Replies

PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org
===
===

Note: The following text is an exact quote
---

http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s05040102.htm

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 2126, Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

CATTLE CAMP ARABS PROMISE TO FREE SLAVES AS MORE THAN 300 SUDANESE SLAVES ARE LIBERATED

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (ANS) -- 336 Black Sudanese slaves were liberated between 23 March and 14 April through the mediation of the Arab-Dinka Peace Committees at Warawar and Manger Ater, Southern Sudan.

According to Christian Solidarity International (CSI), the freed slaves were registered at three checkpoints (Bac & Rumrol, Aweil East County, and Mayen Adhal, Aweil North County) before proceeding to their homes and families.

A press release from CSI received by ASSIST News Service (ANS) says registration was undertaken jointly by local representatives of CSI, the Episcopal Church of Sudan, the Church of Christ, the Government of Sudan's Committee for the Eradication of Women and Children (CEAWC) and the SPLM's Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SRRC).

Preliminary analysis of interviews with 51 of the female slaves over the age of 11 indicate the following pattern of abuse:
37% subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM).
71% raped.
51% forcibly converted to Islam from Christianity or a tribal faith.
98% subjected to racial insults.
100% physically abused.
100% forced to work without pay.
CSI gave returning slaves grain rations and survival kits, including a cooking pot, mosquito net, plastic sheeting, a water container, a sickle and fishing hooks.

"At a US government-funded Arab-Dinka peace conference in Nyamlell, Southern Sudan on April 7-9, Arab cattle camp leaders pledged to free their remaining Dinka slaves. A conference resolution called on CSI to assist newly formed Arab-Dinka committees to locate and liberate slaves from Arab cattle camps," the release says.

Conference host, Chief Dut Majak Majak of Nyamlell, thanked CSI for promoting peace between Arabs and Dinkas for the past ten years. He also observed that all Dinkas attending the conference had relatives who had been freed from enslavement by CSI.

Dr. John Eibner pledged CSI's continuing support for Arab-Dinka efforts to abolish slavery in Sudan. He also warned that unless the enslavement of Black Africans is rapidly eradicated in Darfur and other parts of Northern Sudan a comprehensive and lasting peace for the war torn country will remain elusive.

In September 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush identified the eradication of slavery as a paramount goal of his administration's Sudan peace initiative.

Conservative estimates place the number of Black Sudanese slaves in the tens of thousands. The Report of the UN's Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, dated January 25, 2005, confirmed that the armed forces of the Government of Sudan and allied militias are committing "crimes against humanity" in Darfur, including slavery and the sexual abuse of women.

At the beginning of February, the Sudanese government suspended the repatriation of freed slaves to Southern Sudan in response to criticism from UNICEF. Southern Sudanese community leaders have called for its immediate resumption.

Direct inquiries to:
Christian Solidarity International Headquarters
Switzerland
Tel: +41 44 982 3333
Fax: +41 44 982 3334
Email: csi-int@csi-int.ch

www.iAbolish.com
Contact: Liora Kasten, 617-426-8161
** Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Garden Grove, CA. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in Sept., 1995. He is married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station.
** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

Note: The following text is an exact quote:
===
===

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_chad.html

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
This information is current as of today, Thu Apr 21 2005 23:03:48 GMT-0700.

Chad

April 21, 2005

This Public Announcement is being issued to alert U.S. citizens to increased tensions throughout Chad, and especially along the Chad-Sudan border. This Public Announcement expires on October 31, 2005.

In recent months, all regions in Chad have experienced a sharp rise in the number of reported incidents of highway banditry targeting civilians. Three foreigners were either killed or critically injured as a result of highway attacks. NGO convoys have also been victims of these highway assaults.

Tensions along the Chad-Sudan border continue to affect the security environment in the region. Relations between the two countries remain fragile following the public criticism by the government of Chad of the government of Sudan ’s alleged support of Chadian rebels operating in Sudan, and an attack on the Chadian Consul General in western Darfur by unidentified gunmen. Gunmen shot at an NGO vehicle in Goz Bedia, and UNCHR has placed a road from Abeche to Goz Bedia off-limits to UN traffic. These incidents are taking place against a backdrop of tension between refugees and the Chadian inhabitants of the eastern region of Chad.

U.S. citizens are strongly urged to take necessary precautions to ensure their safety when traveling throughout the country. When traveling anywhere in the country, American citizens should strongly consider traveling in groups, keeping a cell phone or two way radio in reach at all times, avoiding travel after dusk, and leaving detailed travel plans with a reliable point of contact.

U.S. citizens in Chad are further strongly advised to register their presence in the country with the U.S. Department of State, and provide contact information and a specific travel route if traveling outside the capital. Registrants should use the State Department’s travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the U.S. Embassy in N’Djamena. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy to contact them in case of emergency. The U.S. Embassy is located in N’Djamena on Avenue Felix Ebou; mailing address is B.P. 413; telephone: (235) 51-62-11, 51-70-09, 51-77-59, 51-90-52, 51-92-18, and 51-92-33; fax: (235) 51-56-54. The Embassy’s website is http://usembassy.state.gov/ndjamena. American NGO groups should also register with the UNHCR security office in Abeche.

U.S. citizens should consult the Department of State's most recent Consular Information Sheet for Chad, and the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, which are located on the Department's Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov. Up-to-date information on safety and security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S., or for callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll-line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).