Here’s a report from the BBC website. A Nigerian study estimated that 8% of the population of Niger are slaves:
Trading in slaves has been banned in Niger since the days of the French colonists in the last century, but ownership of slaves was never specifically banned.
Most slaves in Niger today are the descendents of slaves who were kidnapped in wars and raids centuries ago, and were simply born into their status.
Many slaves in Niger are appallingly abused by their masters.
Slave children are taken away from their parents before they are two-years-old, to break the bonds between parent and child and to eliminate any sense of identity.
The children grow up working in the house of the master.
The slave owners encourage the slaves to reproduce to increase their numbers, sometimes even determining when they have sexual intercourse.
They treat the slaves like their cattle.
Slaves are often beaten for small misdemeanours.
They work long hours and are sometimes deprived of food as punishment.
There are documented cases of slaves being stripped naked in front of their families to humiliate them, of female slaves being raped by their owners, and even of male slaves being castrated by their owners as punishment.
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