Below is an article published by the IRA-Mauritania:

The Initiative for the Resurgence of Abolitionism (IRA) would like to make the following statements to the national and international public opinion on this matter that is growing increasingly in visibility and awareness inside Mauritania; the matter of slavery. On the one hand, the protagonists:

Salma mint Meydouwa, in her sixties, not knowing her exact age, of Haratin ethnicity, lived with her owner and mistress, Mariem mint Sidi Salem, forties, ethnic Arab-Berber of the El Eulb all tribe since her childhood until last night Thursday, February 7 [2013].

Salma's statement:

I am a slave by descent, as part of the inheritance of Mariem mint Sidi Salem, she acquired me when I was a young child and since then I have never known either my father or mother. For as long as I can remember, I have worked as a domestic slave for my masters, Mariem Mint Sidi Salem Ould Cheikh and her late husband Legreyve, of the tribe Oulad Ahmed, their son Mohamed, Ethmane, Sidi, Dah, Sid'Ahmed; their daughters, Rahma, and Miss Mahjouba. My children, for whom I know no paternity, are all born with my masters. This family are their slaves; they do that work for their masters as I work for them.

They have never known education, or marital status, or recreation, or rest. My child Bilal was given as a wedding gift to the daughter of my master Mahjouba mint Legreyve, mint Youma my daughter was given to Salma Rahma mint Legreyve for use at home. My children were able to break the bond with our masters, but my daughter and I have not been able to do so. My daughter stayed with her mistress, Rahma mint Legreyve.

Yesterday morning, when my son and his brother, Bilal, came to lodge a complaint against Rahma to claim his sister. I, since my childhood, have served my mistress, Mariem mint Sidi Salem until yesterday [February 6 2013], late at night, my eldest son, Saleck Ould Salma, came to inform me that I could be free now, and get my daughter to live united with my children. My son informed me that his brother, Bilal, filed a complaint against our master, and that some Biram could help us regain our freedom and to start a family together and independently.

Long ago, I remember an uncle of mine called Bilal and a brother to me called Bilal, came to solicit my masters family Ehel Legreyve, to take me with them and live in Senegal. They came to claim me in Chogar, but the Moors refused to accede to their request and they left. I think they live in a city called Thies Senegal. To work with my masters, I never received any consideration or compensation.

I filed a complaint against all members of the family who kept me in my life as a slave and the slavery-like practices they have imposed on my children. I demand my freedom, my daughter, and claims and repairs to entire states and trust and power of attorney to my two sons Saleck and Bilal, I also sought support from Biram for my protection and that of my children.

Salma mint Meydou has four children. Three boys: Saleck Ould Salma, Salma Ould Mbareck and Bilal Ould Salma, ages unknown but listed here in the order in which they were born (their ages must range between 27 and 37 years) and 1 girl: Youma mint Salma, age also unknown, appears on the threshold of adulthood.

Saleck Ould Salma’s statement:

I'm Saleck son of Salma. I was born a slave for the family Ehel Legreyve, like my mother, my brothers and my sister. My childhood and my youth, I spent in slavery; I have never gone to school or learnt the Koran, all my pride as elsewhere. We were assigned to serve our masters, to take care of their animals and all the hard work and manual labour. The children of our masters are all educated, officials, among them there is a great soldier, a policeman, teachers, they all work in the state.

I always try to get my brothers to rebel, my mother and my sister. I managed with my brothers, Bilal in particular, who I got to leave his mistress, Mahjouba mint Legreyve. But I failed with my mother who was afraid to leave Mariem mint Sidi Salem, her mistress. And then some time ago I learned that there is a man named Biram, freeing slaves, making them Haratin,

I went to ask Rahma mint Legreyve to give me my little sister, Youma. Rahma threatened me with having me imprisoned if I request this again. I was afraid and left; this was a few weeks ago. Then I learned that Biram, a man I'd heard of but had never seen anywhere was coming from Nema and was going to stop in our city, Chogar. I asked a Hartani in Chogar, named Lekbeid, to transmit my message discreetly to Biram. I asked him to help me release my mother and my sister from the yoke of slavery to the Legreyve family.

I do not know if Lekbeid forwarded my request to Biram, but a few days later, last Thursday, my brother Bilal, who lives in Nouakchott, told me by phone that he was helped by Biram and that he complained against Rahma mint Legreyve that maintaining our sister Youma into slavery in Nouakchott. He said that Rahma is now in prison, and the other members of the family of our master will join her in jail and that we no longer need to fear anything and my mother and I can come and help in the complaint, and stay in Nouakchott and live together. Immediately after that I left Chogar quietly, with my mother to join my brother Bilal and my sister Youma

I am attached to my mother, my sister and brothers and I filed a complaint with the justice of Mauritania against this family who dominated and exploited us all our lives without rest or pay. I also ask Biram and his organization to help us in our approach.

