NOUAKCHOTT - Officially, slavery does no longer exists in Mauritania, a barren desert country in West Africa. However, according to Anti-Slavery International, at least 4% of the Mauritanians are still owned by a master. They are born as slaves and have never known freedom. Not even in their minds.
You can be born a slave. Or, with a little luck, you can be born a master. In West African Mauritania, your social position is determined by the family you are born into. A centuries-old caste system determines your social position for life. Through inheritance, slaves remain in the possession of masters who exploit, sell or give them away as gifts, generation after generation.
Slavery has officially been abolished worldwide, including in Mauritania. However, it was not until 2007 that it became a criminal offence. Since then, slave owners have risked a prison sentence of between five and ten years. However, prosecutions are rare.
Journalist Maria Groot investigates why slavery persists in this forgotten desert country.
ONLINE (in Dutch)
- 'De meesters van de Sahara' (OneWorld, 24/05/2015)
- 'Is slavernij in Mauritanië het gevolg van de islam?' (MO*, 20/05/2015)
- 'Welkom in het land waar slavernij nog bestaat' (MO*, 15/5/2015)
