Slavery is defined as a person being seen as property and owned by someone else

Samantha Webster

CWI

Mrs. Seevers

29 January, 2019

Slavery in Africa

Slavery is defined as a person being seen as property and owned by someone else. There has been a long history when it comes to slavery. In Africa, it still continues today. Not only is slavery bondage to a person, it can also be seen as forced labor, and forced marriages without choosing to do so. The Global Slavery Index estimated that 30 million people remain enslaved, millions still in Africa. According to the U.

S State Department, modern slavery in Africa can be seen as anything that involves a person being recruited, transported, or compelled to work by "force, fraud, or coercion." Slavery is continuing today because of work in Africa being under-regulated, very intense labor, and ineffective skillset. Other causes of modern slavery is bonded labor. Bonded labor is when a person offers labor in exchange for a loan to pay off their debt. Even though they make this agreement, majority of the time they cannot afford to pay back their loan and the interest.

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Domestic servitude is another cause of modern slavery. It is when an individual performs domestic work without the women being able to leave. This type of slavery is hidden away from authorities and usually takes place in private homes. The last cause that is seen in modern times is sexual exploitation. This also can be seen as sex- trafficking whern women, children, and men are forced to perform sexual acts. Sexual exploitation can be seen as a form of debt bondage with the traffickers stating the individuals must work to pay for their transportation, recruitment, or sale.

The current conditions in Mauritania is controversial. Mauritania was the last country in the world to abolish slavery in 1981. The conditions can be explained through the story of her slave master who killed her daughter. The master who raped the mother said he wanted to punish his slave. He told the mother she would work faster without the child on her back. The mother explained she was not allowed to have time for a burial because her master told her to get back to work. It is estimated that 10- 20% of Mauritania's 3.4 million people are still enslaved. The demographics of people endangered are children between the ages of 0-14 and women and men are at risk for slavery in all ages. Children can be sent away as a wedding present in the Mauritania culture. The country's history that led to these current situations started nearly 120 years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in the U.S. It wasn't until 2007 when Mauritania criminalized the act of a person owning another person. Yet, only two cases have been successfully prosecuted. Slavery still exists today mostly in this country because of the lighter Africans called "White Moors" being superior than the rest. Because of the Mauritania's dark-skinned people being caught by the lighter- skinned Arab Berbers centuries ago, most of the offspring was born into slavery. Slavery is still a sensitive topic, and some may argue that the government is not doing enough to enforce the abolishment of slavery. Some may also say that the government likes to think that slavery doesn't exist at all. Their President, Mohamed Ould Abdel Oziz, is a big factor as to why slavery still has these current conditions today because of his unwillingness to eliminate the practices. It is very uncommon for slaveholders to be imprisoned. If however they were to be captured, the sentences would be little to none. Many Mauritanians feared escaping from their master because they believed they must respect them and their social status. The deep roots of slavery in Mauritania makes it a psychological and economic institution. There are anti - slavery activist groups that are standing up against slavery in Mauritania. One of the activist groups is Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA) led by Biram Dah Abdeid. Biram has advocated for free and enslaved Mauritanian people, risking his life to keep the attention on slaveholders and the government.There are also two other groups that advocate for them, Anti- Slavery International (ASI) and SOS- Esclaves. Currently, there is a group called Minority Rights Group International that is paving the way to help abolish slavery in Mauritania. They partnered with the groups listed above to make sure this occurs. This program works on training CSO's to help them identify coming out of slavery, and to take action. The program also help train local activists on social media to raise awareness and how to advocate. Minority Rights International Group also has advocate meeting with national authorities to promote information on the progress of slavery. The law enforcement in Mauritania however hinders the situation. Because of their leader being an ally to the West in a region threatened by terrorist groups, it is very unlikely for him to change his ways and execute the law. Their slow stand to action can be seen how the country didn't pass a law until 2007 for slaveholders to be prosecuted. Here are three steps that I personally think should be done to aid this situation. I think there should be more activist groups to help end slavery in Mauritania. Also, the government should be more willing to enforce the abolition of slavery laws. What would also help, is simply spreading more awareness about the issue. The more people that know about the issue at hand, the more enslaved people can be set free. Although Lincoln fought hard for the end of slavery, there still are countries today that struggle and are not liberated. Slavery isn't just a slaveholder owning a person, but can also be seen as bondage, forced labor, and forced marriage in modern times. Mauritania faces hardships because of their long history with slavery that hasn't evolved much over time. However, with the help of activist groups and spreading awareness, we can pave the future ensuring that Mauritania will no longer be an enslaved country.