UCI students rally around information

Deirdre Newman

UCI CAMPUS -- As the bombs continue to fall on Afghanistan, a

passionate assortment of UC Irvine students are exhorting their peers to

get more informed and take action to raise awareness of the plight of

Afghan refugees.

A rally Tuesday by various campus organizations highlighted a weeklong

series of events, which includes a sleep-in at a tent city erected in

Aldrich Park, a refugee photo exhibit and a video night featuring three

films portraying different aspects of the refugee experience.

Many of the speakers underscored the importance of just one person

taking action.

“If every one of us takes the opportunity to contribute in one small

way, then no one can stop us,” said Debbie Davis, president of Act for

Global Justice.

The refugee crisis in Afghanistan includes the close to 7.5 million

Afghans who will need to be fed by aid organizations this winter and the

more than a million who have been displaced from their homes and may need

to leave the country, according to the United Nations.

The effort to raise awareness of the refugees’ plight started Monday,

when more than a dozen tents went up in Aldrich Park.

While the tents provide a symbolic nod to the primitive living

environment in Afghanistan, their main purpose is to serve as a visible

reminder of the students’ mission to raise awareness, said Kota Inoue,

who helped organize the encampment.

“It’s quite unique,” Inoue said. “Any group which has a political

message on this campus tends to stay invisible.”

Tuesday’s rally attracted a small group of people. The speakers

discussed different facets of U.S. foreign policy and the refugee crisis,

encouraging students to obtain more information outside of the mainstream

media.

Lorrissa Reinhart talked about how children in refugee camps are often

recruited as child soldiers and used either as human shields or to clear

mine fields.

“We can educate ourselves, talk to our peers, tell your friends and

family about what’s going on . . . even start your own rally,” Reinhart

said.

Ting Huang, a survivor of bombing in World War II who calls himself

the poster boy for barbarism, said he doesn’t believe war is the best

instrument for conflict resolution.

“It usually just creates more conflict,” Huang said.

Jen Boyle, a member of Act for Global Justice, voiced her opinion that

flag waving, while meaningful, is not a valid exchange for real

conversation.

“Being unified does not mean being silent,” Boyle said. “Don’t

abstract your thinking through flag waving.”

Many of the students said the rally was effective in elevating

important perspectives that are not always covered by the traditional

media.

“I came today because there’s a vacuum in the mainstream press and the

mainstream knowledge base about the root cause of events affecting the

United States and Afghanistan,” said Ram Padwal, a graduate student.

-- Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .

FYI: The Tent City Video Night will take place at 8 p.m. today in

Monarch Bay A on the UC Irvine campus.