20% of people in Mauritania are literally slaves right now

[Al-Yamaniyyah]

Oh yes, you read right.

http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2012 ... index.html
http://thinkafricapress.com/mauritania/ ... n-vestiges

Mauritania is an Islamic state (sharia enforced) in west Africa which was was the last place in the world to abolish slavery (in 1981). BUT they didn't make slavery a crime until 2007, and since then a grand total of ONE slave owners have been prosecuted.

An estimated 10% to 20% of the population are in slavery - almost entirely black slaves owned by Arabs.

What's worse is that the Mauritanian government imposes censorship on any journalistic reporting regarding the matter!

Thoughts NSG? What actions do you think should be taken?

I think sanctions (on governmental officials, to be clear - i.e. freeze accounts, travels bans) by the international community are in order! And if they refuse to take proper action, I think it would be appropriate for the United Nations to refer the whole matter to the International Criminal Court.

This is one of the most grievous violations of international human rights law in the modern world. The callousness of the Mauritanian government is utterly beyond words.

My thoughts ring back to America where more than that are slaves to the modern welfare system....

Because actually slavery is totally comparable.

[Imperium Sidhicum]

Well, it's all nice and good to see the bleeding hearts and keyboard commandos here debate what should be done about the evil and terrible slaver hellhole Mauritania and it's vile system of slavery, except that none of the people whose opinions on this might actually matter care about some Third World cesspool in the ass end of Sahara Desert that doesn't even produce anything of value.

So I guess while there is nothing in it for them to take humanitarian interest in freeing the slaves, the Mauritanian slaves are on their own, and from the looks of it, the lot of them don't seem to mind it much either.

Let me ask - why does the fate of some worthless Mauretanian slaves concern the lot of you folks more than what becomes of the victims of human trafficking right here in the First World? You don't have to look for some far-away exotic land for slaves that need your rescue, because they might very well be living next door to you. It's easy to point fingers at Third World dumps and wank about how civilized your civilization is and theirs isn't, but wouldn't it make sense to first fix things picture-perfect at home before moving on to telling other people how to live their lives?

[Pope Joan]

I always thought them a step down from Mali, but it seems they have great mineral resources and prosperous fisheries.

http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/e ... auritania/

I would guess the slaves are in the mines; that tradition goes back to ancient Greece.

[Australasia]

Well, it's all nice and good to see the bleeding hearts and keyboard commandos here debate what should be done about the evil and terrible slaver hellhole Mauritania and it's vile system of slavery, except that none of the people whose opinions on this might actually matter care about some Third World cesspool in the ass end of Sahara Desert that doesn't even produce anything of value.

So I guess while there is nothing in it for them to take humanitarian interest in freeing the slaves, the Mauritanian slaves are on their own, and from the looks of it, the lot of them don't seem to mind it much either.

Let me ask - why does the fate of some worthless Mauretanian slaves concern the lot of you folks more than what becomes of the victims of human trafficking right here in the First World? You don't have to look for some far-away exotic land for slaves that need your rescue, because they might very well be living next door to you. It's easy to point fingers at Third World dumps and wank about how civilized your civilization is and theirs isn't, but wouldn't it make sense to first fix things picture-perfect at home before moving on to telling other people how to live their lives?

One word: Humanity.

And did you really just call some individuals, HUMAN BEINGS, worthless?!

[Genivaria]

My thoughts ring back to America where more than that are slaves to the modern welfare system....

Because actually slavery is totally comparable.

Some people actually think it is.
Insane I know.

[Agritum]

I always thought them a step down from Mali, but it seems they have great mineral resources and prosperous fisheries.

http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/e ... auritania/

I would guess the slaves are in the mines; that tradition goes back to ancient Greece.

Ancient Mesopotamia, I dare say.

[Genivaria]

Well, it's all nice and good to see the bleeding hearts and keyboard commandos here debate what should be done about the evil and terrible slaver hellhole Mauritania and it's vile system of slavery, except that none of the people whose opinions on this might actually matter care about some Third World cesspool in the ass end of Sahara Desert that doesn't even produce anything of value.

So I guess while there is nothing in it for them to take humanitarian interest in freeing the slaves, the Mauritanian slaves are on their own, and from the looks of it, the lot of them don't seem to mind it much either.

Let me ask - why does the fate of some worthless Mauretanian slaves concern the lot of you folks more than what becomes of the victims of human trafficking right here in the First World? You don't have to look for some far-away exotic land for slaves that need your rescue, because they might very well be living next door to you. It's easy to point fingers at Third World dumps and wank about how civilized your civilization is and theirs isn't, but wouldn't it make sense to first fix things picture-perfect at home before moving on to telling other people how to live their lives?

It's called empathy, something you clearly lack.

[Norstal]

Sanctions are hardly going to work, slavery continues to exist in the traditional subsistence economies, which are not attached to global market.

