Torture in [Niger] [other countries]Human Trafficking in [Niger Street Children in [Niger] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Niger] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the early
years of the 21st Century gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Niger.htm
Niger is a source,
transit, and destination country for children and women trafficked for forced
labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Caste-based slavery practices,
rooted in ancestral master-slave relationships, continue primarily in the
northern part of the country. An estimated 8,800 to 43,000 Nigeriens live
under conditions of traditional hereditary slavery. Children within |
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** September 8, 2004 www.jihadwatch.org/2004/09/africa-slavery-lives-on.html [accessed 12 March 2011] Last year, the ***
ARCHIVES *** The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/niger.htm [accessed 12 December 2010] INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy,
Human Rights, and Labor, March 8, 2006 www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61585.htm [accessed 12 December 2010] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– Trafficking in persons generally was conducted by small operators who
promised well‑paid employment in the country. Victims, primarily from
neighboring countries, were escorted through the formalities of entering the
country and found that their employment options were restricted to poorly paid domestic work or prostitution. Victims had to use a
substantial portion of their income to reimburse the persons who brought them
to the country for the cost of the trip. Compliance was enforced by
"contracts," which were signed by illiterate victims before they
departed their countries of origin; alternatively, traffickers seized victim's
travel documents. A local NGO also reported that some rural children were
victims of domestic trafficking in which the victim (or his/her family) was
promised a relatively decent job only to be placed in a home to work as a
servant. African Slavery and Trafficking Sarah Williams, Voice of www.wwenglish.com/t/d/voastan/2005/5/13865.htm [accessed 29 August 2011] [scroll down, for
English] Early in March, the
government of Still with us - A botched release of slaves in The Economist, Mar 9th 2005 www.economist.com/agenda/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3737154 [accessed 9 September 2011] Anti-Slavery International,
a London-based human rights group, estimates that 43,000 slaves are held in
Niger, which the United Nations reckons to be the second-least-developed
country in the world. Slaves in the landlocked west African country form a stigmatised, closed class. Even freed slaves carry the
taint of their hereditary status, and their former masters or parents’
masters may claim some or all of their income, property and dowries. Sarah Left, The Guardian, 5 March 2005 www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/mar/05/sarahleft [accessed 12 March 2011] Around 7,000 people
living as slaves in The chief of the In
Ates region will free all slaves in the area under
his control, where entrenched slavery means 95 % of the population are owned
and controlled by the other 5%. Slaves in Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 3 Civil
Liberties: 4 Status: Partly Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2009/niger [accessed 27 June 2012] Human Rights
Overview Human Rights Watch [accessed 12 December 2010] Slavery in October 26, 2004 At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 9 September 2011] [scroll down] Almost 50,000
people still live as slaves in Slavery has always
been practised by the rulling
classes in Slaves are owned and
controlled by their masters, receiving a meagre
amount of food and a place to sleep in return for their labour, the study
found. "The master decides who a slave marries and whether their
children go to school. Many of those interviewed in the survey had also been
subjected to violence, rape, degrading treatment and threats." Testimony: Former BBC News, 3 November 2004 news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3972669.stm [accessed 12 December 2010] Assibit, 50, describes
life as a slave in Assibit would begin work
at 0530 - pounding millet and milking the camels. She would then prepare breakfast for her
master and his family - she and her family ate the leftovers. While her husband and sons tended the
cattle and camels, she and her daughter did all the household chores. These included moving the heavy tent four
times a day to ensure her mistress could sit in the shade. Assibit prepared
lunch and spent the rest of the day collecting water and firewood. September 8, 2004 www.jihadwatch.org/2004/09/africa-slavery-lives-on.html [accessed 12 March 2011] Last year, the Slavery in Anti-Slavery International &
Association Timidira, Edited by Galy kadir Abdelkader, March 2004 At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 9 September 2011] [page 13] INTRODUCTION - This study is aimed at
contributing to the setting up of the necessary mechanisms to eradicate
slavery in The Anti-Slavery Award Anti-Slavery International At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 9 September 2011] PREVIOUS
ANTI-SLAVERY AWARD WINNERS – Timidria received the 2004
