This interview was  facilitated in 2026 through the Mauritanian Network for Human Rights in the U.S. (MNHRUS)

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Name: Anonymous 

Gender: Male 

Age: Middle-aged 

Geographical Location of experiences described during the interview: He  grew up in Kaedi, the Capital of Gorgol.

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Creation of the Entry 

This entry is a factual reconstructed narrative of detailed notes taken during the interview process. It does not include The Participant’s exact wording but summarizes the information they are willing to disclose. 

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Context of the Entry 

The Participant is a middle-aged Haratine individual and primarily discusses the discrimination he faced in Mauritania as a Haratine Person. During his time in Mauritania, he had never been formally enslaved but had still experienced a sort of sharecropping system where the Bidan would come and take the crops his family grew for free. In 2014, his father’s store was destroyed in Kaedi, and The Participant believes that this was a targeted act of discrimination by the Bidan. 

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Description of experiences disclosed 

As The Participant grew up, he witnessed a lot of slavery and child-slavery which was happening in another village in the Brakna Region. In general, the Participant says that all your rights are very limited as a Haratine. Specifically, he states that he knew many Haratines who wanted to become soldiers were prohibited from serving as soldiers. 

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The Participant's father was a businessman and operated a convenience store in Kaedi. In 2014, the store was looted completely. The Participant alleges that it was done by the Bidan community for both racial and economic regions; they allegedly wanted to control the plot of land. 

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The Participant was born in Dhakar, Senegal. His parents were Haratines from Mauritania, but they only came back to Mauritania when slavery was abolished in the 1980s. While they were not formally enslaved, they had to do free tasks for the Bidan. The Bidan used to come from Magta Lahjar (a town in Brakna) and demand crops from The Participant’s family. This created a lot of food shortages in the family and The Participant had to take time off from school to farm and grow more crops. The Participant says this is a very common occurrence in Mauritania. The main corps they would grow were beans, millets, and watermelons. 

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As The Participant grew up, he had a business where he was doing construction work in Brakna. One day, he had a contract with a Spanish non-profit, but they ended up losing the contract because the project coordinator found out he was a Haratine person. 

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While he was never enslaved, he did have a very close female cousin who was forced to work in a house without pay when she was 15. She was forcefully taken by the Bidan and the Bidan claimed she belonged to them. Another one of his family members was taken to Magta Lahjar and killed. 

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The Participant  said he is worried more now (today’s times) than before, he saw a lot of people taken to prison for freedom of speech. Lately,  the government has been arresting a lot of people and it has worsened lately. He said he really wants to emphasize the fact that the slavery is still a reality in Mauritania, and missed opportunities for kids to go to school. Recently in Kaedi, his village has been divided between an area where light-skinned Bidan lived and where the black-skinned people and Haratines lived. 

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Language of The Participant used during the interview: Fulani

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Translator notes: 

One translator was present from the Mauritanian Network for Human Rights (MNHRUS) to translate from Fulani to English. 

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Interviewer and Notes:

While it is hard to determine with 100% confidence, the Bidan who were taking crops could have been the same or related family who had enslaved The Participants' family previously for generations. However we cannot determine the validity of this statement, but it is definitely possible for the Bidan to be tracking movement of the Haratine. 

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Recording/transcription status: No recording or transcription conducted per current project capacity. 

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Source of entry: Detailed notes from the interviewer (who spoke English).