Bilal ould Salka’s statement:

My name is Bilal ould Salka, I was born a slave in Ehel Legreyve, like my mother, my brothers and my sister and I have been given to Mahjouba mint Legreyve. Since my childhood, I did all the housework, laundry, dishes, cooking and other chores and when I finished preparing meals, my masters ate together, but the Mahjouba sent me away and I ate alone as an unclean. Mahjouba mint Legreyve my mistress, who is the wife of Mohamed Yahya Ould Brahim Taleb, the shopkeeper in the Chogar market, and all tribal member Oulad Ahmed.

When she moved to the town of Aleg to teach his daughters (Maimouna, Fatimetou, Mouna) and boys (Sheikh Hamoud, and Sidi Khaled) at the schools in the city of Aleg, I accompanied her to her home in Aleg to be the domestic slave, although among the children of my mistress Mahjouba mint Legreyve Hamoud alone is older than me. But all were to enter the school, except for me. I followed the sheep day and night and I went back to take care of small children and do the housework until morning.

My big brother Saleck began to tell me to look to rebel and escape these conditions of slavery, and when the eldest son of my mistress Mahjouba, Hamoud Ould Mohamed Yahya Ould Brahim Taleb, noted the attempts of my brother, he warned me against this dangerous adventure that is the act of leaving and joining the Moorish slaves and that slaves can not be a good example. But after a period of reflections around the ideas that my brother Saleck gave me, the usefulness of leaving the Moors, I decided to go. I took a bag containing my clothes. Mahjouba mint Legreyve, my mistress, took off my bag, saying: “It was I who bought these clothes and since you are leaving me, you're going without clothes, you do not deserve anything.” This is how I left at night. I recall that during my captivity in this family, I experienced corporal punishment from the hand of Mahjouba and her husband Mohamed Yahya Ould Brahim Taleb.

I filed a complaint with the state against the family; my mother, my sister and my brothers, and I request the assistance of Biram and his organization for me and my family to set us free and let us be a free family, united and independent.

Youma mint Salma’s statement:

I'm Youma and I have always lived with Rahma mint Legreyve; she is my foster sister. I work for her and her family, her children and her husband, Mokhtar Ould Hmeimed. I was in school for two days and I left; Rahma’s children go to school and Rahma is a teacher. Concerning the Koran, I learned one sura, the Fatiha and the other suras and I intended to learn more.

I do not think I am a minor; I am small but very old and I work on a contract with Rahma, a contract she made for me. In times past, she told me that a man named Biram imprisons minors among people working without a contract. She took me to an office with one of my brothers, her brother and her husband and they produced a paper on which they affixed my finger and my brother’s and assured me that with this paper, Biram can no longer imprison me or interfere with my relationship with them. They assured me also that in light of this paper, my mother would earn at end of each month, an amount of UM 10000 (ten thousand UM: 25 Euros), so I'm happy to help my mother with this amount that my boss will give her for each month.

NB: IRA-Mauritania has, without much ado, put at the disposal of the judicial and political authorities in Mauritania, and submitted to the knowledge of the National and International public opinion, all the misery and pain affecting this family of slaves in Mauritania, and all the ramifications, collusion, and responsibilities of the judiciary, police, administration, and cabinet notary, a corrupted judicial system to serve, like the public ministry and other institutions of the judicial, administrative, and security hierarchies, as a vector for covering up crimes against humanity, crimes of slavery, crime against human beings, exploitation of minors and persons in a state of weakness or dependence.

We consider that the deeds exhibited by the alleged slaveowners and other legal acts or decisions produced by the prosecutors and judges are a Mauritanian strategy of exploiting the law and legal institutions to protect offenders who are from the privileged caste in Mauritania against the application of the laws, seeing as the same caste issues laws and takes care of its own.

We draw attention to the world that this kind of provocative and vexing process for the wider community of the servile and oppressed Haratin who are in a state of advanced mobilization these days against such political injustice, discrimination, and segregation, which should give pause to those in power of the extreme danger of this kind of outlaw governance.

IRA-Mauritania is putting together a dossier to assess the extent and distribution of responsibilities of the Ehel Legreyve family in the plight of Salma and her children for so many decades. We, by this case, show the extent of slavery and the strength of the roots of its lifestyle in the Arab-Berber class that holds power in Mauritania. For the son and daughters of the family are indicated as senior officers of the army, police executives, teachers and other state functionaries. We will demonstrate, with supporting data of ranks, positions, and training of the alleged slaveowners, that the official rejection of slavery and its criminalization paradoxically coexist with the persistence of this crime as basic lifestyle.