Friday, July 4, 2014

Working Toward A Slave-Free Sudan

    July 9, 2011 is remembered as South Sudan's independence day, as they declared themselves separate, and no longer part of Sudan. The Republic of South Sudan is a newly free nation, yet many problems and concerns are still at hand. One of the most crucial problems that the Sudanese are currently facing is that thousands of Southern Sudanese are still enslaved in the Northern Sudan territory, continuing to be tortured and mistreated, and overworked for little to no pay at all.
      Since the enslavement of these people was a major contributor to the fighting, rebellions, and civil wars that kept Southern Sudan from becoming independent in the past, a feeling of irony is present in the sense that many thousand people are still enslaved, even after the war is finished. For several decades, the cruel leaders of Northern Sudan tortured the black Africans, ridiculing them for their distant culture and background. The North campaigned for nearly half a century attempting to "ethnically cleanse" these Christian Africans, depriving them of any right to freedom of religion. Another four million were viewed as "ethnically cleansed" and converted into the Sudanese ways of a Islamic life. During this campaign, slaves were used as a tool of weapon, and virtually three million were killed. Slave raids took over many southern cities, where the Northerners took a number of black women and children, deprived them of any human rights, and sent them to the North to be enslaved and assigned to a master. Not only are these African's rights being infringed upon due to enslavement and involuntary work, but the harsh conditions, forced Muslim religion, and kidnapping and transporting of people to the north are all serious violations of the basic rights of a human.
     As of 1995, American Anti-Slavery groups have been working to liberate these slaves, ensuring them the freedom of life and all the liberties and rights that come with simply being a human being. Many of these efforts of liberation have been successful, as they have freed over eighty-thousand slaves, and stand committed to continue these efforts until there are no longer any individuals enslaved in Sudan. While many US citizens view an outside conflict like this as one of our lowest priorities, I believe that this is a very pressing issue that as a country we should stand against. The deprivation of a free life is something, that as Americans, we often do not experience first hand. With this being said, we should take every step possible in order to free these slaves in North Sudan.

Link:
http://www.iabolish.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=263:south-sudan-becomes-a-free-nation-but-tens-of-thousands-of-its-people-remain-enslaved-in-the-north&catid=31:press-releases&Itemid=34

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