hmTv at HMTC Podcasts 467: Influential Origins with Alan Mindel and guest Simon Deng P1 on hmTv
hmTv | Influential Origins Ep. 467
Influential Origins with Alan Mindel and guest Simon Deng (Part 1)
In this deeply powerful opening episode, Alan Mindel sits down with human rights activist and former Sudanese slave Simon Deng to explore his earliest memories growing up along the White Nile in South Sudan. Deng shares what life was like inside the Shilluk kingdom, a peaceful Christian community that lived close to nature, raising cattle and families in a tight-knit village society.
But childhood in his village was shaped by a terrifying reality. From the moment children learned to speak, they were taught one thing: run when the soldiers came. Deng recounts repeated raids by the Sudanese army, villages burned to ashes, neighbors murdered, children shot while fleeing, and families forced into the bush where survival itself became uncertain. He speaks candidly about witnessing atrocities, including the burning of civilians and the systematic abuse of women.
The conversation widens beyond one village to the broader tragedy of southern Sudan. Deng discusses the mass killings of millions, the enslavement of Christians, and the world’s silence during decades of violence. He also describes a horrific documented massacre in which thousands of refugees, mostly women and children, were locked into train cars and burned alive.
Through his testimony, Deng reflects on identity, humanity, and what it means to grow up believing suffering is simply the way life is, until discovering a larger world beyond it. Part 1 sets the foundation for understanding not only his personal story, but why he now dedicates his life to human rights advocacy and remembrance.
This is a sobering and unforgettable conversation about survival, memory, and the responsibility to bear witness.