Simon Aban Deng is a Sudanese

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

activist living in the

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. He is a victim of

child slavery Child slavery is the slavery of children. The enslavement of children can be traced back through history. Even after the abolition of slavery, children continue to be enslaved and trafficked in modern times, which is a particular problem in devel ...

. A native of the Shilluk Kingdom in southern Sudan, Deng spent several years as a domestic slave in southern Sudan.

Biography

A Sudanese refugee, he was enslaved at the age of nine when his neighbor asked Deng to accompany him on a trip. Deng was given as a "gift" to the neighbor's family. Having escaped slavery and emigrated to the

, he now travels the country addressing audiences which range from the

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middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

students. His speeches focus on

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and the

anti-slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

movement. Deng works as a lifeguard at Coney Island. Deng says in his account of his capture and subsequent abduction: ''"... I was a slave. ... When I was nine years old, my village was raided by Arab troops in the pay of Khartoum. As we ran into the bush to escape I watched as childhood friends were shot dead and the old and the weak who were unable to run were burned alive in their huts. I was abducted and given to an Arab family as a "gift"."'' 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."

Sudan Freedom Walk

The Sudan Freedom Walk can refer to one of several such events organized by Simon Deng used to raise awareness of

issues in Sudan.

Walks

*Sudan Freedom Walk, April 2006,

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Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

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*Second Sudan Freedom Walk, December 2006,

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

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Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

*Sudan Freedom Walk Chicago, May 2007,

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Freedom walk for Sudan
, Northwestern News Network, July 5, 2007. Retrieved August 5, 2007.

References

External links

Interview with Simon Deng – transcriptInterview with Simon Deng – video, part 1Interview with Simon Deng – video, part 2Interview with Simon Deng – video, part 3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deng, Simon Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Refugees Slavery in Sudan South Sudanese emigrants to the United States Sudanese human rights activists Sudanese slaves Lifeguards