Hushed-up slavery persists in Mauritania

[dArKeR]

March 05 2004 at 06:24AM

By Amadou Ndyaye and Sinikka Tarvainen

Nouakchott - "I trust that God almighty will free my wife from the yoke of slavery," says Cheikhna Ould Beilil, a middle-aged Mauritanian man, fighting back the tears.

Ould Beilil's story constitutes rare testimony to the continued practice of slavery in the northwest African Islamic republic, despite claims by President Maaouya Ould Taya's government that it has all but been wiped out.

The Sahara desert country officially abolished slavery in 1960 and again in 1980, but it is nevertheless known as one of the world's few remaining regions where people keep slaves.

Observers say the subject is hushed up. Anti-slavery activists have been handed prison sentences after speaking to western media.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=qw1078460641696B256&set_id=1