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
Africanews