poised, wanted the world to know what was going on in their country and also wanted better opportunities for their children.
"I have students who get a bad grade on a paper and think it's the end of the world," said Dowler. "It's important to me to teach them that being an international citizen and taking responsibility for what goes on in the world is a greater value."
Dowler said she knows that having undergraduate students go to the camps and teach English to the refugees would be an invaluable teaching tool, but it's too dangerous and too expensive to get there. So instead, she and De Reus are able to describe to their students what is happening to people on the other side of the world. They talk about the global economy and the impact some of their purchases can make on others. De Reus said students who really want to help can write letters to their state representatives in support of the Pennsylvania divestment. They wear Save Darfur T-shirts and bracelets to create awareness and are always eager to do more for awareness.
"If the legislators don't think people care, there is no reason to act," De Reus said.
Dowler said a lot of her students are surprised when they learn of the magnitude of brutality and human rights violations happening not only in Sudan but around the world.
A lot of students are surprised and angry, she said. Some of their reactions reflect the five stages of grief, but when they've worked their way through them, they want to be activists and work toward making a change.
Dowler said that as a teacher she can give students tools to help them understand what's going on and what organizations to get involved in. Both Dowler and De Reus hope to secure funds through grant proposals and fundraising to go back to Chad this summer to follow up with the women, document what they've learned and share their stories.