By: Mrs. Oakes 10/12/12 P3456

Genocide is the persecution or destruction of a specific group of people based on national, racial, or religious reasons.

During the Holocaust in World War II, 11 million people were killed, of which six million of those victims were Jewish. The Nazis persecuted the Jewish people, torturing and killing two-thirds of those living in Europe.

Since 2003, over 400,000 Darfurian civilians have been killed, that is about 150 people killed each day. In Darfur, 90% of the targeted ethnic villages have been destroyed.

If a person is fortunate to escape the practice of genocide, they become refugees. Refugees are people forced to flee their country because their homes have been destroyed or they fear harm to themselves. - There are around 10.6 million refugees in the world -There are 1 million asylum seekers who seek a home in another country -There are 25.8 million internally displaced people who cannot leave their homeland but who have to live in another area in temporary shelters with inadequate necessities.

One solution that we can do right at home is to be and become educated on the issue of genocide and the plight, or hardships, that refugees go through.

Some movies you should check out are Hotel Rwanda, The Killing Fields, Darfur Now and Schindler's List. Some books you should read are A Problem from Hell, Zlata's Diary, A Long Day's Dying, Forgotten Fire, Children of the River, Say You're One of Them, and The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank.

One way we could get involved is to host a movie screening of one of the movies I mentioned before. This is an easy and effective way to spread the word about human rights issues while keeping students engaged at the same time. Let the film do the talking for you.

1. Get permission from your principal. 2. Find a place. Set up the time and date. 3. Interested students must get parental permission to see the movie. 4. WATCH THE MOVIE 5. Hold a whole group discussion after. Talk about the points of the movie and if there is any further community and service action that could happen. STEPS to PLANNING A MOVIE SCREENING

WHAT IF YOU CAN'T GET PERMISSION FROM YOUR SCHOOL?!?!?  PLAN B -- Instead of a movie screening, why not try a book club where students choose one book I mentioned before, read, discuss, and get involved.

One thing I plan to do this year around my cause, genocide, is try to plan a movie screening to inform students about my issue. I hope by having this plan, I can change my community, and my world, for the better.

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