Testimony of a South Sudanese Slave
I found myself on Tuesday afternoon sitting next to an emancipated slave from Sudan.
Ker Deng spoke little English if any at all. He was a representative of the newly formed South Sudan nation who had come to Congress to share his story of slavery and plead for American aid in the democratic formation of the 193rd U.N. Member Nation.
South Sudanese slave Ker Deng (photo by Michael Gerson of the Washington Post)
Before the testimony of several freed slaves (found in full here), US Ambassador to Sudan Princeton Lyman, spoke of the diplomatic tensions between borderlines, and the continuing cultural and religious divides in the recently divided countries. After Ambassador Lyman, liberated slaves spoke of being hung by their feet over fires, being beaten daily, having peppers rubbed in their eyes for no reason, and other terrible atrocities.
The untold story of the United States’ government is in the response to these pleas. Rep. Chris Smith (D-NJ), the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights, internalized both the diplomatic realities and the personal stories of strife, and immediately asked the witnesses about possible specific fixes and their implementation. The experts on the pertinent NGOs at the hearing were asked to present a unified front on the issue, and the private sector representatives were asked what they needed to invest in the region to provide the spark the new nation needed.
This form of collaboration is why I’m growing to love Washington. Humanitarian concerns of this magnitude simply transcend political barriers. The implementation of solutions may be a point of division, but the overall moral call is simply too great to ignore. On a daily basis these solutions are being hashed out as quickly and efficiently as possible, and in this case the government was actually waiting on the private sector to come to a decision before moving forward.
Of the 10 major political battles that are gridlocked each month, there are 1,000 that are solved quickly, quietly, and justly. If those were printed in the front page of Politico or The Hill maybe Congress would have a higher approval rating.
Or perhaps they would simply sell less sensationalist newspapers. But hey, if the Invisible Hand can push 200 Occupy DC protesters into McPherson Square, then maybe it can push these stories into your morning speed-read.
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