Simon Deng: Difference between revisions

Simon Aban Deng is a Sudanese American human rights activist living in the United States. He is a victim of child slavery. A native of the Shilluk Kingdom in southern Sudan, Deng spent several years as a domestic slave in southern Sudan.^[1]

Deng was born in Sudan. He was enslaved at the age of nine, when his village was "raided by Arab troops in the pay of Khartoum". Dang attempted to escape, but was "abducted and given to an Arab family as a 'gift'".^[2]

During his time as a slave, Deng was put through inhumane acts. He remembers being punished for not responding loudly enough, beaten by groups of other children, and having nothing but "patience... and my faith" as friends. He was forced to say yes to everything, including torture, and remembers times when "the only thing I could do was ask for mercy... and mercy was not always there".^{[citation needed]} Deng was told he would be treated more humanely if he converted to Islam, took an Arab name, and agreed to become the family's son; he refused on all three counts.^[3]

After three and a half years of enslavement, Deng saw several men at market with traditional Shilluk scarification, whom he approached and told his story. The men knew someone from Deng's village, and agreed to help him plan his escape. After a few weeks, Deng boarded a steamer and returned home to his family. After escaping slavery, he underwent traditional Shilluk scarification to ensure he would always have his identity.^[3]

Dang later traveling to Egypt and then emigrated to the United States.^[4] He now travels the country as a speaker, focusing on education and the anti-slavery movement. He works as a lifeguard at Coney Island.^[1]

In 1993, after settling in the United States, Deng worked as an activist to raise awareness for slavery in Sudan.^[3][4] Through his efforts, he began a partnership with Charles Jacobs to help assist Christian Solidarity International in freeing Sudanese slaves.^[4]

In the early 2000s, Deng became known for his outspoken criticisms of the then-Omar al-Bashir government in Khartoum. He organized protests in New York and Washington, D.C. against the civil war in southern Sudan, particularly the kidnappings of men, women and children by militia groups allied to the Khartoum government. He also denounced human rights violations against the war victims.

He continued his advocacy when the war in Darfur began in 2003, linking the conflict with the earlier South Sudanese conflict and drawing parallels between them despite their different origins and motives. After the signing of the 2005 CPA agreements between the SPLA and Khartoum government, Deng became a advocate for South Sudanese independence, seeing it as a final outcome to the decades long South Sudanese struggle for peace, human rights and self determination.

His anti-war protests shifted to anti-slavery campaigns, as he spent the next decade sharing his story of being a child slave in the 1960s. He and fellow activist, abolitionist and author Francis Bok toured the United States and Europe, sharing their stories of slavery and calling for an end to war in Sudan.

Deng became a prominent speaker with the American Anti Slavery Group and testified at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy in 2010.

In 2012, Deng visited Israel to speak out against proposed decorations of South Sudanese asylum seekers.^[5]

In December 2023, Deng led a solidarity walk from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to "illustrate the solidarity of the South Sudanese and many Africans with the Jewish people and the State of Israel". He also referenced Israel's assistance of South Sudanese rebels during the first Sudanese Civil War. While in Israel, he also met with families of the hostages taken on October 7, 2023.^[4][6]

The Sudan Freedom Walk can refer to one of several such events organized by Simon Deng used to raise awareness of human rights issues in Sudan.

• Sudan Freedom Walk, April 2006, New York City, New York to Washington, D.C., United States of America^[7][8][9]
• Second Sudan Freedom Walk, December 2006, Brussels, Belgium to The Hague, Netherlands^[10][11]
• Sudan Freedom Walk Chicago, May 2007, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America^[12][13]
• Sudan Freedom Walk, 2010, New York City to Washington, D.C.
  • Focused on raising public support for the 2011 South Sudanese independence referendum^[14]

Deng is a Christian. As of 2012, he was living in New York City.^[5]

• Interview with Simon Deng – transcript
• Interview with Simon Deng – video, part 1
• Interview with Simon Deng – video, part 2
• Interview with Simon Deng – video, part 3