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1 2A NEWS/Sfie ClMtlone $ott Tuesday, November 22, 2005 Relief sought for Sudanese www.thecharlottepost.com Continued from page 1A attacks say Talisman aided genocidt-, war crimes and crimes against humanity Talisman did not respond to requests seeking comment, but company lawyers adamantly denied the allega tions in court papers. Hie attacks came amid a two-decade dvil weir pitting the government, led by Arab Muslims who dominate the north, against rebels fighting for greater autonomy and a greater share of the country’s wealth in the mainly black Christian and animist south The conflict is blamed for more than 2 million deaths, primarily &om war-induced famine and disease In a Sept. 20 ruling, U,S District Judge Denise Cote rejected tlie class certification request, saying the proposed class is not sufficiently cohe sive. She noted tliat at least 142 separate incidents involved in the suit occurred over more than four years in a territory of many hundreds of square miles. She said Talisman will try to {xove that government aer ial attacks were directed at members of rebel armed farces hiding in ca* near some of the villages in question. She said the purpose of each attack will need to be resolved and a class action suit "will devolve into at least 142 trials addressing the circumstances of each attack.’ In a telephone interview, Van Schaack said winning class-action status for the case might in the future “force companies to think twice before they let the host gov ernment provide security or workers who might be subject to forced labor’ Van Schaack said victims of genocide are left with nowhere else to turn if U S. courts force them to seek jus tice in the country where they are oppressed. Among groups Van Schaack represents in the case are the Center for Constitutional Rights, a nonprofit organiza tion that has litigated signifi cant international human rights cases for 25 years, and the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Ri^ts Clinic at Yale Law School which conducts research for international tribunals. Carey R. D’Avino, a lawyer for the plaintifts, said in court papers that denial of class cer tification “may sound the death knell’ for 95 percent of class members," or t^is of thousands of people. "This bell tolls most chillingly for all human ri^ts victims against whom the district court’s pub lished decision, albeit unin tentionally, imposes a new and ui\justified procedural barrier.” In court papers filed before Cote ruled, lawyers for Talisman urged her not to cer tify a class. Benedict College performance links hurricane to slave trade By Katrina Jack.son im: .\ss(x imD rntiss COLUMBIA, S.C. - Kimberly Lucas slowly moves her arras and hands in whirling motions througli the air, emulating the move ments of nearly stagnant water. A single spot light shines a ray of light on her face to reveal looks of fear and anguish These are the emotions that enslaved Afiicans must have lived with everyday, Lucas said. They are also the feelings expressed by black Aiuericans who survived hur ricane Katrina only to find tliemselves trapped by rising flood waters and lack of transportation. ‘It’s the same tiling that happened at the bottom of the slave ships with urine, feces, dead bodies and people dying as they wallow in all that filth," said Charles Brooks, a Benedict College assistant professor of fine arts. Showing the comparison between black slaves in eariy America and the black vic tims of Hiuricane Katrina is the premise behind a play Brooks wrote and recently directed called "Help!: The Storytelling of Bondage, Oppression and Refugees.” The performance featured slave narratives prepared by tlie Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administrations and was held at Benedict’s’ Henry Ponder Fine Arts Center over the weekend. Students like Marlena Johnson, a senior at the his torically black college, remember the images of peo ple holding signs and shout ing for help. She hopes the play will keep an issue that's faded fiom the headlines in the forefiont. “It liighlighted something very important.” she said. “The fJay lets people know that someone cares.” But the play is meant to send more than a message of caring for the victims. Brooks says it is a cry for help fix)m young blacks - those too young to have experienced the struggle for Civil Rights. And for those who are too far removed to underetarid the significant impact that slavery had on black Americans, he said, Hurricane Katrina is a reminder of what it fdt like to be treated less than human. “Hiuricane Katrina opened a lot of eyes. The play is meant for the same purpose. Young people need to be aware, get involved, grow fix)m within, let their minds expand and be a benefit to their community and their people.” Don Johnson, the play’s narrator, said he became interested in it as a way of taking a stand. “Hie value of human life did not come to the surface for a long time in the eyes of many people watching on the news £is well as people there on ground zero” Johnson said "It’s the same kind of thought process that had to go on when human life could be so devalued that people could be sold as property,” he said. Thoug^i the treatment of blacks during slavery and Hurricane Katrina has fueled angry emotions among some groups, it’s not the reaction Brooks hopes to get fix>m his play ‘Hie message is that now is the time for young people to stand up,” Brooks said, “Stand up ... not just to one person or one issue. We need to stand up for ourselves.” Advertise 704 376-0496 Auto Painting & Coi/ision^ Km- Ustiniatts Insurance .\s.sists Certilied Collision Repair N» Apjjointment Needed Majestic Paint Service oo *300 Reg. $400.00 - Dual action machine .sanding - Urethane enamel - FULL Clear Coat - Oven Baked -SwWARRANH UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT!! 5625 N. Sharon Aniitv Rd. 704.535.6015 ‘Hie truth is that a class action proceeding in a United States court is the wrong mechanism to untan^e the human tragedy of a decades- long dvil war in Sudan,” the lawyers wrote. Talisman also said a sugges tion by plaintiffs that tens of thousands of dass members (xml^l travel to Kenya for videotaped depositions was impractical. The company in court docu ments said the plaintiffs “falsely assert” that Talisman upgraded airstrips at two locations for "security" pur poses when they actually had “nothing to do with acrommo- dating military activity” “Plaintiffs similarly paint a grossly misleading portrait that the government of Sudan’s use of the airstrips for offensive purposes was routine, and that Talisman Energy knew and gave its approval for the government of Sudan to carry out attacks on dvilians,” the company said Men’s Fur Sale MINK FOX COYOTE Well perfectly package your perfect gifts. The UPS Store^ Don't worry. We'll save you time and package with care. Finding the perfect gift is hard enough, let alone packaging it for shipment. Bring it to The UPS Store '. Our trained packaging experts have the knowledge and experience to package almost any gift. 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