Slavery in Mauritania

Video Transcript

Mauritania has a problem, a huge problem, and this problem has surfaced in the last, I would say, 20 years to the front. It's been around for 50-60 years, and it's a form of slavery. Slavery, the [enslaving by] the light skin, or the Moor, or the Arab [of] the dark skin, which is the African, dark. There is a status attached to that for employment, for advancement, for a lot of [things]. So whether you are a light-skinned Mauritanian, Arab Mauritanian [like] President Abdel Aziz, or somebody who's a Bambara or Soninke or Peul; there are certain things that will happen in your life that will make a difference. Advancement, like I said, advancement, even school; kids have [a] hard time because of their skin [color]. Some of them are born into that slavery, although it was passed in 2001, I believe, where it's [abolished] and it's punishable by law to have any slaves. It's still taking place today.

In this video, a Mauritanian expert discusses slavery in Mauritania.