October 09, 2007
Queens, N.Y. -
Simon Deng, former child slave and refugee from the Sudan will
serve as a keynote speaker for the fifth biennial Vincentian Chair
of Social Justice Conference hosted at St. John’s University’s
Queens Campus on Saturday, October 13.
Deng’s mission is to call for an end to the human rights abuses
in the Sudan. His moving personal story, coupled with his informed
political insights, will be offered as the final plenary
presentation of a one-day conference sponsored by the Vincentian
Chair of Social Justice titled: “The Just and Moral Society: From
Ideal to Reality.”
“I thought I could forgive and forget but villages are still
being burned, women are still being raped, and people are being
sold into slavery. We Americans, must act and act now,” said
Deng.
A Christian, Deng grew up in a peaceful farming community in
southern Sudan, but his childhood was filled with fear of Arab
militia raids. He watched as a young child as the Sudanese army
swept through his village burning huts, killing the men and
stealing their livestock.
At age nine, Deng was abducted and would spend the next few
years of his life as a child slave in northern Sudan, where he was
forced to sleep on straw, allowed to eat only leftover scraps, and
beaten regularly, until making an escape three years later.
Deng’s experiences inspired him to become a fierce advocate for
abolition. He speaks across the nation as an Associate of the
American Anti-Slavery Group. He has testified before the UN
Human Rights Commission, met with President George W. Bush and the
President of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir.
The fifth biennial Vincentian Chair of Social Justice Conference
begins at 8:30 a.m. in the Bent Hall Auditorium on the Queens
Campus. Academics, church leaders, policy makers, service providers
and students are all invited to participate in presentations,
panels and workshops designed to explore the foundations and
criteria of a “Just and Moral Society,” and the best ways to
eradicate poverty.
Rev. John J. Coughlin, O.F.M., J.D., J.C.D, Professor of Law at
the University of Notre Dame, will examine the philosophical,
theological, ethical and legal concepts that are the foundation of
a Just and Moral Society. A panel will discuss current efforts
toward building a just society and work to identify forces that
advance and inhibit just structures and systems for the
vulnerable. Included on that panel are: Oscar de Rojas,
United Nations Financing for Development; Margaret Hanson,
AIC/International Association of Charity, Ladies of Charity, USA;
Ellen P. Finn, O.P., Associate Director of Catholic Charities,
Diocese of Brooklyn; and Veronica M. White, Executive Director of
New York City Center for Economic Opportunity.
For media inquiries, please contact Dominic Scianna, Director of
Media Relations at St. John’s University, by calling (718) 990-6185
or by e-mail to sciannad@stjohns.edu.
For additional news about St. John’s, please visit www.stjohns.edu/news. For Conference Registration
call 718.990.1612 or vccs@stjohns.edu