Islamic Relief helping families who have escaped slavery in Mali

Slavery continues to exist in Mali, despite it being illegal, with thousands of people thought to be held in direct servitude. Many are caught in descent-based slavery, in which oppressors inherit families from one generation to the next.

Over 600 people have recently arrived in the village of Mambiri, in the Kita Circle, after fleeing their oppressors, to whom they refer as nobles.

Reaching Mambiri earlier this month, Islamic Relief found that formerly enslaved families were continuing to arrive in the village.

There is currently only improvised shelter available to them in Mambiri, with men and boys having to spend their nights outdoors in the wind and cold. The two functional boreholes in the village did not provide enough water even for the host community – with the new arrivals, there is water for less than 44 percent of people.

The single primary school in Manbiri will struggle to find space to educate the newly arrived children, and the formerly enslaved people are without the means to earn a living – leaving them in urgent need of food aid.

The situation is expected to worsen, as more arrivals are anticipated in the days and weeks ahead, placing further pressure on the already limited resources and services in the village.

Conditions are expected to deteriorate as more people arrive in the following days and weeks.

Islamic Relief on the ground in Mambiri, helping those affected.

“So far, we have provided 487 blankets as well as hundreds of sleeping mats and mosquito nets and are working to scale up our emergency response. We are coordinating with Plan International, in order to ensure our interventions work together to best assist vulnerable people.”

Original source: Islamic Relief
Published on 21 February 2019