Mauritania commits to ending modern-day slavery

May 31, '16, 5:26 pm

Dwyer Regular Member   Join Date: February 26, 2007 Posts: 1,361 Religion: Byzantine Catholic

Mauritania commits to ending modern-day slavery Quote: Slavery is a historical practice in Mauritania and both adults and their children are the property of their masters. The Haratin, who make up the main "slave caste", are descended from black African ethnic groups along the Senegal river. They often work as cattle herders and domestic servants. The West African country has the highest prevalence of slavery, according to the Global Slavery Index, which estimates that 4 percent of the population - or some 150,000 people - are living as slaves. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ma...-idUSKCN0WG298 Absolutely shocking. I've been around the block for a while but I have never heard really anything about Mauritania or that slavery was legal in this country until 2007 and that it is still being widely practiced there. More on Mauritania: Quote: The country is nearly 100% Muslim,[50] most of whom are Sunnis. The minority Sufi brotherhood, the Tijaniyah, has had great influence not only in the country, but in Senegal and Morocco as well. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nouakchott, founded in 1965, serves the 4,500 Catholics in Mauritania. There are extreme restrictions on freedom of religion and belief in Mauritania; it is one of thirteen countries in the world which punishes atheism by death. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritania#Religion __________________ "It's a free country; you can say whatever you want." --Old American Saying (U.S. Postal Service stamp-- from 1977 Americana series which extols freedom of speech and features a Speaker's Stand decorated with an American Flag shield.)