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'There Is No Comfort' in Mauritania: Freed Slaves Continue to Face Barriers

Esha Sarai

   NOUAKCHOTT/DAKAR - M'Barka Mint Yarba doesn't know how old she is.

   Eight years ago, M'Barka moved with her family to the capital of
   Nouakchott from the city of Atar, where she was born into slavery.
   Although she has been freed, she has no official papers and no ability
   to acquire documentation required to attend school or work most jobs.

   For the past eight years, M'Barka has worked as a housekeeper and cook
   for a family in the city.

   "I clean and cook for a family in Nouakchott. The work is not too
   tiring, but I had to learn how to cook when I came here," she explains.

   M'Barka is one of an unknown number of Haratin in Mauritania born into
   slavery. Technically made illegal in the 1980s, modern slavery remains
   a pressing problem in the Sahara Desert country, an allegation the
   government denies.

   "Life is still difficult -- there is no comfort," she says, sitting on
   the floor of her family's still unfinished house.

   Multiple organizations in the country work with limited funds to free
   slaves. Among them is SOS Esclaves, which has offices and contacts in
   cities nationwide, and is striving to be available to slaves who reach
   out to pursue their freedom.

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