At Northwestern, Darfur is an issue not easily ignored. Flyers, buttons and rallies informing students about the crisis figure prominently on campus. But for Simon Deng, the problem strikes a more personal note.
Deng, a former Sudanese slave, told the story of his life and his country on Friday at 7 p.m. to about 20 people in Harris 107. The event was sponsored by the Northwestern Darfur Action Coalition.
“My name is Simon Deng, I’m from Sudan. I’m a Shiluk by tribe, and I am Christian,” he said. Deng has been active in the U.S. raising awareness of the situation in Sudan, notably organizing the Sudan Freedom Walk from New York to Washington, D.C., in 2006.
In a country whose government has been trying to forcefully Islamize and Arabize its population before it even became independent from Great Britain in 1956, Deng and the rest of the Christian population in southern Sudan have repeatedly been the victims of the government’s “holy war” against the “infidels.” Deng evoked childhood memories during his lecture, such as running away from the government army as a child, as the soldiers shot and killed two of his best friends.
Death, however, was not the only thing threatening the southern Sudanese. At the age of 9, Deng said he was tricked into getting on a boat and was sold as a slave to a family in northern Sudan. For three and a half years, Deng said he was treated inhumanely, deprived of a bed and given only leftovers.
“Unfortunately, when it comes to the case of Sudan, slavery still exists even today. I stand before you as a living proof of slavery,” Deng said. “What happened to me is irrelevant. And I want you not to be sorry about what happened to me, but I’m asking you, do something, so that you will not be sorry to see a kid like the ones I left behind [on my last trip to Sudan] tomorrow.”
Deng was eventually rescued by a member of his tribe and returned to southern Sudan. Deng said he wasn’t alone in his experience; in addition to raids and enslavement, two million southern Sudanese Christians were killed between 1955 and 1973.
But the Sudanese government’s quest for Islamization did not end there. In 1972, the government signed the Addis-Ababa Agreement to end the almost 20-year-long genocide that had taken place in the South. However, when Sudan became an Islamic country, the government claimed the agreement was invalid because it was a “treaty with the infidels.”
The genocide in Darfur strictly speaking started in 1986, under Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi. Although most of the western part of Sudan was Muslim, they had not embraced the Arabization process that the government aimed for. Under the next leader, Omar al-Bashir, the government recruited a militia that the Darfurians soon called the “Janjaweed,” or “devils riding on horses.” The Janjaweed are perpetrating the ongoing genocide in Darfur.
In his hour-long speech, Deng revealed the overwhelming complexity of the conflict that is now taking place. He strongly denounced the global apathy and inaction during the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, and the previous genocides in Sudan.
“We use the words ‘never again,’” Deng said. “Why are we using these words ruthlessly? Because this is happening again, and again, and again. When we say something, we have to mean it.”
However, Deng said he was very optimistic regarding the strong reaction worldwide against the genocide in Darfur, especially from young people. He encouraged further action.
“Today you are in a position to do something. And you are in a position to make another mistake in your life,” he said. “Tomorrow is going to be too late. I’m asking you, my fellow human beings, let’s get involved. I’m asking you to speak up on behalf of those who cannot speak up for themselves.”