Sudanese Ex-Slave to Speak at St. Lawrence University, NY (Press Release)

Sudanese Ex-Slave to Speak at St. Lawrence University, NY

Slave-turned-activist will tell listeners slavery isn't just history

BOSTON — Escaped Sudanese slave Simon Deng will share with listeners how he survived years in bondage to become an activist with the American Anti-Slavery Group on March, 31 2005.

Deng's presentation, "Slavery in Sudan," will begin at 7:00 p.m. at St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY, in the Hepburn building room 218. This event is being sponsored by ACE and Amnesty International.

Almost 140 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, there remain 27 million slaves worldwide, according to the International Labor Organization. Modern-day slavery is defined as "forced labor, with no pay, under the threat of violence."

Deng is now devoted to retelling his own story and reminding Americans about the thousands of children who remain in slavery today. "We Americans must act — and act now" is his message.

Simon Deng describes his childhood village of Tonga as a "peaceful farming community" but remembers frequent slave raids by Muslim northerners. "One of the first things I was told as a child: if the Arab men come, just run for your life," he recalls. After his abduction at age 9, Deng lived for several years as a domestic slave to a northern Sudanese family. Deng became their property, watching their cattle, cleaning their dishes, eating only scraps. He was forced to sleep on straw and beaten regularly. His masters called him "Abeed" — "Black slave."

After his escape, he worked as a messenger in the Sudanese parliament and went on to become a national swimming champion. Today he is an American citizen, working as a lifeguard on Coney Island and leading the struggle to stop genocide in Sudan. Deng has spoken at rallies alongside Gloria Steinem, and is dedicated to telling his story. "I thought I could forget and forgive," says Deng, who still has scars from boyhood beatings. "But villages are still being burnt, women are still being raped, and people are being sold into slavery."

The American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG) is America's leading human rights group dedicated to abolishing modern-day slavery worldwide. Since its founding in 1994, the American Anti-Slavery Group has helped free over 80,000 slaves, spotlighted and defended the work of local abolitionist activists worldwide, brought modern-day slavery into the international agenda, and launched an anti-slavery web portal that updates and mobilizes 45,000 activists each month.

To schedule an interview with Simon Deng, contact Liora Kasten at (617) 426-8161.