LYNN – With the situation in Darfur growing more grim by the day, and natives throughout the continent of Africa dealing with political unrest and economic and medical crises on a daily basis, North Shore Community College is shedding light on what Americans can do to help the cause through the 21st annual Forum on Tolerance, A Focus on Africa.The all-day forum held Thursday featured speakers and presentations on a number of topics, including the Darfur Genocide, the plight of Ethiopian Jews, the African AIDS epidemic and war in the Sudan.Along with questions and answers on the many serious social topics, attendees were also treated to a traditional style Kenyan, Nigerian and Sudanese lunch, and a performance by drummer Mamadou Diop of Senegal.Now in its 21st year, the Forum on Tolerance has included many topics from the Holocaust to gay and lesbian rights, religion and racism. Organizing professor Dr. Sheldon Brown says it is important for students to realize there is more going on in the world beyond the North Shore, and is proud to see returning faces in the crowd every year.”I think it is important that we make the community aware of the genocide in Darfur,” he said. “Today we have had the opportunity to listen to a student who was once enslaved in Sudan, and discuss with the audience suggestions of how we can help bring peace to the area and stop the bloodshed.”Speakers offered insight in to what Americans can do to help the situation in Darfur, but one thing is apparent: until the world’s dependency on fossil fuels becomes a thing of the past, countries such as China will continue to supply weapons and money to the Sudanese government, fanning the flames in times of war if it helps the country financially.”The interests are all economic, they (China) have to help the government fight the rebel movement,” said speaker James L. Modi. “Oil has created more problems than solutions. If something is not done soon, the situation in Darfur will spread to Southern Sudan and there will be wars much worse than those in the past.”Modi suggested that Americans become as educated as possible both about the situation and the political candidates in upcoming elections, to ensure that the country will do something to help the cause in the coming years.He said President Bush’s foreign policy, while focused on the region, has been inconsistent in past years and needs to be improved.”President Bush has put pressure on the Sudanese government to resolve the issue,” he said. “But there has never been a consistency in the U.S. foreign policy in Africa.”Brown said the educational forums have been a great success over the years, as evident in the follow-up essays that he receives from his students that show a serious interest taken in the issues facing the world.”My students all write a reactive paper after attending,” he said. ” I am mostly satisfied that they have garnered an understanding in why we hold these forums.”