|
|
 Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة (Re: Amani Alsunni)
|
BOOKS
Precious freedom
Francis Bok's escape from childhood slavery is a horror tale with a happy ending.
By Lewis Beale
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I wanted to be somebody someday. I didn't give up."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At age 7, most kids are mastering tying their shoes and reading. Francis Bok was a slave. An ethnic Dinka from civil-war-torn Sudan in Africa, he was abducted in a raid by Muslim militia soldiers. For a decade, he spent his days herding sheep and cattle for his master, and his nights alone in a hut, sleeping on the ground. He was forced to convert from Christianity to Islam. Playing and talking to other people were strictly forbidden.
But Bok was lucky: He escaped at 17, aided by a Muslim stranger who hid him in his home and bought him a bus ticket to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. From there he made his way in 1999 to Fargo, N.D., where he lived with other refugees. In 2000 he became the first escaped slave to testify before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
Now 23, he relates his incredible experiences in a just-out memoir, "Escape From Slavery" (St. Martin's, $24.95). He spoke with us from his home in Boston, where he works for the American Anti-Slavery Group.
I'm sure plenty of Americans are surprised slavery still exists in the world -- even here. Didn't the Civil War end it?
People are shocked when I tell them there are women and children who work for rich people for no pay in this country. This is slavery. [According to a CIA report, each year up to 50,000 women and children from Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia are brought to the United States under false pretenses and forced to work as prostitutes, laborers or servants.] And around the world there are ####### slaves.
What's the most common question people ask when they learn you're a former slave?
How I survived for 10 years. I tell them it's because I had a dream since I was very young. I wanted to be somebody someday. Also, I didn't give up or allow anything bad to happen to me. In addition was my faith. I prayed to God each day and each night to save me.
Your first stop in America was North Dakota, a far cry from warm Sudan. How did you deal with your first winter?
I got up one morning, and I saw all this snow; my window was covered with it. I didn't know it was going to be snowing. I didn't speak English. I was wearing sports clothes with sneakers. I thought the language was a problem, and now the problem was how I was going to survive the weather. [But] I've also lived in Ames, Iowa, and Boston, so I've gotten used to it.
After subsisting on rotten food and table scraps in Sudan, what's your favorite American fast food?
Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich. They cook it very well done. A lot of Sudanese eat everything very well done, almost burned. That's why I like it.
We don't know if Wendy's would be flattered by your compliment. What impresses you the most about America?
The freedom people have here.
What disappoints you the most?
More freedom sometimes allows you to do what you don't realize is negative. I see a lot of kids using drugs, getting involved with bad stuff. I'm shocked seeing kids my age or even younger living this kind of life.
Who's your hero?
Frederick Douglass. He was an escaped slave who told everyone his personal story. I would like to be like him for my own people.
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
|
| العنوان |
الكاتب |
Date |
| مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Amani Alsunni | 09-05-04, 05:11 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | nour tawir | 09-05-04, 05:38 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Amani Alsunni | 09-05-04, 05:50 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Amani Alsunni | 09-06-04, 04:33 AM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Roada | 09-06-04, 06:16 AM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Amani Alsunni | 09-06-04, 07:01 AM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Roada | 09-06-04, 07:35 AM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | nour tawir | 09-06-04, 07:03 AM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Amani Alsunni | 09-06-04, 07:14 AM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | خالد عمار | 09-06-04, 07:26 AM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | nour tawir | 09-06-04, 07:47 AM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Amani Alsunni | 09-06-04, 07:52 AM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Roada | 09-06-04, 08:46 AM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Amani Alsunni | 09-06-04, 10:55 AM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Amani Alsunni | 09-06-04, 12:54 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | nour tawir | 09-06-04, 12:56 PM |
 Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | محمود الدقم | 09-06-04, 01:02 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Amani Alsunni | 09-08-04, 04:18 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | محمود الدقم | 09-10-04, 07:09 AM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Deng | 09-08-04, 04:56 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Deng | 09-08-04, 05:00 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Amani Alsunni | 09-08-04, 05:22 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Roada | 09-08-04, 05:54 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Roada | 09-08-04, 06:12 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Amani Alsunni | 09-08-04, 06:16 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Roada | 09-08-04, 06:39 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Amani Alsunni | 09-08-04, 06:49 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Roada | 09-08-04, 06:59 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Amani Alsunni | 09-08-04, 07:06 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Roada | 09-08-04, 07:32 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Amani Alsunni | 09-08-04, 07:35 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Roada | 09-08-04, 07:56 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Amani Alsunni | 09-08-04, 08:15 PM |
| Re: مساعدة ضرورية وعاجلة | Amani Alsunni | 09-09-04, 04:41 PM |
|
| |
Deng
فيس بوك
تويتر
انستقرام
يوتيوب
بنتيريست