47 Facts About Francis Bok

Francis Bok was aided by people of diverse cultures and faiths in his journey to freedom.

Francis Bok's first point of contact in the United States was a refugee from Somalia who helped him get settled in Fargo, North Dakota.

Francis Bok has been honored by the United States Olympic Committee, the Boston Celtics and colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada.

Francis Bok's autobiography, Escape from Slavery: The True Story of My Ten Years in Captivity and My Journey to Freedom in America, published by St Martin's Press, chronicles his life, from his early youth, his years in captivity, to his work in the United States as an abolitionist.

Francis Bok was raised in a large Catholic family of cattle herders in the Dinka village of Gurion in Southern Sudan.

When Francis Bok was captured at the age of 7 on May 15,1986, he could not count beyond 10 and knew very little of the outside world.

Francis Bok was captured after his mother, Adut Al Akok, had sent him to the village of Nyamlell to sell eggs and peanuts in the village market with some older siblings and neighbors.

Francis Bok went to the market, where he heard adults say that they had seen smoke coming from nearby villages and had heard gunfire in the distance.

People began fleeing the market as Francis Bok saw horsemen with machine guns.

Seven-year-old Francis Bok was captured by Giemma, a member of the slave hunting militia, who forced him to join a caravan of slaves, stolen produce, livestock and wares that the militia had captured in their raid of the Dinka settlement.

Francis Bok was given quarters in a hovel near the pens of Giemma's livestock.

Francis Bok began a ten-year period of slavery at the hands of Giemma and his son Hamid.

Francis Bok was forced to tend the family's herds of livestock.

Francis Bok had to take them to pastures in the area and to local watering holes, where he saw other Dinka boys who were forced to tend herds of livestock.

Francis Bok began to suspect that his life was going to change forever and that his father was not going to be able to save him.

Francis Bok tried twice to flee from slavery at the age of 14.

Francis Bok blindly ran down a road for several miles before he was captured by one of Giemma's fellow militia members.

Francis Bok attempted to escape just two days later, when he fled in the opposite direction of his previous escape.

Francis Bok fled for several miles, this time keeping to the forest.

Francis Bok stopped for water at a local stream crossing, where he was spotted by Giemma who happened to be there as well.

Francis Bok was beaten again, but Giemma chose not to kill him, as he had become too valuable to the family as a slave.

Francis Bok waited three years, until 1996, before he tried to escape again.

Francis Bok finally escaped from Giemma when he was 17 years old by walking through the forest to the nearby market town of Mutari.

Francis Bok went to the local police department to seek help, and asked the police to help him find his people.

Francis Bok escaped from the police by simply taking their donkeys to the well, tying them, and leaving them behind as he walked into the crowded marketplace.

Francis Bok asked a man with a truck to give him a ride out of Mutari.

Francis Bok stayed with Abdah, his wife and two sons for two months while Abdah tried to find a way to take Francis Bok to Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan.

Francis Bok arrived in Khartoum with no money and no place to go.

Francis Bok was quickly arrested by the Sudanese police for telling his friends and neighbors that he was a slave.

Francis Bok was interrogated numerous times while he was imprisoned and each time he denied that he was a slave.

Francis Bok was finally released from prison after seven months.

Once he was released Francis Bok decided that he must leave Sudan.

Francis Bok began practicing his Christian faith without fear of reprisal.

Francis Bok eventually moved out of the church compound and into an apartment with other Dinka who were seeking UN refugee status in order to leave Africa for the United States, Great Britain or Australia.

Francis Bok applied for and received UN refugee status on September 15,1999, and after several months of waiting, the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service agreed to allow Francis Bok to move to the US He flew from Cairo to New York City on August 13,1999, and from there he flew to Fargo, North Dakota.

Francis Bok's journey was sponsored by Lutheran Social Services and a United Methodist Church; both worked together to provide him an apartment in Fargo and helped him find a job.

Francis Bok worked several jobs, making pallets and plastic knobs for the gearshift of cars.

Francis Bok heard of a large population of Dinka in Ames, Iowa, and moved to Ames after several months in Fargo.

Jesse Sage, associate director of the American Anti-Slavery Group, and Jacobs persuaded Francis Bok to move to Boston to work with the AASG.

Francis Bok was initially hesitant to leave his new friends in Ames, but according to Bok, the people at AASG were persistent.

Francis Bok arrived in Boston on May 14,2000, AASG helped him find an apartment.

Two days after his speech in Roxbury, Francis Bok was asked to meet with supporters of AASG on the steps of the United States Capitol in Washington, DC He returned to Washington on September 28,2000, and became the first escaped slave to speak before the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Francis Bok has spoken at churches and universities throughout the United States and Canada and he has helped launch the American Anti-Slavery Group's website iAbolish.

Francis Bok has been honored by the Boston Celtics and was chosen to carry the Olympic Torch past Plymouth Rock prior to the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Francis Bok's autobiography, Escape from Slavery: The True Story of My Ten Years in Captivity and My Journey to Freedom in America, was published in 2003 by St Martin's Press.

Francis Bok is working in the AASG's first extension office in Kansas.

Francis Bok's voice is heard on Zero Church, a 2002 album by Suzzy and Maggie Roche.