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Slavery in Africa continues today. This article discusses modern occurrences of slavery on the African continent.

Sudan

There has been a recrudescence of jihad slavery since 1983 in the Sudan.

Slavery in the Sudan predates Islam, but continued under Islamic rulers and has never completely died out in Sudan. According to CBS news, slaves have been sold for $50 apiece. In 2001 CNN reported the Bush administration was under pressure from Congress, including conservative Christians concerned about religious oppression and slavery, to address issues involved in the Sudanese conflict. CNN has also quoted the U.S. State Department's allegations: "The government's support of slavery and its continued military action which has resulted in numerous deaths are due in part to the victims' religious beliefs."

In the Sudan, Christian captives in the ongoing civil war are often enslaved, and female prisoners are often used sexually, with their Muslim captors claiming that Islamic law grants them permission. According to CBS news, slaves have been sold for US$50 apiece. In September, 2000, the U.S. State Department alleged that "the Sudanese government's support of slavery and its continued military action which has resulted in numerous deaths are due in part to the victims' religious beliefs." Jok Madut Jok, professor of History at Loyola Marymount University, states that the abduction of women and children of the south by north is slavery by any definition. The government of Sudan insists that the whole matter is no more than the traditional tribal feuding over resources.

Chad

IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Networks) of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports children being sold to Arab herdsmen in Chad. As part of a new identity imposed on them the herdsman "...change their name, forbid them to speak in their native dialect, ban them from conversing with people from their own ethnic group and make them adopt Islam as their religion."

Mauritania

A system exists now by which Arab Muslims -- the bidanes -- own black slaves, the haratines. Malouma Messoud, a former muslim slave has explained her enslavement to a religious leader:

"We didn't learn this history in school; we simply grew up within this social hierarchy and lived it. Slaves believe that if they do not obey their masters, they will not go to paradise. They are raised in a social and religious system that everyday reinforces this idea."

In Mauritania, despite slave ownership having been made punishable by law in 1981, hereditary slavery continues. Moreover, according to Amnesty International:

"Not only has the government denied the existence of slavery and failed to respond to cases brought to its attention, it has hampered the activities of organisations which are working on the issue, including by refusing to grant them official recognition".

Imam El Hassan Ould Benyamin of Tayarat in 1997 expressed his views about earlier proclamations ending slavery in his country as follows:

" is contrary to the teachings of the fundamental text of Islamic law, the Quran ... amounts to the expropriation from muslims of their goods; goods that were acquired legally. The state, if it is Islamic, does not have the right to seize my house, my wife or my slave."

An estimated 90,000 black Mauritanians remain essentially enslaved to Arab/Berber owners. Descent-based slavery, where generations of the same family are born into bondage, is traditionally practised by at least four of Niger’s eight ethnic groups. It is especially rife among the warlike Tuareg, in the wild deserts of north and west Niger, who roam near the borders with Mali and Algeria.

Child slave trade

The trading of children has been reported in modern Nigeria and Benin.The children are kidnapped or purchased for $20 - $70 each by slavers in poorer states, such as Benin and Togo, and sold into slavery in sex dens or as unpaid domestic servants for $350.00 each in wealthier oil-rich states, such as Nigeria and Gabon.

Ghana

In parts of Ghana, a family may be punished for an offense by having to turn over a virgin female to serve as a sex slave within the offended family. In this instance, the woman does not gain the title of "wife". In parts of Ghana, Togo, and Benin, shrine slavery persists, despite being illegal in Ghana since 1998. In this system of slavery, sometimes called trokosi (in Ghana) or voodoosi in Togo and Benin, or ritual servitude, young virgin girls are given as slaves in traditional shrines and are used sexually by the priests in addition to providing free labor for the shrine.

Ethiopia

Mahider Bitew, Children's Rights and Protection expert at the Ministry of Women's Affairs, says that some isolated studies conducted in Diredawa, Shashemene, Awassa and three other towns of the country indicate that the problem of child trafficking is very serious. According to a 2003 study about one thousand children were trafficked via Dire Dawa to countries of the Middle East. The majority of those children were girls, most of whom were forced to be sex workers after leaving the country. The International Labor Organization (ILO) has identified prostitution as the Worst Form of Child Labor.

In Ethiopia, children are trafficked into prostitution, to provide cheap or unpaid labor and to work as domestic servants or beggars. The ages of these children are usually between 10 and 18 and their trafficking is from the country to urban centers and from cities to the country. Boys are often expected to work in activities such as herding cattle in rural areas and in the weaving industry in Addis Ababa, and other major towns. Girls are expected to take responsibilities for domestic chores, childcare and looking after the sick and to work as prostitutes.

Niger

In Niger, slavery is a real and current phenomenon. A Nigerian study has found that almost 8% of the population are slaves. Slavery dates back for centuries in Niger and was finally criminalised in 2003, after five years of lobbying by Anti-Slavery International and Nigerian human-rights group, Timidria.

Descent-based slavery, where generations of the same family are born into bondage, is traditionally practised by at least four of Niger’s eight ethnic groups. The slave masters are mostly from the nomadic tribes — the Tuareg, Fulani, Toubou and Arabs.. It is especially rife among the warlike Tuareg, in the wild deserts of north and west Niger, who roam near the borders with Mali and Algeria. In the region of Say on the right bank of the river Niger, it is estimated that three-quarters of the population around 1904-1905 was composed of slaves.

Historically, the Tuareg swelled the ranks of their slaves during war raids into other peoples’ lands. War was then the main source of supply of slaves, although many were bought at slave markets, run mostly by indigenous peoples.

Mali

The Malian government denies that slavery exists, however, the slavery in Timbuktu is obvious. Slavery (sometimes called indentured servitude) still continues with some Tuaregs holding Bella people.

See also

• African slave trade
• Atlantic slave trade
• Islam and slavery
• Maafa
• Slavery

References

1. http://www.speakingmatters.org/francis_bok.html
2. The Middle East Quarterly. December 1999, Vol.6:Number 4. John Eibner, “My career redeeming slaves”
3. http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17747 under 'Extent and Persistence', final para
4. http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/04/us.sudan/index.html
5. http://www.brandeis.edu/projects/fse/Pages/islamandslavery.html
6. Curse Of Slavery Haunts Sudan CBS News. January 25, 1998
7. U.S. State Department report says 'religious intolerance remains far too common' around world. September 6, 2000 CNN US News
8. Jok Madut Jok (2001), p.3
9. IRIN Africa: CHAD: Children sold into slavery for the price of a calf
10. http://en.wikipedia.org/search/?title=Islam_and_slavery&action=edit&section=24
11. The John Hopkins News-letter 'SMIR talk exposes modern slavery' - Brendan Schreiber and Maria Andrawis, 5 December 2003
12. "The last law, in 1981, banned it but failed to criminalise it. However much it is denied, an ancient system of bondage, with slaves passed on from generation to generation, still plainly exists." Steady progress in Mali and Mauritania, The Economist
13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4091579.stm
14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4091579.stm
15. Segal, p.206
16. http://www.brandeis.edu/projects/fse/Pages/islamandslavery.html
17. Born to be a slave in Niger By Hilary Andersson, BBC Africa Correspondent, Niger
18. Slavery in Ghana. The Trokosi Tradition
19. Ghana's trapped slaves, By Humphrey Hawksley in eastern Ghana, 8 February, 2001. BBC News
20. ^ ""Ethiopian Slave Trade"". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

• Slavery
• Africa