Maria Sliwa and Freedom Now News
For the past eight years Maria Sliwa has devoted her full time efforts to raising awareness about modern-day slavery. While lecturing at universities, civic and religious organizations, Ms. Sliwa has helped to organize a grassroots awareness campaign with her colleagues at the American Anti-Slavery Group in Boston (www.iabolish.com). In 1999 she led campaigns in both New York and New Jersey, which resulted in both states divesting their slave-related stock in Talisman Energy of Canada.
Maria Sliwa served as a NYPD undercover police officer and then as director of corporate research at a prestigious Manhattan firm for 10 years before she was inspired to work for human rights. In December 1998, she met Richard Wurmbrand, a man who survived 14 years of torture and imprisonment in Romania under Joseph Stalin. While discussing the plight of children in Sudan, Wurmbrand, then approaching his 90th birthday, pleaded with Sliwa for her help. Shortly after this meeting, Sliwa left her stable corporate position, and started her own news service on global rights issues that highlights slavery in Sudan. Ms. Sliwa now utilizes her police background, research and investigative training to track information for journalist and activist organizations.
Compelled by the lack of media coverage on contemporary slavery and the suffering of those in bondage worldwide, Ms. Sliwa’s news service, Freedom Now News, disseminates information to over 100,000 subscribers, (individuals and media outlets), worldwide. The purpose of this service is to provide a central outlet to inform people about human rights abuses that are under-reported in the press.
Ms. Sliwa hopes that those who hear her message will be inspired to act. Her desire to help others was instilled by her parents, and is motivated by her brother, Guardian Angel founder and WABC talk show host, Curtis Sliwa.
Ms. Sliwa has a MA in Sociology from St. John’s University and a MA in Journalism from NYU. She has spoken at a number of places including the Riverside Church in NYC, Columbia University, New York University, and Sarah Lawrence College. Her work in slavery was broadcast on MSNBC, WABC and featured by the NY Daily News, Star-Ledger, and Herald News. Her articles have appeared in a number of publications including Reuters, Contemporary Review (Oxford), and The NY Sun. She is currently working toward publishing comprehensive interviews she conducted with former adolescent male slaves who suffered acts of violence, while in captivity in Southern Sudan and Northern Uganda.