Slavery in Sudan
...tes, a relief and development group, has asked, "Is there a name for a million square miles of suffering? Yes. It is called Sudan." The United Nations and, indirectly, the United States government have since 1989 airlifted millions of tons of food to starving people in southern Sudan, the epicenter of a civil war. But it is the emergence of modern-day slavery that has seized the world's attention. Christian Solidarity International has freed almost 8,000 slaves since 1995, is by far the largest of about a dozen groups that buy slaves out of bondage. In what was billed as the largest single slave redemption to date, in January of this year CSI bought 1,050 slaves for the equivalent (in Sudanese pounds) of $52,500 -- $50 each. In April, CSI broke its record, freeing 1,783 slaves. Meanwhile, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a London-based group headed by Baroness Caroline Cox, redeemed 325 slaves. The per capita income in Sudan, according to Sudanese embassy estimates, is about $500 a year. In the war-torn south it is much less. A small amount of money injected from the outside can create a powerful dynamic. Selling slaves back to their families for $50 to $100 each -- with the financial assistance of Westerners -- is far more profitable than selling them for about $15 in the northern slave markets. Manase Lomole Waya, who runs Humanitarian Assistance for South Sudan, a group based in Nairobi, what he thought about slave-redemption efforts. "We welcome them for exposing the agony of our people to the world," he said. "That part is good. But giving the money to the slave traders only encourages the trade. It is wrong and must stop. Where does the money go? It goes to the raiders to buy more guns, raid more villages, put more shillings in their pockets. It is a vicious circle." I do believe that we shouldn't pay money for slave redemption because it encourages taking slaves and prices are growing and growing. It's a magnet for slave captors. Per-capita income in Sudan is about $200 in year. It's easy to earn money by capturing slaves and then selling them for about $50 each. Also there are many hoaxes. Captors promote the slavery. “We've made slavery more profitable than narcotics” – one former slave redeemer said. After the CSI began buy slaves the number of slaves grew a lot. They want to give freedom to one person, but because of it two persons become slaves. It is the most important problem of this type of economic influence to Sudan. Of course, the economic influence is...