Anti-Slavery Award for its pioneering work against slavery in
Niger. It spearheaded the anti-slavery movement in Drama as BBC News, 19 December, 2003 news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3334099.stm [accessed 12 December 2010] In May this year,
acting under pressure According to a
local anti-slavery organisation, Timidria, the victims are usually aged between 14 and
25. Males
slaves are forced to work in farms and tender cattle, while women are
confined to domestic duties. The organisation says many female slaves are raped and
subjected to other forms of sexual abuse by their masters. Men who disobey orders are flogged or in
serious instances castrated. Slavery in United Nations Commission on Human Rights,
Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Working Group
on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, 28th Session, At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 9 September 2011] Signs, such as the
wearing of particular ankle bracelets, are used to identify those of a slave
caste as being distinct from the general population. In this way those born
into the slave caste are constantly subjected to social discrimination and it
is extremely difficult for them to move beyond their given status, for
example in terms of work or marriage. Overt violence or coercion are not always required in order to ensure that slaves
continue to function within the traditional social structures, which
prescribe them a subordinate status. Social conditioning, societal pressure,
lack of education or a perceived lack of alternatives may be sufficient to
retain control over the individual. Integrated Regional Information Networks
IRIN, www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=43737 [accessed 12 December 2010] Although In Africa, Idy Baraou,
BBC News, news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2236499.stm [accessed 12 December 2010] DISOBEDIENCE - Talking about
his ordeal, Mr Mohamet
explained that he was being whipped everyday because he was suspected of
wanting to rebel against his master.
He said he had recently been sold to a new owner, known for his
cruelty towards his slaves. His new master accused him of rebellion and
disobedience. Mr
Mohamet said if he had not escaped, he would have
been castrated this week. His master
tried to control his slaves by castrating them or using amputation. ICFTU Releases Report On Labour Standards Australian Council of Trade Uniions ACTU, 24 September 2003 www.actu.org.au/public/international/trade/1064532362_20452.html [accessed 12 December 2010] The situation
concerning child labour is alarming. The vast majority of children in Rescued Idy Baraou,
BBC News, news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1697133.stm [accessed 12 December 2010] Aid workers have
been giving details of the physical and psychological trauma suffered by 10
slaves rescued on Monday in the Tahoua region of
northern Integrated Regional Information Networks
IRIN News www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=29224 [accessed 12 December 2010] One of them, Oumou Raicha, told Timidria that for many years, she was repeatedly raped by
Waglassane. "Since I was a small child, my
master used to force me to sleep with him," she was quoted as saying.
"I had many suitors, but the master opposed my marriage on many
occasions. What I want now is to have a family and live freely." She had three daughters by her master, two
of whom died. The third, eight-year-old Aggada, was taken from her by Waglassane
and given to his "legitimate" daughter as a "marriage
gift". Child labor and child slaves Dr. Dipak Basu, Professor in Economics at www.wsws.org/articles/2000/jan2000/chld-j07.shtml [accessed 12 December 2010] Liptako is a major gold
mining area in The child laborers
manually carry sacks that weigh 5-10 kg. In addition to the danger of falling
rocks, the children can also fall down mine shafts. They are exposed to risks
such as explosions, asphyxiation, dust, dermatoid,
flooding and drowning in the mines. They also face very high or very low
temperatures, dangerous air and space, bilharziosis
due to polluted water where they wash gold ores and dangerous materials used
in mining and processing. The nearest medical facilities are 60 km away. Child Labour Persists Around The World:
More Than 13 Percent Of Children 10-14 Are Employed International Labour Organisation (ILO)
News, www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/press-and-media-centre/news/WCMS_008058/lang--en/index.htm [accessed 4 September 2011] "Today's child
worker will be tomorrow's uneducated and untrained adult, forever trapped in
grinding poverty. No effort should be spared to break that vicious
circle", says ILO Director-General Michel Hansenne. Among the countries
with a high percentage of their children from 10-14 years in the work force
are: Mali, 54.5 percent; Burkina Faso, 51; Niger and Uganda, both 45;
Kenya, 41.3; Senegal, 31.4; Bangladesh, 30.1; Nigeria, 25.8; Haiti, 25;
Turkey, 24; Côte d'Ivoire, 20.5; Pakistan, 17.7; Brazil, 16.1; India, 14.4;
China, 11.6; and Egypt, 11.2. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery - |
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Torture in [Niger] [other countries]Human Trafficking in [Niger Street Children in [Niger] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Niger] [other countries]