WASHINGTON: May 3, 2006 — On the heels of last month’s Rally to Stop Genocide in Washington D.C.,.a commission of Sudan activists and leaders in the movement to stop genocide and slavery in Sudan embarked on a week-long fact-finding and relief mission in Southern Sudan and Darfur. The commission included American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG) Associate and Sudanese survivor of slavery Simon Deng, returning to his homeland for the first time in sixteen years; AASG Executive Director Liora Kasten; Christian Solidarity International’s John Eibner and Gunnar Wiebalck; and radio talk show host and longtime anti-slavery advocate Joe Madison and wife Sherry Madison.
The purpose of the commission was two-fold: first, to deliver essential humanitarian aid and relief in the form of food and survival kits, and second, to determine the needs of the Sudanese as communicated by the victims themselves — an increasingly difficult task as fewer and fewer are willing to venture into the country’s unstable territory. In all, the group delivered 2,000 survival kits and 20 tons of sorghum seed and interviewed thousands of refugees from Darfur and Southern Sudan.
“These people are living in hell," says Mr. Deng. "Many are Darfurians who are flooding into South Sudan and living in the severest conditions. They are forgotten refugees who call the trees their home and the leaves their food. They have no shelter, no food, little water, and no medicine. I saw starvation, disease and destitution everywhere. With no hope in sight, the death rate will be catastrophic in a few months."
In Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan, the group met with Southern Sudanese president Salva Kiir. The direness of the situation was most poignantly illustrated, though, through conversations with thousands of Southern Sudanese and Darfuri refugees — some of whom, like Mr. Deng, had recently escaped slavery. The accounts of their daily struggle to find food and shelter revealed that — despite the recently brokered peace treaty between the Sudanese government and a Darfuri rebel group—the suffering of the nation’s civilians is far from over.
"What we saw in Darfur and Southern Sudan is the continuance of genocide without bullets," says Joe Madison. "All of us need to monitor this situation and pressure the U.S. government to guide the Sudanese government impulses toward peace and self-determination for the Southern Sudanese and Darfurians."
About the American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG — iAbolish.org): In 1994 AASG became the nation’s first anti-slavery group founded since the Civil War. Today, working in collaboration with survivors of slavery and a network of over 30,000 activists, AASG fosters public awareness and grassroots activism in order to free the estimated 27 million currently enslaved around the world.
About Christian Solidarity International (CSI): CSI is a Christian human rights organization for religious liberty helping victims of religious repression, victimized children and victims of disaster. CSI was founded in 1977 in Switzerland by Rev. Hans Stückelberger, following peaceful demonstrations in support of persecuted Christians. CSI's primary objective is worldwide respect for the God-given right of every human being to choose his or her faith and to practice it, as stipulated in Art. 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
For interviews contact Liora Kasten at (617) 426-8161, Simon Deng at (917) 698-5440, or Dr. John Eibner at (805) 777-7107. See www.iAbolish.org for photos.