In our country, human trafficking, which is a modern form of slavery, is still rampant. This modern slavery co-exists with traditional slavery, that is to say slavery in which people are born as the property of other persons. The status and condition of slave are transmitted from generation to generation. In Mauritania's slavery code, all female slaves automatically transmit slave status to their children.
For example, my father's mother is a slave, but my father was emancipated while in her womb and is therefore free. Why was he emancipated? My mother's master became ill and consulted a scholar or imam to ask him what he could do to get better. The imam told him that, in order to heal, he had to perform a charitable act toward god. He told him to release a slave since that is the best charitable act there is. Rather than release my grandmother, the master released the child in her womb, the fetus. Under Mauritania's black code, fetuses are objects to be bartered, since private ownership is exercised over slaves, just as one may sell, transfer, or give away one's glasses or tables. Slaves are human goods. After he was born, my father grew up free, whereas his brothers remained slaves because their mother was a slave. They were thus the property of the same man.
My father married a slave girl with whom he had two children. One day, the girl's master sold my father's wife and both children. They in fact belonged not to my father, but to their master.
This is why, when my father sent me to school, he told me he wanted me to study so I could fight slavery intellectually.
The slavery that afflicts us is somewhat particular because it is a continuous chain. There will be new generations of slaves as long as there are female slaves. The challenge facing IRA is to find ways to put a stop to the reproduction of slavery.
In the field, we tried to fight to have Mauritania adopt anti-slavery laws, and the government enacted anti-slavery legislation as a result of our struggle, but now our challenge is to determine how to ensure those laws are enforced.
We worked on the ground, mobilizing hundreds and thousands of people to go to a police station or appear before a court to attract the national and international press and observers. We wanted to show that thousands of Mauritanians were joining forces to demand that the anti-slavery law be enforced on criminal slavers.
The authorities began to enforce the law somewhat, and that broke the chains and helped release thousands of slaves. Thanks to the pressure we exercised, the government sent criminals to prison, but there was a subsequent reversal. The dominant groups protested to the government, which then decided to go after our leadership and eradicate our organization.
Here are the best ways to help us. We need to train IRA members and fund education projects without them receiving media coverage and without confronting the authorities. We also need to fund re-employment projects for people released from slavery. We have many examples of projects to which we can refer you and that you can study. We will discuss the matter with you to assist you in this matter.