> NIGER: The government says slavery no longer exists, > the slaves disagree > > > NIAMEY, 24 Jun 2005 (IRIN) - Anti-slavery activists > allege that anywhere between 43,000 to 800,000 people > live in bondage in Niger, mostly among the Tuareg and > Arab communities who live on the southern fringes of > the Sahara desert. > > The government recently tightened up the law to outlaw > and punish slavery, which was once an accepted > tradition in local society. It insists that slaves no > longer exist in this vast land-locked West African > nation and is sensitive to suggestions that they still > do. > > On 28 April, for instance, the government detained two > anti-slavery campaigners who had been preparing a > ceremony to mark the liberation of 7,000 former > slaves, on charges that they were trying to defraud a > British non-governmental organisation of 3.5 million > euros (US $4.3 million). > > The leaders of the Niger anti-slavery organisation > Timidria were quietly released on bail six weeks > later. > > People who describe themselves as former slaves are to > be found everywhere in Niger. > > And they talk openly about their friends and relations > who are still condemned to unpaid servitude, beatings > and sexual abuse. > > In the hamlet of Kawassa, a cluster of straw huts in > southwestern Niger, Tafoussoussat Machar gazed at the > nearby sand dunes and recalled the first 30 years of > her life that she spent as a slave. > > "In the morning I'd pound the millet, go to the well, > fetch the wood, cook the meal, return to the well, and > in the evening I'd pound the millet again, and I was > never paid," she said. > > "If I didn't obey I was beaten," Machar added, > speaking in Tamasheq. "I never thought I'd be free one > day." > > Born into bondage, like her parents, to a Tuareg > family in the Tahoua region of southwest Niger, she > was sold at the age of 20 to a second master for the > price of 100,000 CFA francs (US $200). > > Machar said this man, who already had four official > wives, used her as a concubine. > > Many men in staunchly Islamic Niger have up to four > wives, as allowed by the Koran, but local custom also > permits them to take a fifth woman as a concubine for > their sexual pleasure. > > Machar's ordeal came to an end four years ago . She > was found by her uncle, Ilibad Bilal, who threatened > her new master with legal action unless he agreed to > the woman's release. > > He decided to let Machar go. > > "A long time ago I too lived under white Tuareg > masters, along with my parents, but finally I ran > away," said the uncle, his head wrapped in a white > turban commonly worn by Tuaregs in the region. "It was > after attending a meeting with the people at Timidria > that I decided I must help my niece." > > Slavery is an ancestral practice > > Bilal however did more than just save his niece. He > also rescued her first son, who was fathered by > Machar's first master, after threatening him too with > criminal proceedings. > > Currently, Bilal is Timidria's representative for > Kawassa, a hamlet of 160 people near the town of > Tahoua, 500 km northeast of the capital Niamey. > > Asked whether or not slavery exists in Niger, Machar > replied: "But of course! My mother is still there." > > Slavery is an age-old custom in Niger, practised by > several of its ethnic groups. In centuries past, > slaves were openly bought and sold, or kidnapped > during armed clashes. They were considered to be part > of the spoils of war. > > The slaves' children also became the property of the > master, who could either sell or give them away to > others, Timidria says. > > Before independence in 1960, the French colonial > administration in Niger took action against the most > flagrant forms of slavery. It closed slave markets and > cracked down on human trafficking, but behind closed > doors, the practice of bondage continued to be quietly > tolerated. > > During the early years of independence, slavery was > outlawed by the constitution, but was not subject to > any criminal penalty. And because many of Niger's new > leaders were from slave-owning families, little was > done to stamp it out. > > Timidria was set up in 1991 by a group of young > Nigeriens to combat slavery. The organisation claims > to have 638 offices spread throughout the country. > > According to a study carried out last year by > Timidria, with the backing of British NGO Anti-Slavery > International, at least 43,000 people still live in > bondage in Niger. > > Earlier field studies carried out by Timidria > estimated that more than 800,000 people in Niger lived > in conditions that were tantamount to slavery. > > Timidria says most of the slave-owners are local > chiefs from the north and west of the country. This is > mostly peopled by Tuareg and Arab tribesmen, many of > whom still lead a nomadic lifestyle. > > About 20 percent of Niger's 12 million people live in > the dry and dusty Tahoua region, where Timidria claims > that slavery is still widespread. > > In