10 December 2013, Biram Dah Abeid was awarded the United Nations Peace Prize, which only contributed to the visibility of his actions and granted him a certain political profile on the international level as well. As expected, outgoing President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz won these elections June 21, 2014. The son of a slave himself, Biram Dah Abeid established IRA-Mauritania in 2007 to advocate against the practice of slavery in his country, a descent-based phenomenon that is affecting an estimated 20-30% of the population, mainly Haratins or “Black Moors”. Deeply rooted prejudices affect the Haratin as an ethnic slave caste, with widespread discrimination and political underrepresentation - or rather, complete invisibility prior to IRA’s activities – characterizing their lives. africanwriter/there-is-slavery-in-mauritania-poetry-by-alexander-k-opicho/
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 10:03:48 +0000
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