Controversies
The AASG claims of contemporary slavery have been met with criticism from BBC journalist David Hecht.
Hecht has challeneged the AASG claims of rampant slavery in Sudan. "Yes, there is a slave (and master) mentality in Africa, but nothing like the dehumanized institutions that Frederick Douglass had to fight in America." He also reported that Western media are often naive misunderstandings of the facts. Claiming that outside those areas controlled by the Sudanese Government, the old practice of inter-tribal feuding continues. In these raids prisoners are taken, who must then be ransomed. What looks like the purchase of slaves is actually the redemption of prisoners of war.
Anti-Slavery International has also stated that, 'The charge that government troops engage in raids for the purpose of seizing slaves in not backed by the evidence.'
Read more about this topic: American Anti-Slavery Group