Mauritania: Exploitation of Resources and People
Mauritania: Exploitation of Resources and People
Mauritania: Exploitation of Resources and People #1
1) Ineffective politics-leadership decision depends on control over resources
Beginning from its independence in 1960 from France, Mauritania has experienced a politically instable environment where private interests have capitalized in the exploitation of the masses. In order of importance I find the management and public administration of Mauritania to be the leading problem. After Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya acquired power through a coup in 1984, opposition parties were illegal and therefore freedom of speech was non-existent. After the constitution of 1991, and up to now presidential elections have been criticized and today the country is ran by Col. Ely Ould Mohamed VALL who succeeded in a bloodless coup in August 2005. In argumentation for the corruption and lack of controls responsible for the autocratic state, it is recorded that in 2001, the Cabinet of Ministers consisting of 27 members, then comprised of 20 white Moors(or white Moor mixed). In the same year out of the 56 member Senate body, 46 consisted of white Moor or mixed roots. From the 81 member National Assembly, 60 members were white Moors or mixed.
The population according to a July 2006 census stands at 3,177,388, however economists argue that the population of black Moors has exponentially grown, and figures are questionable, since the ruling white Moors do not reveal the whole truth. Given that 46% of the population is between 0-14 years old, a large labor supply is presentable, while 52% is between 15-64 years old. There are 726,000 females between the age of 0-14 and 840,000 between the age of 15-64. The male population is comparably similar. Arable land consist of 0.2% of the total land, while 41.7% of the total population is literate, (age over 15 and over reads and writes). With males at 51.8%, and females 31.9% (2003 est.), literate, the gender gap is clear and simple. With poor literacy rates and no arable land, it is a blessing that Mauritania has about 760km of coastline out of which people can use the sea for fishing. A problem with that however is that the corrupt leaders receive bribes from foreign fishing boats which in turn have over-exploited the biodiversity off the Mauritanian coast (as well as most of the African coastline).
Additionally, the labor force as of 2001 stood at 786,000, out of which 50% work in the agri-sector, 10% work in the industry sector, and services is represented by 40%. Unemployment is also high since in 2004, statistics revealed 20% of the labor force is unemployed. In 1996, 65.5% of the population was below the poverty level in rural areas but by the year 2000, this figure fell to 61.2%. The urban area income poverty levels fell from 31.2 to 20.5% in the respective years.
Additionally, evidence found suggests that 42% of the employed population works in the informal sector. (State of the World’s cities 2001-unchs.org). Such an argument puts into perspective the amount of slaves that are being used as capital equipment with no depreciation costs, nor high maintenance costs. The difference in my key drivers and the majority of the public view is the role of the media. The strongest means of communication for information about Mauritania and its problems is the press which since controlled and censored does not reveal the roots to a public that has more power to help the affected than the government itself.
The poor management skills have led to poor health. Bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever are the most popular diseases coming from food and water. Malaria, Rift Valley fever, and meningococcal meningitis are also high in exposure risk, while in 2003 there were 9,500 people living with AIDS, which as a percentage accounts to 0.6% of the population.
With regards to the future of the nation, the high rates of infant deaths, present a serious obstacle. Mohamed Barou of the International committee of the Red Cross said, “Malnutrition is a big problem here. Unlike severe malnutrition, the child does not necessarily become visibly sick or instantly at risk. One hundred and nine deaths per 1,000 children, compared to three per 1,000 in Spain". With such risks, it can be seen that the leaders are instead of allocating funds and resources, retaining Mauritania’s wealth, thus leading it to catastrophe.
2)Tribal/Ethnic conflicts (White Moor, Black Moor, and Black African Mauritanian groups) - (Slavery)
The human rights violations are a result of the tension between the two main Mauritanian Moorish communities. The white Moors(Beidanes), are politically superior, while the black Moors have both historically and many still continue to be slaves. The black Moors resulted from generations of enslavement by the White Moors and are labeled as black Moors to distinguish them from black Mauritanians who have never been enslaved.
In 1997, President ould Taya said that anyone discussing slavery was aiming in ruining the nation’s reputation, and such people belong to a group involved in an attempted coup. Such instillation of fear leads to conversation pertaining to slavery, being silenced. Freedom of the press is also constrained given that all newspapers in Mauritania require authorizations by the Ministry of Interior for any distribution of information. In addition, no broadcast media company independently services the public’s information need. Many times newspaper editions have been seized while many companies have been shut-down.
