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Sudanese Ex-Slave and New Yorkers Rally at UN to Protest Genocide in Sudan; MLK Day Candlelight Vigil Demands Action

NEW YORK — Students and Sudanese refugees will hold a candlelight vigil on Monday, Martin Luther King Day, to protest the genocide raging in the western Darfur region of Sudan. The event begins at 5 p.m. at Dag Hammarskjold Park (47th Street and 1st Avenue), across from the United Nations. Former Sudanese slave Simon Deng will lead the rally challenging Sudan's regime and calling for international action to stop the killing.

Roughly 100,000 people have died in Darfur with nearly two million displaced, left to wander the desert searching for shelter or relocated to refugee camps. Among the worst crimes being committed is the wide-spread rape of women and young girls.

Along with Deng, Charles Jacobs, founder and president of the American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG), and Jay Williams, long-time Sudan activist, will be speaking at the rally, which will also feature a cappella gospel music.

"It is fitting that we gather on Martin Luther King Day to demand that the Government of Sudan stop its campaign of genocide," said Jacobs, who participated in King's 1963 March on Washington. "King reminded Americans that we must mobilize to protect freedom. Today, we are standing up for the victims of a genocide waged against Africans because of their identity."

Deng, who was enslaved as a child and now lives in New York, says: "Immediate action must be taken to end the genocide in Darfur. The international community cannot allow another Rwanda to take place. We, as New Yorkers, can easily make our voices heard. The Sudan UN Mission is right here in our neighborhood. It's easy for us to send a message to the rulers of Sudan."

The rally is organized by the New York chapter of the AASG. The Boston-based AASG is a human rights group dedicated to abolishing modern-day slavery and has been leading the struggle to stop slave-raids and genocide in Sudan for over a decade.

For more information, visit http://www.iAbolish.org/nyc.