It would be much more effective to smuggle arms into the country, and arm and prepare a slave revolt.

Led by...?

Just giving them guns is like giving Krogans nuclear weapons.

[Souriya Al-Assad]

Sanctions are hardly going to work, slavery continues to exist in the traditional subsistence economies, which are not attached to global market.

It would be much more effective to smuggle arms into the country, and arm and prepare a slave revolt.

Led by...?

Just giving them guns is like giving Krogans nuclear weapons.

Led by Nasserites. Mauritania has lots of them. Some have been locked up, others are planning occasional protests.

[Australasia]

Here's a comprehensive report lodged at the UN Human Rights Council by the UN's special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery about Mauritania's dirty practices:

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/sl ... d.2_en.pdf

[Mewtinigrad]

Well, it's all nice and good to see the bleeding hearts and keyboard commandos here debate what should be done about the evil and terrible slaver hellhole Mauritania and it's vile system of slavery, except that none of the people whose opinions on this might actually matter care about some Third World cesspool in the ass end of Sahara Desert that doesn't even produce anything of value.

So I guess while there is nothing in it for them to take humanitarian interest in freeing the slaves, the Mauritanian slaves are on their own, and from the looks of it, the lot of them don't seem to mind it much either.

Let me ask - why does the fate of some worthless Mauretanian slaves concern the lot of you folks more than what becomes of the victims of human trafficking right here in the First World? You don't have to look for some far-away exotic land for slaves that need your rescue, because they might very well be living next door to you. It's easy to point fingers at Third World dumps and wank about how civilized your civilization is and theirs isn't, but wouldn't it make sense to first fix things picture-perfect at home before moving on to telling other people how to live their lives?

[The Carlisle]

Well, it's all nice and good to see the bleeding hearts and keyboard commandos here debate what should be done about the evil and terrible slaver hellhole Mauritania and it's vile system of slavery, except that none of the people whose opinions on this might actually matter care about some Third World cesspool in the ass end of Sahara Desert that doesn't even produce anything of value.

So I guess while there is nothing in it for them to take humanitarian interest in freeing the slaves, the Mauritanian slaves are on their own, and from the looks of it, the lot of them don't seem to mind it much either.

Let me ask - why does the fate of some worthless Mauretanian slaves concern the lot of you folks more than what becomes of the victims of human trafficking right here in the First World? You don't have to look for some far-away exotic land for slaves that need your rescue, because they might very well be living next door to you. It's easy to point fingers at Third World dumps and wank about how civilized your civilization is and theirs isn't, but wouldn't it make sense to first fix things picture-perfect at home before moving on to telling other people how to live their lives?

The fact that you call your fellow human beings worthless is utterly vile. You should be ashamed of yourself.

[Al-Yamaniyyah]

Well, it's all nice and good to see the bleeding hearts and keyboard commandos here debate what should be done about the evil and terrible slaver hellhole Mauritania and it's vile system of slavery, except that none of the people whose opinions on this might actually matter care about some Third World cesspool in the ass end of Sahara Desert that doesn't even produce anything of value.

So I guess while there is nothing in it for them to take humanitarian interest in freeing the slaves, the Mauritanian slaves are on their own, and from the looks of it, the lot of them don't seem to mind it much either.

Let me ask - why does the fate of some worthless Mauretanian slaves concern the lot of you folks more than what becomes of the victims of human trafficking right here in the First World? You don't have to look for some far-away exotic land for slaves that need your rescue, because they might very well be living next door to you. It's easy to point fingers at Third World dumps and wank about how civilized your civilization is and theirs isn't, but wouldn't it make sense to first fix things picture-perfect at home before moving on to telling other people how to live their lives?

It's called empathy, something you clearly lack.

[Luveria]

Sanctions are hardly going to work, slavery continues to exist in the traditional subsistence economies, which are not attached to global market.

It would be much more effective to smuggle arms into the country, and arm and prepare a slave revolt.

That's such a good idea in in Islamist country with an Al-Qaeda presence. That worked so well in Afghanistan. The slaves have nowhere to go if they were free because of how extreme poverty. Then there's how the majority of the slaves see absolutely nothing wrong with their servitude, and look upon it as their only way to earn salvation in the afterlife.

[Mkuki]

I'm not to surprised. Africa still has a massive slavery problem. Hell, I'm pretty sure slaves from Africa were still being shipped to some Middle Eastern countries in the 1930s.

[Imperium Sidhicum]

Well, it's all nice and good to see the bleeding hearts and keyboard commandos here debate what should be done about the evil and terrible slaver hellhole Mauritania and it's vile system of slavery, except that none of the people whose opinions on this might actually matter care about some Third World cesspool in the ass end of Sahara Desert that doesn't even produce anything of value.

