Domestic Servitude2005
South Sudan SS
The victim’s village in southern Sudan was attacked by an Arab militia. They killed all the men, stole all the animals, and captured all the women and children. After walking for a full day, the ten year old female victim was sold or given to a man named Bak as his slave. She did Bak’s housework and cared for his animals. She was never allowed to play. If she got tired, she was beaten and called “black slave.” When she was 20, her master raped her. The next morning, she hopped on a truck without the driver’s knowledge and escaped. She ended up in the next town, but was afraid she would be sent back into slavery since she stood out as different from everyone around. Finally she saw a black man and confessed to him that she had run away from slavery. He bought her a bus ticket to Khartoum. Not realizing where she was, she looked for her family, but did not find them. Constantly afraid of being sent back into slavery, she married the brother of a man she knew. Two years later, the couple escaped to the United States.
Domestic Servitude2009
South Sudan SS
The Khartoum government of Sudan raided villages in southern Sudan and Arabs from northern Sudan enslaved southerners. The Khartoum government of Sudan repeatedly raided the villages of the Shilluk Kingdom of southern Sudan. Two of the victims friends were killed in the raids. Being a child of about six, the victim did not understand what was happening, he and four friends fled to the bush. One, a woman, was not able to keep up because she was pregnant. That night, she was killed and eaten by wild animals. After that attack, the family moved to Malakal. The government raided them again there, and he was captured and enslaved by an Arab man. The town where he was sent to serve his master was predominantly Arab, making it very difficult to escape. He claims that he and the other slaves were treated like animals.
Domestic Servitude1999
South Sudan SS
Mary was a mother of three married to Michael Nyong Akal in Aweil town. The family fled to Marin after a series of attacks. When the train came to Wedweil, soldiers disembarked and took Mary and threw her to the ground and beat her. She nearly had a miscarriage but managed to retain the baby. She was forcemarched to Matarik where she was given to a man named Mahmoud Abdullah. Abdullah's two wives, Kadija and Asha. Mary was forced to do housework. If she refused or did not like her job, Abdullah beat her. That above information comes from the book ("To Plead Our Own Cause) by Kevin Bales and Zoe Trodd. The book is available from Cornell University Press.