Christian Solidarity International, a Swiss based organization, redeemed 58 slaves near the village of Manyiel in the province of Bahr El Ghazal (Sudan) on October 29. Most of the enslaved women and children had been captured during raids conducted by the Government of Sudan's Popular Defence Force on villages about 15 miles east of Manyiel during January and February of 1995. The slaves' testimonies reveal a consistent pattern of beatings, sexual abuse, forced Islamisation and denial of sufficient food and shelter.
One of the slaves, a young mother called Amou Kawac from Wotal Wol told CSI:
"The Arab militia came to my village early one morning in January 1995 while I was sleeping with my three children. We ran outside, but were immediately surrounded by Arabs on horses. We were forced to walk at gun-point. My blind husband was left behind. The raiders forced me to carry their booty on my head and my youngest child, Deng, on my back. My other two children Akok and Kawac had two walk behind us. They both died of thirst during the long march to Dogg, near Saddama. There Deng and I were separated. He went to the home of our captor, Abdullah, while I was sold to a man named Sama. Sama already had two wives and used me as a concubine. He made me give birth to my little girl Achai. Sama was a cruel man who said his baby Achai was as worthless as the child of a dog. Sama beat me, while his wives made me work hard, grinding gain and fetching water, while they were idle. They gave me no money, no clothes and all I had to eat was the remnants of their food. Soon my clothes perished, and I was left completely naked. Sama also gave me the Muslim name Kaddija and forced me to pray in the Islmaic way. I tried to resist this, but they beat me with big bamboo sticks. One day, I ran away and found a man from my tribe who took me to an Arab trader. This trader bought me from Sama and then sent me here to Manyiel with another trader. I have been here for over one month, but cannot leave because my family does not have the money and cows demanded by the trader. He says he spent good money to buy me from Sama, and must be paid before I can go home."
CSI paid an Arab trader named 'Nur' 2,900,000 Sudanese pounds to free this mother and the 57 other slaves, including here 7-year-son Deng. The 50,000 Sudanese pound price for each slave is roughly the equivalent of the local cost of two or three cows.
CSI estimates that there are tens of thousands of black African slaves in northern Sudan. Most of the cattle owning nomads in southern Darfur and southern Kordofan have at least one slave, according to Sudanese church sources and Arab traders. The trader 'Nur' and his colleagues blame Sudan's National Islamic Front-dominated Government for the thriving slave trade. He said the National Islamic Front provides arms and horses to the Popular Defence Force and tells the local Arabs that the black Africans of the South are infidels and can therefore freely be killed or enslaved.
Meanwhile, the Popular Defence Forced killed five civilians and enslaved 20 young women and children in six black African villages in northern Bahr El Ghazal on October 27, 1996, according to local administrators of the SPLM/A. The raids were carried out while the Popular Defence Force guarded on horseback a slow-moving military train travelling from the government's garrison at the southern city of Wau to the North. The slave raids were accompanied by the theft of cattle and grain and the burning of homes. The six raided villages are Mathiang Bol, Burakuc, Rang Ajoung, Waar Geng, Mayen Ulem and Mayom Deng Akol.
Further information and photos are available from
John Eibner,
CSI Switzerland
telephone: +41.1.980-4700
fax: +41.1.980-4715