AfricaBlog

Where Slavery Still Thrives

Americans, and, indeed, most of the Western world think of slavery as something far removed from our modern society. A little closer look, though, shows that slavery still survives in many forms throughout the developing world and even touches us here in developed nations.

The idea of humans as property hasn't faded as much as we'd like to believe. One of the most notorious nations in the world for a still-thriving slave trade is Niger--although, I have to admit that the number quoted here still astonished me.

A nation of vast, barren and windswept landscapes, a country of people who live almost entirely off cattle, and off the labour of human slaves.

Slavery in Niger is not an obscure thing, nor a curious relic of the past, it is an intrinsic part of society today.

A Nigerian study has found that almost 8% of the population are slaves.