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GIRAFFE IN THIS ISSUE
Eric Reeves of Northampton, Massachusetts
Eric Reeves has put his job, his income, and his reputation on the line to fight for the people of Sudan, a people he's never met, in a country he's never visited.
Since 1999, Reeves has been on unpaid leave from his professorship at Smith College to research and publicize the consequences of oil development in Sudan, which he says is directly related to the long and destructive civil war there. He has financed his efforts by taking out a home equity loan on his house.
"I desperately want peace for Sudan," Reeves says. "I work for no organization; I haven't taken money from anyone . . . I have no secret mandate or agenda."
Reeves teaching life in Northampton, MA was about as far removed from Sudan as possible. He taught Shakespeare and Renaissance English, and, in his spare time, he contributed wood turnings he made to charitable organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, a group that delivers emergency aid to victims of armed conflict, epidemics, and natural and man-made disasters. It was through that group that he first heard about the Sudan conflict.
"I know when I've seen a morally unambiguous situation and this it," Reeves said, explaining that two million people have died, five million are refugees and the people endure famine, disease, enslavement, and military aggression. Reeves' research has prompted him to publish dozens of essays in international publications and to give interviews to international media, such as BBC, CBC, and The New York Times. He has testified before the House International Relations Committee, the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, and the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. His efforts have been met with public criticism from the State Department, Wall Street, and the Khartoum government.
Reeves believes his battle for human rights over oil company profits is bringing the invisible war in Sudan to the forefront of US foreign policy. Reeves says, "We'll see what one very loud, very committed, very passionate voice can accomplish if it's really, really focused, and it just doesn't give up."
You can interview Eric Reeves at 413-585-3326
For information about the Giraffe Project, about other Giraffes, and about our educational programs, go to www.giraffe.org or call 360-221-7989 during west coast (continental US) business hours.
Visit the Giraffe website to learn about The Giraffe Program, a K-12 curriculum that teaches kids about real heroes and gets them going on lives of courage, caring and responsibility, and the Giraffe Partners Trunk--everything a business or club needs to help a classroom full of kids to stand tall.
Copyright © 2002 The Giraffe Project, all rights reserved.Posted with permission by New Horizons for Learning
http://www.newhorizons.org
E-mail: info@newhorizons.org