Reading: Escape From Slavery

Last night (late last night) I finished reading Escape From Slavery:The true story of my ten yearsin captivity—and my journey to freedom in America, by Francis Bok (with Edward Tivnan).

This is a very well-presented and deeply affecting story. I found myself having to frequently re-contextualize by explicitly remembering that he was abducted in 1986 and escaped in 1996 and that slave-raids like the one that took him are most likely still be happening today. Certainly there remain unfathomable numbers of people living in slavery throughout the world today. The American Anti-Slavery Group suggests a number (27 million) that is close to the total number of people living in Canada.

Staggering.

Since escaping to the U.S., Francis has been active with the AASG. They are a very impressive group who have had many successes in their ongoing work to end slavery in Sudan and elsewhere. Part of that work has also been significant in contributing to efforts to bring peace to Sudan, and challenging the role of foreign companies involvement in Sudan's "civil" war (such as Calgary's Talisman Energy, Inc.—see Project Sudan for more info).