Mende Nazer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mende Nazer
Nazer in 2006
Born	c. 1982 (aged c. 42) Sudan

Mende Nazer (born around 1982) is an author and human rights activist who lives in the United Kingdom. She is from Sudan. Mende was held as a slave in Sudan and later in London for eight years. In 2002, she helped write a book about her life called Slave: My True Story.

Mende's Early Life and Abduction

Mende Nazer is a Nuba woman. She grew up in a village in the Nuba mountains in southern Sudan. When she was about twelve or thirteen years old, her village was attacked. People were taken and sold into slavery in Sudan. Mende's family tried to escape into the mountains, but she got separated from them. One of the attackers caught her.

For six years, Mende was forced to work for a family in Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan. She had to work very hard and was treated unkindly during this time.

Escape and Seeking Protection

After six years, Mende was sent to London. She was made to work as a house servant for a Sudanese diplomat, a person who works for their country's government in another country. He lived in Willesden Green, London.

After three months, Mende managed to escape with help from another Sudanese person. She then asked the British government for political asylum. This means she asked for protection because she was afraid to go back to Sudan.

At first, the Home Office (the government department that handles immigration) said no to her request. This made many people and groups, like Anti-Slavery International, start a movement to support her.

By this time, Mende had already published her life story in Germany. A British journalist helped her write it. In November 2002, the Home Office changed its mind. They gave her political asylum. They said that because her book was so well-known, she would be in danger if she returned to Sudan. So, she was allowed to stay in the United Kingdom.

In 2005, her autobiography was published in English. Later, in 2010, a film called I Am Slave was made about her life. There was also a stage play called Slave — A Question of Freedom in 2010 and 2011.

See also

In Spanish: Mende Nazer para niños

• Francis Bok
• Slavery in Sudan
• List of slaves