Are there slaves working on the cotton plantations of Sudan?
SAM: Yes. You see, in the Gazeera bowl, where the greatest cotton plantation was, those who work on the land—all of them are slaves. Brought from the south, from the Nuba mountains, the Fur people from the far west… They are the ones working on the plantations. PLW: Which people? The Fur…? DO: Yes, the Fur. They are a Black African people. Most of the Black Africans are in the south, but there are big Black African populations in the Nuba Mountains in the north, and in the west. And they are the ones you will find working on this Gazeera scheme, which was a very ambitious cotton-growing scheme. BW: Now this was one of those big state-sponsored development schemes… DO: Yes, and it has not worked out the way it was supposed to. But the people you’ll find there have black skin like me. They will be women and children of African descent, picking cotton. BW: And they’re being kept there against their will, and they’re not receiving any wage… DO: They are slaves. They are owned by so
