Ex-Slave seeks office in Mauritania to fight for freedom

DAKAR, SENEGAL –

Born into slavery and served for 30 years, Haby Mint Rabah appears today in the Mauritanian parliament to fight for freedom in a nation with one of the worst rates of slavery to the world. [19659003Rabah'sbookletisafirstfortheWestAfricancountrywheremorethan100-90000autotal-livescommittedoftheclanaccordingtotheIndexGlobalSlaveryde2018

Slavery is a historical practice in Mauritania. the last country to abolish it in 1981. Black descendants of ethnic groups in the south are typically enslaved by Mauritanians with lighter skin, often as pastoralists and servants.

Rabah, 44, was born a slave and forced to work as a maid and a hand. She hopes to be a model and show that freedom and a life after slavery are possible.

"I submitted my candidacy because I was a slave, like my parents and parents of my parents before me," she told Reuters. Foundation by phone from the capital, Nouakchott. "And I've never seen a slave candidate in elections."

Mauritania criminalized slavery in 2007, but few slave owners were penalized. Some members of the political elite deny that slavery still exists and several activists who have spoken out against him have been arrested and even jailed.

The Mauritanian government repeatedly denied the rights groups' activities or arbitrary arrests.

"I know that they exist"

"The day I will be in parliament, I will defend the slaves … because I know that they exist and that They have many needs "Rabah said. "I'll be there for them."

Rabah will stand in the September 1 elections as a member of the Mauritanian Rally for Global Action, the political wing of the Coalition for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA), in coalition with the Sawab party more established.

Rabah was released in 2008 with the help of IRA after one of his brothers escaped and alerted the anti-slavery group.

As a slave, her chores included water and animal husbandry. "I suffer all kinds of abuse," she added

. Slaves in Mauritania do not tend to escape because they ignore their rights and can not envision a life beyond. slavery, said Boubacar Messaoud, chairman of the rights group SOS Esclaves.

"[Rabah's candidacy] is something that should encourage slaves to lift their heads … to see that when you are free, you have the opportunity to access everything that others have always had" , said Messaoud. [ad_2]
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