Abdel Nasser Ould Yessa, who spoke at the Boston University Medical Center on Thursday, for years enjoyed the luxuries that came with living an affluent lifestyle in Mauritania in West Africa –one of those luxuries was owning slaves.
He said the experience left him jaded, and now he fights for the liberation of African slaves through the organization SOS Slaves.
As a member of the Mauritanian aristocracy, Yessa, speaking with the aid of a French translator, said he grew up surrounded by slaves as a part of normal family life. Slaves existed to ensure the comfort of their masters, which meant fulfilling duties ranging from cleaning the household and attending to livestock to providing amusement and sexual favors, he said.
They were often exchanged by families as gifts and enjoyed no legal protection under Mauritanian law, Yassa commented. A slave was bound to his or her caste and masters for life and any escape attempts were met with swift retribution.
Yessa said he first considered taking action against slavery as an adolescent when he learned about the French Revolution and its ideals of liberty, equality and unity amongst all men.
He admitted that, although he was in favor of such principles, contradiction surrounded him.
“I would be discussing revolution, freedom and equality in the house while a slave would serve me tea,” he said.
As Yessa’s conscience became disquieted, so did his parents,’ resulting in a trip to France.
“In the beginning, the attitude of my family was ‘let’s send him off to France and he’ll forget about this,'” Yessa said.
Yessa explained his exposure to Western ideas and philosophy only increased his drive to attack slavery. In 1995, he founded SOS Slaves, a group that now boasts 150 members and actively fights for slaves’ rights in Mauritania.
Assisted by the American Anti-Slavery Group, Yessa and SOS Slaves help spread global awareness about slavery, with trips such as his current visit to the United States., where Yessa met with members of the U.S. State Department and spoke at universities to build a foundation of supporters who share his concern about Mauritania.
The task ahead remains a daunting one, however, Yessa said.
In his talk, Yessa stressed the health risks, including AIDS, associated with the way sexual activity is promoted amongst slaves by their owners, and exposure to sandstorms that result in optical disabilities. Doctors are desperately needed to help treat ailing slaves, whose health lies at the whims of their masters.
Mauritania’s social structure also presents a problem because of the link between slavery and the country’s rigid caste system, Yessa said. As a discouraging sign of Mauritania’s stratified society, Yessa cited the recent story of a 14-year-old female slave who escaped an abusive master and solicited the help of SOS Slaves, only to be arrested by the police and forced to return to her owner. Elite families wield considerable influence over the legal system, which nearly always rules in their favor, he said.
Yessa said he also suffers personally from his struggle for slaves’ freedom. He has been living in exile in France since 1989, and acknowledges that his relationship with memebers of his family, who remain slave owners, is “very difficult.”
Laura Williams, a 2005 graduate of the BU Medical School, was inspired by Yessa’s affecting speech.
“I definitely plan on getting involved in this issue,” she said.
Despite the considerable obstacles that remain in his path, Yessa said he was steadfast and optimistic that his mission wouldn’t be in vain. Thanks to the March 2005 dissolution of a Mauritanian dictatorship, Yessa said he finally has the opportunity to return to his home country and continue the struggle for freedom.
“I’m very happy to be able to go back,” he said. “I crave my homeland and what I’ve missed.”
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