a back yard crowded with goats and hens and donkeys > in the town of Tahoua, Sidirali Alisbat, who heads the > local chapter of Timidria, said: "Tahoua is the > stronghold of slavery, the Tuaregs are the majority > here." > > "The 25 percent of white Tuaregs in the nomad camps > are often the masters of the black Tuaregs," he added. > > "The slave-masters have found new ways of exploiting > people," said Alisbat. "They're not in chains any > longer and sometimes they have good clothes. But they > still work for nothing and have no right to take their > own decisions." > > The master decides whom a slave can marry and whether > or not the children can go to school, he said. Some > are beaten, raped or subjected to threats. > > Authorities deny modern-day slavery > > But the government has a different view. > > "I deny that slavery exists in Niger," Mahamadou Zeti > Ma鬁a, the governor of the Tahoua region, told IRIN. > > "In the six years during which I have travelled across > Tahoua, I have never seen a single case of people who > feel oppressed or who have gone to the authorities to > complain," he said. "This country respects the rule of > law." > > Slavery was finally criminalised in Niger by a law > adopted in April 2004. This threatens slave owners who > hold people in bondage against their will with jail > sentences ranging from five to 30 years. > > "Some smart Alecks hand in files so they can make > money abroad," the governor said, in an apparent > reference to the two Timidria leaders who were jailed > on 28 April for "attempted fraud", but released > pending trial on 17 June. > > Ilguilas Weila and Alassane Biga, respectively > president and secretary general of Timidria, have been > accused by Niger's National Human Rights Commission of > extorting 3.5 million euros from Britain's > Anti-Slavery International group. > > The money was aimed at easing the social reintegration > of 7,000 people that Timidria had been planning to > release from generations of slavery in a Tuareg camp > in Inates, northwest of the capital, in the Tillabery > region. > > But the Human Rights Commission maintained there was > no longer any slavery in Niger. > > Shortly after the arrest of the Timidria leaders, > Anti-Slavery International wrote a letter to President > Mamadou Tandja, denying that it had been duped by the > two men. > > Reacting to the men's' release, it said in a > statement: "We urge that all charges against them be > dropped. Slavery is a significant problem in Niger and > we call on the government to work in co-operation with > Timidria to end this serious abuse." > > New anti-slavery law fails to break taboos > > In the sumptuous entrance hall of one of Niamey's big > hotels, opposition parliamentarian Sanoussi Jackou > said the government feared a backlash from the > pro-slavery lobby if effective action was taken to > stop ancestral bondage. > > "Slavery exists in the homes of the Arabs and Tuaregs, > even here in Niamey, where you can find young black > people preparing tea, doing the housework or keeping > shop for their masters without pay," he said. > > Jackou, the son of a Tuareg chief and a Hausa woman, > is the founder of the opposition Niger Party for > Self-Management. > > "Last month in parliament, not one of the MPs took the > floor for the debate on slavery. Yet there are nine > white Arab slave-masters and a dozen white Tuareg > slave-masters in the chamber," he said. > > "Everyone knows they own slaves but no-one wants to > talk about it." > > "They say that if we discuss this, it will smear the > government," he added. > > "People are afraid of the Tuaregs because they have > arms and staged a rebellion, so everyone wants to keep > them happy," he said. > > The now-dissolved Air and Azaouak Liberation Front > (FLAA) staged a four-year revolt from the northern > reaches of Niger along the fringes of the Sahara until > a 1995 peace deal. > > There was a rise in banditry and attacks on road > traffic in northern Niger last year after one of the > rebellion's former leaders lost his post in government > and was arrested on murder charges. He was > subsequently released. > > Far from the capital, Machar, the freed slave woman in > Kawassa, is working hard to rebuild a normal life as a > free individual. > > "I'm married now and I've had a second child," she > said. > > Her first-born, now aged 13, is also happy to be out > of bondage. > > "Back there I used to take the livestock to the well > in the morning, and again in the afternoon, and then > go out to bring them back," he said. "Here too I look > after the animals, but here, with my mother, I'm > happy." > > > [ENDS] > > _________________________________________________________________ > Hela veckans v輐er http://www.msn.se/vader > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/networkafrica/ > > <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > [log in to unmask] > > <*> Your use of Yahoo! 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