Niger and the victims of an old and cruel trade

[ASCLEPIADES]

Slavery is illegal in this African country, but the authorities turn a blind eye. Tens of thousands are born into servitude each year, and freed slaves face a second-class existence. Yet the battle for liberation goes on, despite threats and intimidation. Leonard Doyle reports from Konni Published: 29 December 2006

 

Sahnoun's description of the slave's life as essentially a happy one was in sharp contrast to the picture painted by a group of recently freed ones I had met earlier in the day. Amie Ilitimine, a beautiful 14-year-old who has been free for just two years, described how the family who "owned" her forced her to work as a domestic servant. She was contacted by a local anti-slavery activist called Tutu who offered to help her secure her freedom. Now she is being looked after by his family and learning a skill.

Another young Arab girl is attending the local secondary school, and is being sponsored by a French documentary maker.

Another woman, Hadizou Karou, was freed in August 2005 after eight attempts to get the courts to intervene. She pulled out a certificate proving she was a free woman and then showed me the welts the slave owner had left on her shoulder. The certificate is three lines long and reads: Certificat D'affranchissement (Esclave). Le soussign

[caldrail]

Some african tribes have a culture of slavery and always have. I remember a 'back to their roots' program where one young briton of african descent went to an african country to trace his enslaved ancestors. He was a bit crestfallen to discover that it wasn't the whites who sold him into slavery, but the family. Its true the white traders were only too happy to conduct this trade and all the cruelty that went with it. Slavery isn't unusual in human history - in fact, ours is a relatively enlightened age in that regard.

[ASCLEPIADES]

Some african tribes have a culture of slavery and always have. I remember a 'back to their roots' program where one young briton of african descent went to an african country to trace his enslaved ancestors. He was a bit crestfallen to discover that it wasn't the whites who sold him into slavery, but the family. Its true the white traders were only too happy to conduct this trade and all the cruelty that went with it. Slavery isn't unusual in human history - in fact, ours is a relatively enlightened age in that regard.

 

Classifying slavery as culture doesn't seem too enlightened to me, not even relatively; if that is so, any sort of human abuse might be considered folklore; vg, female genital mutilation ("circumcision") or even anti-Semitism.

[Ludovicus]

Some african tribes have a culture of slavery and always have. I remember a 'back to their roots' program where one young briton of african descent went to an african country to trace his enslaved ancestors. He was a bit crestfallen to discover that it wasn't the whites who sold him into slavery, but the family. Its true the white traders were only too happy to conduct this trade and all the cruelty that went with it. Slavery isn't unusual in human history - in fact, ours is a relatively enlightened age in that regard.

 

Classifying slavery as culture doesn't seem too enlightened to me, not even relatively; if that is so, any sort of human abuse might be considered folklore; vg, female genital mutilation ("circumcision") or even anti-Semitism.

 

 

Good point, Asclepiades!

Also, slavery in sub-Saharan Africa, tho no picnic, paled in comparison with the international slave trade as begin by the Portuguese and then taken up by the English.

[Kosmo]

Slave trade existed in West Africa before the Portuguese. Actually the portuguese, in the begining, just integrated in this slave trade by selling slaves from Angola to the west african slave traders that sold them north to the arab world.

Even at the height of the trade the bussines of capturing, transporting, feeding the slaves and supplying the ships was in the hends of an african elite. With the exception of some portuguese raiding in Angola all african slaves were made slaves by other africans.

On the african East coast europeans played almost no role. Here arabs from Oman held Zanzibar and the coastal ports and engaged in slave raiding and traiding. See Livingstone and Stanley.

Mehmet Ali's Egipt conquered Sudan to capture non muslim slaves. This led to the depopulation of some areas like Eastern Ciad.

In many parts of Africa the colonialist, imperialist powers faced resistance from native slave traders and owners.

[caldrail]

Some african tribes have a culture of slavery and always have. I remember a 'back to their roots' program where one young briton of african descent went to an african country to trace his enslaved ancestors. He was a bit crestfallen to discover that it wasn't the whites who sold him into slavery, but the family. Its true the white traders were only too happy to conduct this trade and all the cruelty that went with it. Slavery isn't unusual in human history - in fact, ours is a relatively enlightened age in that regard.

 

Classifying slavery as culture doesn't seem too enlightened to me, not even relatively; if that is so, any sort of human abuse might be considered folklore; vg, female genital mutilation ("circumcision") or even anti-Semitism.

 

Since when did culture have to be enlightened? Culture is simply how a group of people prefer to live and the customs they adopt. If you choose the highbrow meaning, fine, but not everyone would see that as superior.

[ASCLEPIADES]

Some african tribes have a culture of slavery and always have. I remember a 'back to their roots' program where one young briton of african descent went to an african country to trace his enslaved ancestors. He was a bit crestfallen to discover that it wasn't the whites who sold him into slavery, but the family. Its true the white traders were only too happy to conduct this trade and all the cruelty that went with it. Slavery isn't unusual in human history - in fact, ours is a relatively enlightened age in that regard.

 

Classifying slavery as culture doesn't seem too enlightened to me, not even relatively; if that is so, any sort of human abuse might be considered folklore; vg, female genital mutilation ("circumcision") or even anti-Semitism.

 

Since when did culture have to be enlightened? Culture is simply how a group of people prefer to live and the customs they adopt. If you choose the highbrow meaning, fine, but not everyone would see that as superior.

 

Check your own quote; the "enlightened" term was introduced by you, not me.

 

You're right; by such a broad definition, both female genital mutilation and anti-Semitism qualify as culture.

[Vibius Tiberius Costa]

The romans had slaves, did they not?

just a rather lame and unnecessary point but it needed to be made.

 

vtc

[ASCLEPIADES]

The romans had slaves, did they not?

just a rather lame and unnecessary point but it needed to be made.

 

vtc

 

And the Greeks too. And then?

[caldrail]

Slavery was commonplace in the ancient world. The middle ages produced a different version, the serf being a half-slave if you like. Our modern age is generally against slavery as a matter of course yet it still goes on today, possibly right around the street corner if you look for it.