HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF OUR LETTER THAT WE WROTE TO PRESIDENT BUSH.

June 6, 2008

President George W. Bush

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Bush,

All of us who are citizens of the Untied States are so fortunate because we are free and each of us is guaranteed human rights and dignity. For 27 million men, women, and children around the world “freedom” “human rights” and “dignity” are just words because they are slaves and all they know is poverty, humiliation, pain, suffering, and starvation.

In Sudan, black Africans living in the southern part of the country are killed, kidnapped, and enslaved by Muslim Arab militiamen living in the North. Villages are burned, children are taken from their mothers, and women are raped. The government of Sudan denies that there is slavery in their country, but human rights organizations throughout the world have exposed the truth. The government of Sudan says that slavery is illegal in the country, but it happens everywhere in the country. The slave trade is alive and well in Sudan and we must put an end to it.

How do we end the exploitation and inhumane treatment of our fellow human beings? Why hasn’t more been done to end this terrible practice? We can begin by educating people and empowering people with the truth.

The majority of slaves can be found in Africa. Sudanese slaves are chattel. That means that they are considered to be their master’s property for life. They are bought, sold and traded for things like trucks, camels or money. They are stripped of their cultural background, their personal identity and their religious beliefs. They are beaten, tortured, sexually exploited, and killed. And they have no human rights. They are abandoned and the leaders of their own country turn their backs on them.

We must build a global movement to eliminate slavery around the world. The United States is the leader of the free world and we eliminated slavery 150 years ago. We must now do the same for the rest of the world. We must continue to pressure the government of Sudan to stop the trafficking and exploitation of human beings. We must continue to expose the truth of the physical and emotional violence that is a normal part of a slave’s day-to-day life. Only when we begin to speak out can we hope to end this tragedy.

Sincerely,

Kira, Dimitri, Katie P., Markus