Gaming + Activism: Darfur is Dying

AP's youth news organization ASAP has a very fascinating story on "Darfur is Dying." It's a video game based on the real-life Sudan region in which 250,000 refugees have been slaughtered by Janjaweed militiamen. Players manage their refugee camp in which death is a stark reality and survival is the goal.

From the article:
The game can be passed from friend to friend via e-mail, helping spread the message about what's going on in Darfur. And while playing the game, agitated gamers can send a letter to the president or a local legislator urging them to take action -- a move that automatically improves the "health" of the player's virtual camp, increasing his or her chance of survival.

"Any tool, any game, any video, anything that gets one more person involved in opposing the Darfur genocide makes a contribution," said New York Rep. Steve Israel, who recently hosted an online town forum on Darfur. "And if this game helps a single person raise his or her voice, then 3 million people in refugee camps have at least some hope."

I tried to play the game for a bit. It was depressing, because there is no way to forget that such a lifestyle is reality in some distant country. But it IS a new way to spread awareness, and I firmly believe that awareness is the first step if any cause is to have hope.