Press Release
Slavery, Human Trafficking, Humanitarian Crisis Topics at Hearing on U.S. Policy in SudanEmancipated slave, U.S. Special Envoy Lyman among witnesses to testify before House panelU.S. policy dealing with the violence, new humanitarian crises and ongoing slavery in Sudan were the focus of a congressional hearing Tuesday held by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees international human rights and African issues.
Click here to view a video. Click on the link below to read an article by columnist Ellen Ratner on Ker's story, or read story text below: Despite Sudan’s peace agreement, thousands remain in bondage in the north By Ellen Ratner My life has been profoundly changed by a blind teenage boy. His name is Ker Deng. He belongs to the Dinka tribe in southern Sudan. Arab raiders from northern Sudan enslaved Ker in his infancy. His mother later told him how they were captured and forced to leave their home in southern Sudan. Many of their relatives and neighbors, especially men, were killed. Homes were burned. Cows and goats were stolen. Ker and his mother were tied to a camel and taken to the north as booty of war. Ker will always be haunted by the vivid memories of abuse meted out by his sadistic master: frequent beatings and death threats, racial abuse, forced conversion to Islam and, of course, ultimate denial of his humanity. His meals consisted mostly of horse food. At night, he slept with the goats. His mother faced indescribable abuse as their master's sex slave. I've spoken to dozens of freed Sudanese slaves, who have told me that rape and beatings are frequent, and that most women's genitals are mutilated. For Ker, the worst of slavery was being tied upside down and having chili peppers rubbed into his eyes. He lost his eyesight for the crime of letting some goats wander astray; he was too little to control them. Blinded and unfit for work, Ker was handed over to Arab slave retrievers who work to return former slaves to the new South Sudan. An organization called Christian Solidarity International provides the means of exchange. In Ker's case, his freedom was obtained at the cost of a young goat. Today, Ker is in the United States, where doctors at Wills Eye Institute in Philadelphia, performed a complex surgery that will, hopefully, restore some measure of his sight. He is learning English and has started piano lessons at Lighthouse Music School. His fondest hope, though, is to see his mother again. As far as Ker knows, she is still enslaved - one of the tens of thousands of southern Sudanese slaves who remain trapped in the north. He is anxious about his mother's safety, fearing that she, too, will be blinded, maimed or even killed. Every time I look into young Ker's damaged, unresponsive eyes, I sense the unspeakable suffering endured by Ker's mother and a multitude of other slaves. The world has known for years about the horrible reality of Sudanese slavery in our time. It is what drew America's attention to the Sudan's genocidal conflict in the first place. The 2005 peace accord that ended hostilities in southern Sudan also ended Sudanese government-sponsored slave raiding there. But the negotiations failed to produce a mechanism for the liberation and repatriation of slaves already held in the north, like Ker and his mother. Meanwhile, the world's politicians and diplomats have moved on, congratulating themselves for a job well done. In a bit of ambassadorial legerdemain concocted by the United Nations Children's Fund, the thousands of slaves remaining in bondage are now referred to by the U.N. as "abductees." That's because "slavery," as opposed to "abduction," is an internationally recognized crime against humanity. In 2000, then-Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan Rice came face to face with recently liberated Sudanese slaves. She rightly responded by declaring: "We have an obligation not only to speak out, but to ameliorate the suffering." Ever since, despite official condemnations and blue-ribbon panels, there's been little done by the U.S. government or U.N. agencies to ameliorate the suffering of Sudanese slaves and reunite them with their families and communities. That's why Christian Solidarity International, in concert with thousands of people of good will, regardless of race or religion, have stepped in to fill the void. Together, we can liberate Sudan's slaves and ease their suffering. Ellen Ratner is White House bureau chief for Talk Radio News Service and a news analyst for Fox News (To help, go to GoatsForTheOldGoat.com). © Copyright 2012 The Washington Times |