NOUAKCHOTT, 4 January 2011 (IRIN) – In August 2007 Mauritania&${esc.hash}146;s National Assembly unanimously adopted a law criminalizing slavery. But, according to the NGO SOS Esclaves, 18 percent of Mauritania&${esc.hash}146;s 3.1 million people were slaves in 2009. To date no one has been prosecuted, and the age-old practice continues. [ http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=91528 ] Mattalla Ould M&${esc.hash}146;Boirk works for SOS Esclaves in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott. Having spent most of his life as a slave, he knows what slavery and freedom mean. He told IRIN his story: &${esc.hash}147;When I saw my mother and sister beaten by our owners, I just couldn&${esc.hash}146;t take it. I wanted out. But they beat me too. &${esc.hash}147;My work was to take care of livestock and make charcoal. I would leave with the camels in the morning, make charcoal and go out looking for drinking water. I would return to our settlement around midnight. &${esc.hash}147;Our &${esc.hash}145;home&${esc.hash}146; was just an area of the settlement encircled with a cloth. We were given nothing to eat except when our owners had leftovers. We would go into the desert to hunt small animals like lizards to cook and eat. &${esc.hash}147;We couldn&${esc.hash}146;t just leave. This is the Sahara. If we fled we would die of hunger or thirst. Anyway, our owners would come and find us in their vehicles; slaves who tried to escape were often killed. We know of cases like that. &${esc.hash}147;We would be beaten if we lost a camel, or if we sat on the same mat as our masters, or disobeyed them. Once, when I lost some camels due to the wind, my owner&${esc.hash}146;s son beat me in the eyes with a club. &${esc.hash}147;One day I was near a road and some soldiers picked me up, asking me to show them where they could buy a sheep and some milk&${esc.hash}133; I ended up telling the soldiers not to bring me back to my owner&${esc.hash}146;s place. &${esc.hash}147;Then my owners came by, asking where I was. I told the soldiers I&${esc.hash}146;d rather be shot dead than return to my owners; the soldiers told the men to leave. &${esc.hash}147;Finally SOS Esclaves heard about me and helped me escape for good. My family still wants to get out but they haven&${esc.hash}146;t found a way.&${esc.hash}148; af/np/cb © IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org

Topics
Women's rights Women's rights