Plowshares Collaborative News & Events
June 17, 2005 7:00 PM
SUDAN -- Pain and Promise, Indianapolis, IN
7-8:30pm, Old Centrum, 1201 N. Central Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46202 Admission: Free
Contact: 317-908-8628
A panel of Indiana peace activists, along with a Sudanese refugee, will discuss the crisis in war-torn Sudan and how Hoosiers can help those caught up in a 22-year war that has ravaged the country and is causing people to starve by the thousands.
“We are hoping to focus attention on a situation that is, by anyone’s definition, a travesty,” said Pastor Phil Baldwin Rieman, who helped organize the event and will serve on the panel. “Even the poorest of us in Indiana are blessed by comparison with the people of Sudan. Many Hoosiers are known for their willingness to help others, and we want our community to reach out.”
International humanitarian efforts have yet to begin to correct the devastation in Sudan, where war atrocities are considered genocide by many national leaders as well as by peace activists. The political tumult has hampered desperately needed aid efforts. In one particularly stricken area, mothers have been stripping trees and boiling leaves for meals because there is no food.
The event begins at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 17, 2005, at the Old Centrum, 1201 North Central Avenue in Indianapolis. Admission is free. Panelists will explore what the Sudanese have experienced in the past; their present situation and what the future holds for them. Those who attend will have an opportunity to ask questions of the panel and add their thoughts to the discussion. The panelists are:
• Felix Lohitai – a Sudanese refugee
o Lohitai recently immigrated with his family to the United States from East Africa
o He is a Plowshares Peace Studies student at Manchester College in Manchester, IN
• Dr. Julia Duany – A Bloomington resident, Sudanese activist and co-founder of South Sudanese Friends International, Inc.
o SSFI is committed to peacemaking, advocacy for self-governance and community development in South Sudan
• Louise and Phil Baldwin Rieman – co-pastors of the Northview Church of the Brethren
o The Baldwin Riemans have continued to take part in missionary work in South Sudan and are former Church of the Brethren field staff workers
o They have made four trips to continue their work in Sudan since 1996
• Drew Klatte – St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Deacon and frequent missionary to Sudan
o The Plainfield church diocese partners with an Anglican diocese in South Sudan
The Indianapolis Peace House and the Northview Church of the Brethren, Indianapolis, sponsor the panel discussion. The Indianapolis Peace House is part of the Plowshares Peace Studies Collaborative of Earlham, Goshen and Manchester Colleges. To learn more about the Peace House visit: www.indypeacehouse.org . To learn more about Northview Church of the Brethren visit: http://www.northviewcob.org .
