There, Iris wrote:
In the small dessert country of Mauritania in Africa, under the scorching sun, slavery still exists. But so does Brahim Bilal Ebeid, a social activist who is vice-president of the anti-slavery group, Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement.
At a seminar on human rights and education in June, Ebeid talked about the reality that still grips parts of Africa.
‘This is not the modern blue-collar slavery. It’s real slavery as we know it,’ he says at the talk held on the sidelines of the 2012 Global Media Forum held in Bonn, Germany.
He talks about his country where a significant portion of the population still live as secret slaves, of people being owned by ‘masters.’ Some people are born slaves, having been born to mothers who are slaves, he says.
As his words echo around the room, so do the gasps of the audience who are unable to conceal their disbelief.
The reality is indeed stark. Some masters rape their slaves and brutally beat them but for lack of gainful opportunities elsewhere, or because they do not know any other life, some slaves end up going back to their masters.
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CLY It's here in our own backyard. Imagine working from 7am to 10 pm, 7 days a week, resting only 4 days a year! A part-time cleaner for my friend told us this. She is only 20 and her fingers are already wrinkled with too much soap and water. Where and who to report this to?