iAbolish.org | American Anti-Slavery Group

A native of southern Sudan, Mr. Bok was abducted at the age of 7 and enslaved for ten years. Today he lives in Kansas and works on the staff of the American Anti-Slavery Group. He has worked tirelessly to spread awareness about modern slavery in speeches across the country and with his critically acclaimed autobiography, Escape from Slavery. He has headed a panel on slavery at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, testified before a Senate Committee in Washington, D.C., met with President Bush at the White House, and been invited to carry the Winter Olympic Torch. Mr. Bok has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, and Essence Magazine, in addition to several radio and television shows.

A refugee of southern Sudan, Simon Deng was abducted and sold into slavery at the age of nine. Today he travels the country, inspiring audiences with his passionate plea for action on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of victims of Sudanese slavery and genocide. He has addressed students at Harvard, Yale, and Columbia University and has met with President Bush and Southern Sudanese president Salva Kiir. In March 2006, Mr. Deng embarked on the Sudan Freedom Walk, a 300-mile trek from NY to DC to call for an end to slavery and genocide in Sudan

Abdarahmane (Abda) Wone is the North American Communications Director for the African Liberation Forces of Mauritania (FLAM) and a speaker for the American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG). In 1989, his family, along with more than 120,000 other black Africans, was deported from Mauritania by the totalitarian regime then in power. Having seen slavery in Mauritania first-hand, Abda has advocated for the rights of Mauritanian slaves and refugees for the past 17 years. He is currently pursuing a graduate degree in International Affairs at Columbia University in New York City.

A refugee from the Darfur region of Sudan, Mr. Yahya is the chairman of the Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy (DCFD). In the early 1990s, his village was attacked by the Sudanese government-backed Arab militia, known as the Janjaweed. The raiders decimated his village and Mr. Yahya's relatives and neighbors were shot, raped, and burnt alive. Today, he works with other refugees and speaks out against the genocide in Sudan. Mr. Yahya has spoken at Duke, George Washington University, and alongside Gloria Steinem at a rally in front of the UN.

Co-founder and President of the American Anti-Slavery Group, Dr. Jacobs has a very long record of activism and advocacy on human rights issues. An expert on international slavery, he is now one of the top personalities in the new abolitionist movement. He has helped rescue thousands of slaves in Sudan and worked for a decade to mobilize the human rights community to tackle slavery and genocide in Sudan. Dr. Jacobs offers the perspective of a veteran activist on Sudan, and explains both why the world has failed so far to stop the Sudan genocide and what we must do now to save millions of lives.