The result of long-lasting ethnic tensions has led to exploitation of the Black Moors by the White Moors. The human rights of the latter are abused to the extent that several declarations by the UN, and the Mauritanian constitution prove.
Several organizations within the country such as Association Mauritanienne des Droits de l’Homme (AMDH-Mauritanian Human Rights Association), are recognized both by international human rights organizations and the African Commissions on Human and People’s Rights. However, they remain ineffective since the government does not grant them official recognition, and therefore they remain illegal.
"Not only has the government denied the existence of slavery and failed to respond to cases brought to its attention," says Amnesty, "it has hampered the activities of organisations which are working on the issue, including by refusing to grant such organisations official recognition."
According to Article 1 of the 1926 Slavery Convention slavery is defined as, “the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownerships are exercised.” The 1956 supplementary convention adds practices that are similar to slavery such as debt bondage, serfdom, forcible betrothal of women for gain, sale, purchase and transfer of wives, inheritance of a woman upon the death of her husband, and the transfer of children to exploit their labor. Mauritania agreed to the 1956 supplementary amendments on June 6, 1986. And even though Mauritania’s constitution contains information against slavery, in practice, the implementation of this idea was never realized. In the abolition decree, slavery is not criminalized, and up to now no individual has been prosecuted for keeping someone in slavery or engaging in the sale and purchase of individuals for slavery.
3) High Debt:
The geographic location of Mauritania between Senegal and Western Sahara is hot, dry, with dust-sandy winds, which has historically many times brought drought. Due to this currently the nation is stigmatized with debt that has buildup to the size of three times its current annual exports. The country is known for its large deposits of iron ore, which account for nearly 40% of total exports. A solution to this debt which besides the drought stems from mismanagement, can be the oil wells that were found in 2001, 80kms from the coast. There have been about 1 billion barrels of proved reserves that can be sold in current world prices, and already oil production and exports have begun and evidence of this performance will be publicized hopefully soon. In addition, the $6B GDP as of 2005, when broken up consists of 25% coming from agriculture, 29% from industry, and 46% from services.
Recommendations (Implementation) for Ministry of Economic Affairs
The top recommendations that can be given based on the country’s current situation are to ally up with the United States or with another mega-power which will exploit (allocate) its resources more efficiently than the current government. The current government is in power after a coup on the then US-ally leader. Of course, US would help the country by being compensated with oil profits, but at least the people can in the long term enjoy a higher standard of living than what their current exploiters can provide.
In addition, literacy must be improved. The long-term effect of that will be higher human capital(including medical professionals), who will be able to make wiser decisions regarding their needs. Given that educated females tend to give less births than non-educated women, this would control.
The biggest problem with even education helping enslaved individuals to acquire freedom is that slavery has been instilled in them since hundreds of years back. It is a common practice for the enslaved person to purchase his freedom, and many tend to become entrepreneurial on the side and then save money to buy their freedom. But even if these people are freed, this habituation of subordinate status ideologies, will take years to alter. The way the Mauritanians (primarily black Moors), think must change for them to enjoy development. Another argument in support of this is that little violence is required to keep slavery in Mauritania. According to Mr Messaoud, "A captured slave knows freedom, so to keep him you have to chain him. But a Mauritanian slave, whose parents and grandparents before him were slaves, doesn't need chains. He has been brought up as a domesticated animal.” Given that the majority of Mauritanians are Muslim, even from a religious perspective there is a flaw with slavery since all Muslims are equal before Allah and by logic this means no one should be reduced by slavery from others. Therefore, possibly a recommendation is to support the implementation of a successful change in leadership through the support of religious organizations that will allow the people to adapt to this change in their ideological baggage.
WORKS CITED
Associated Press. Thursday, August 4, 2005; Page A14. December 14, 2006. U.S.-Allied Leader of Mauritania Overthrown.
Harter, Pascal. Slavery: Mauritania's best kept secret . December 14, 2004. Dec. 14, 2006
Harter, Pascal. Mauritania's deadly daily poverty. 8 September 2005. Dec. 14, 2006.
Mauritania 'still practising' slavery. Nov. 7, 2002. Dec. 13, 2006
Unknown Author. Mauritania: A future free from slavery. 7 November 2002
Unknown Author. Ruler of oil-rich Islamic nation was allied with U.S. in war on terrorism Aug 3, 2005.
www.worldbank.org
Disclaimer
The above essay was written by Panagiotis Spiliopoulos and merely states opinions by a college student. However, if you feel strong about responding to the opinions stated, please write to articles@directorym.com and express your concerns.
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