So I guess while there is nothing in it for them to take humanitarian interest in freeing the slaves, the Mauritanian slaves are on their own, and from the looks of it, the lot of them don't seem to mind it much either.

Let me ask - why does the fate of some worthless Mauretanian slaves concern the lot of you folks more than what becomes of the victims of human trafficking right here in the First World? You don't have to look for some far-away exotic land for slaves that need your rescue, because they might very well be living next door to you. It's easy to point fingers at Third World dumps and wank about how civilized your civilization is and theirs isn't, but wouldn't it make sense to first fix things picture-perfect at home before moving on to telling other people how to live their lives?

It's called empathy, something you clearly lack.

I do lack it indeed, at least as far as people who won't help themselves are concerned. Human beings are different from animals only in that they have the power of choice, even if that choice is between going down fighting and going down begging, and I certainly have no empathy for those who don't exercise that power and choose to accept their fate, to bend over and take it deep rather than stand up and fight.

The old wisdom that some people are born to be slaves is indeed true. A man born to be free cannot be enslaved, because he will much rather take his own life for a lack of better options than suffer the indignity of enslavement. Whereas a man born to be slave will accept his fate and learn to love the whip and the chains.

[Jamjai]

I read this a loonng time ago on CNN

There are activists trying to fight the government on the slavery
but activists don't openly express against slavery because of the government

[The Serbian Empire]

Oil has been found there... Don't tell the US government otherwise there will be an invasion within 30 days.

It's too expensive to extract it from such a harsh desert when there are plenty of cheaper oil fields available elsewhere. Having oil doesn't really mean anything unless an oil company actually cares to extract it in the near future.

It's probably easier than to battle against endless legal battles to keep fracking of oil shale as viable.

[Mewtinigrad]

It's called empathy, something you clearly lack.

I do lack it indeed, at least as far as people who won't help themselves are concerned. Human beings are different from animals only in that they have the power of choice, even if that choice is between going down fighting and going down begging, and I certainly have no empathy for those who don't exercise that power and choose to accept their fate, to bend over and take it deep rather than stand up and fight.

The old wisdom that some people are born to be slaves is indeed true. A man born to be free cannot be enslaved, because he will much rather take his own life for a lack of better options than suffer the indignity of enslavement. Whereas a man born to be slave will accept his fate and learn to love the whip and the chains.

[Galla-]

Well, it's all nice and good to see the bleeding hearts and keyboard commandos here debate what should be done about the evil and terrible slaver hellhole Mauritania and it's vile system of slavery, except that none of the people whose opinions on this might actually matter care about some Third World cesspool in the ass end of Sahara Desert that doesn't even produce anything of value.

So I guess while there is nothing in it for them to take humanitarian interest in freeing the slaves, the Mauritanian slaves are on their own, and from the looks of it, the lot of them don't seem to mind it much either.

Let me ask - why does the fate of some worthless Mauretanian slaves concern the lot of you folks more than what becomes of the victims of human trafficking right here in the First World? You don't have to look for some far-away exotic land for slaves that need your rescue, because they might very well be living next door to you. It's easy to point fingers at Third World dumps and wank about how civilized your civilization is and theirs isn't, but wouldn't it make sense to first fix things picture-perfect at home before moving on to telling other people how to live their lives?

One word: Humanity.

And did you really just call some individuals, HUMAN BEINGS, worthless?!

Some people are worth more than others. That's pretty basic stuff.

For example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Buffett

Worth at least 7 Mauritanias.

[Luveria]

It's too expensive to extract it from such a harsh desert when there are plenty of cheaper oil fields available elsewhere. Having oil doesn't really mean anything unless an oil company actually cares to extract it in the near future.

It's probably easier than to battle against endless legal battles to keep fracking of oil shale as viable.

Yes, it is. That's why fracking is being done instead of drilling for oil in the most inhospitable deserts deep within Africa.

[The Serbian Empire]

It's probably easier than to battle against endless legal battles to keep fracking of oil shale as viable.

Yes, it is. That's why fracking is being done instead of drilling for oil in the most inhospitable deserts deep within Africa.

The cost of recovering the oil might actually be lower than fracking, but the risk of Mauritania nationalizing any investments by foreign companies is too high for the companies to go in. You see, Mauritania had a coup d'etat not all that long ago.

[Quintium]

It's all the fault of those pesky Europeans.
Just kidding. I'm surprised you even mentioned Islam.

[New Laikland]

Well, sucks for that 20%.

Are there any important subjects, or was that it?

[Luveria]

Yes, it is. That's why fracking is being done instead of drilling for oil in the most inhospitable deserts deep within Africa.

The cost of recovering the oil might actually be lower than fracking, but the risk of Mauritania nationalizing any investments by foreign companies is too high for the companies to go in. You see, Mauritania had a coup d'etat not all that long ago.

So overall, it's more cost-effective and reliable to press forwards with fracking.