 Francis Bok (Photo by Charlie Quigg '09) |
On Thursday, Feb. 23, 2006, Francis Bok, an escaped slave from the Sudan, spoke on "21st Century: Living Proof," a lecture detailing his personal story of being enslaved, escaping from slavery and creating a new life. At the age of seven, Bok was captured and enslaved during an Arab militia raid on the village of Nymlal. For 10 years, he lived as the family slave to Giema Abdullah, forced to sleep with cattle, endure daily beatings and eat rotten food. In 1999, the United Nations resettled him in North Dakota. He since has spoken at a Capitol Hill ceremony and in hearings of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In 2002, he was invited to the White House for the Sudan Peace Act signing ceremony.
 | View a photo gallery of this event |
 | Listen to a full audio recording (1:25:22) courtesy of the Amherst Recording Council: High (128 kbps) | Medium (64 kbps) | Low (32 kbps) |