Slave Liberation in Sudan
CSI has been working on the ground in Sudan since 1995 to liberate Christians and other non-Muslims forced into slavery by Islamist militiamen armed and directed by the Khartoum regime. Working through a local underground network, we have rescued tens of thousands of people from slavery. Still, thousands remain in bondage – over 35,000 according to a Sudanese government official.
Background
Slavery in Sudan was revived in 1983, when the Arab Muslim government of Sudan began using slave raids as a weapon in its war to put down Southern rebellion against the government’s imposition of Islamic law.The government armed Arab Muslim militia groups, and encouraged them to raid Southern villages, steal their property, and take their women and children as slaves. Tens of thousands of people were captured and enslaved.
In 1995, CSI teams discovered a local network of Africans and Arabs working together to help retrieve some of those abducted into slavery. With CSI’s assistance, this indigenous Underground Railroad grew into a sophisticated network that has managed to liberate tens of thousands of people.
Meet one of our slave retrievers.
A peace treaty in 2005 put an end to the slave raids, and paved the way for the south to become an independent country in 2011. However, the treaty provided no way home for those already enslaved. Today, CSI continues working to bring these people home.
What We Do
CSI was able to strengthen over the years an extensive indigenous network of Arab traders and local officials to free slaves still in the north. Since 1995, over 100,000 Southerners were freed.
How CSI liberates slaves:
- South Sudanese individuals kept in Sudan as slaves are located with the help of Arab retrievers.
- They are liberated in exchange for a cattle vaccine (Novidium).
- Given medical treatment if needed
- Freed slaves are accompanied by the retrievers back to South Sudan.
- They are then reunited with their families and communities
After liberations each slave is provided with:
- A ration of sorghum, a local nutrient-rich staple food
- A dairy goat
- A “Sack of Hope,” a survival kit containing essential items such as tarp for shelter, a cooking pan, a water canister, a mosquito net, a blanket, a handheld sickle, and fishing hooks.
Emergency food relief
The Northern Bahr el-Ghazal region of South Sudan relies primarily on subsistence farming for survival and is extremely vulnerable to the recurring droughts and floods.
When needed CSI provides:
- Life-saving sorghum grain
- For the next harvest:
- Sorghum and groundnut seeds to sow
- Hoes for tilling the soil
Medical support
CSI-supported local clinic, providing treatment for:
- Malaria
- Diarrhoea
- Eye and respiratory infections
- Equipment for a medical lab in a larger clinic of the area
- Referral of complex cases requiring surgery to a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya
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Arek Luer Akol: “Please Find My Children.” Slave Stories
Arek Luer Akol was freed from slavery in Sudan through CSI's underground railroad. When we met her in January 2013, she told us that her four children - Adam, Awou, Amuna and Asha - had been separated from her, and were still enslaved. In this video, Arek implores CSI supporters to help free her children.