Focus Frostburg

Today commenced the start of the five-day Sustainability Learning Symposium sponsored by the President’s Advisory Council for Sustainability here at Frostburg State University, commonly referred to as “Focus Frostburg”. Dating as far back as 2009, Focus Frostburg is a push to bring awareness about the environmental sustainability to students, faculty and the community at large. A string of 16 events today concluded with a 7PM exhibit in the Atkinson room called “Films, Photography & a Talk with Peter Bussian”. Bussian is a New York based independent filmmaker, photographer, and visual consultant who spent the past 15 years working in South Asia and the Middle East. He says his purpose of filmmaking is to educate people in Washington D.C. “…so they can see what’s actually going on instead of reading these endless reports that nobody reads anyway.” His short films like the ones screened today, “SAYDA” and “Toward Enduring Peace in Sudan”, will be “…re-edited and shown to decision-makers in Washington, USAID and higher-ups.”

USAID is an arm of the U.S. government that handles international development which Bussain worked with wile making the second film, “Toward Enduring Peace in Sudan”. In the short film, a nutrition specialist at a central school in Sudan, Amona Mahfouz, testifies of the work USAID is doing. Teary-eyed and hurriedly, Mahfouz in her native language explains that the milk USAID provides students is “…the only regular meal the children receive because parents don’t have steady jobs.” Within two months of the milk initiative, Amal Mohmed said the demand for education increased, the students were more active and the academic standard improved. During the talk, Bussian discussed recent budget cuts to organizations like USAID and informed the audience that while only one percent of the U.S. budget goes towards international development efforts, over 50% of the budget goes to the military.

The most unique aspect of the work done all over places like Sudan was that the crew was entirely Sudanise. The benefits were not all financial although the cost of having a Sudaniese crew is lower than having an American crew. Bussain’s only job was directing, he says he wanted them to “…get to show it from their point of view and tell their own story.”