Wole Soyinka, the first African to get the Nobel Prize in Literature, urged a diverse crowd of adults and students to fight for human dignity yesterday evening in Logan Hall.
Soyinka, a playwright and political activist, delivered a speech on "Human Rights and Cultural Alibis" as part of the Provost's Spotlight Series.
"He spoke almost musically," College junior Jakob Engel said.
The native Nigerian called on the audience to fight for dignity in the name of "the universal brotherhood of man and the gospel of peace." He cited the war in Iraq and genocide in Sudan as examples of modern human rights violations.
Recently, awareness of the situation in Sudan has increased on campus, with a new group, Students Take Action Now Darfur, working to inform students.
Soyinka prefaced his comments by emphasizing the importance of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights in a world filled with human rights violations.
To show that human rights violations were not a new phenomenon, Soyinka described in vivid detail the public spectacles of hangings and burnings at the stake that were once commonplace in Europe. He emphasized that dark times in history also produce valuable works of art and scientific progress.
To illustrate his position on human rights violations, Soyinka later recounted a line from George Orwell's Animal Farm: "Some animals are more equal than others." Soyinka explained that for him, those who deserve more protection are the young, the weak and the innocent. Soyinka demanded that the global community rush to the defense of those who are unable to defend themselves.
Soyinka said that violators of human rights often "retreat behind walls of tradition and culture," adding that the main catalyst for intolerance today is the distortion of religion.
Though audience members were usually silent, positive murmurs began to rise as Soyinka expressed his views on the U.S.-led war in Iraq. He called it the "most expensive coup d'etat in history" and likened U.S. entry into Iraq to the looting and pillaging of the ancient Vikings. The only difference between the Vikings and the United States, he said, was that "at least with the Vikings, the leader led from the front."
Soyinka also claimed that Iraq was diverting world attention from the genocide in Sudan.
"The gates of Hell fly open whenever the strong overwhelm the weak," Soyinka said. "The flames are licking our ankles even as we sit here."
For some students, Soyinka's speech heightened awareness about human rights violations.
"I finally got a good picture of what is actually going on in the Sudan," College freshman Dreysha Hunt said. "Unfortunately, with the media the way it is, you have to work hard to get this kind of information."
Before the speech, President Amy Gutmann presented Soyinka with a Medal for Distinguished Achievement on behalf of the University.
