
Rochelle Wilner President	Frank Dimant Chief Executive Officer	Prof. Stephen Scheinberg National Chair

Blacks & Jews in Dialogue

Slavery survives in Sudan

By Norman L. Epstein

As we celebrate the richness of Black History Month, there are those who think the pernicious legacy of slavery is obsolete. Well, think again. In Northern Africa, particularly in Sudan and Mauritania, the legacy not only continues but flourishes unabated.

Sudan, nestled in the northeast corner of the continent, has been subjected to civil war for most of its troubled existence since 1955. The most recent war, going back 16 years, has cost more than two million lives. The population of 34 million is comprised of 60 per cent Black Africans namely Christians, animists and some practising Islam in the south, 39 per cent Arabs in the north and one per cent European. Since the country’s inception, the Arab minority in the north has wrestled control of the government in Khartoum.

After a brief respite from war in the 1980s, Colonel Omar Al Bashir staged a coup in 1989. His government ruthlessly eradicated any dissidents and imposed Shari’a (strict Islamic law) disenfranchising the Black majority in the south. With the discovery of oil in the 1970s, mostly in the south, the Black Sudanese have been denied any clout in sharing the wealth as well as the power.

Talisman sale pending

Talisman, a Canadian corporation, has been one of the companies drilling for the natural resource but there is a pending sale of its interest to an Indian company. Under the umbrella of the Sudanese People Liberation Army, Black Africans have battled the fundamentalist government in Khartoum.

One of the tragic manifestations of the conflict has been government controlled paramilitary groups on horseback raiding villages in the South. They summarily execute all the men and abduct the women and children selling them into slavery in the North. Countless women and children suffer gut-wrenching abuses and unbearable hardships. They are put to work long hours in fields tending to crops and livestock with minimal food and drink. They are beaten and tortured night and day and forced to sleep with the animals. The women are repeatedly raped or exploited as sexual slaves.

If they try to escape, they are subjected to more horrendous beatings or have their Achilles tendon severed to prevent further escapes. After recapture, some have been tightly bound and exposed to the punishing Sudanese sun for days. Others have had their limbs amputated for the slightest grievance to their Master. Human rights abuses are well documented by respectable organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Scourge of slavery

The answer in ending the scourge of slavery lies in ending this sordid conflict. Peace talks have transpired in Mochako, Kenya between the warring factions in recent months. However, ceasefires have been broken and the Northern government has demonstrated reticence in bargaining in good faith. While much of the world’s attention is diverted to the crisis in Iraq, the practice of slavery and the untold suffering continues.

So what can Canada do? Canada, when hosting the G-8 Conference last year, ensured that Africa would be the focus of world attention. The conflict in Sudan was to be a priority. Canada could take a leadership role internationally much as it did in the 1980s, ending the blight of Apartheid in South Africa. At the U.N and international fora, pressure must be borne to bring the warring sides to negotiate in good faith. Any agreement must include an equitable sharing of wealth and power. Arms embargoes and focussed sanctions that limit the capacity to make war are essential. International human rights monitors must be allowed in Sudan to ensure that slaves are emancipated and human rights are upheld.

With Talisman likely soon to be eliminated from the picture, Canada can and must take a more pro-active and leadership role. Well over 100 years ago, Canada was a final destination for the Underground Railroad, a surreptitious organization that smuggled slaves out of the United States.

Again, Canada can be a beacon to end slavery and bring peace to Sudan. As we commemorate the rich history of African culture, let us not forget the present day plight of those who suffer perverse human indignities in abject poverty.

Norman Lyle Epstein M.D. is a co-chair of Canadians Against Slavery in Sudan.

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