‘Slaves’ in impoverished Yemen still dream of freedom focus 07/23/2010

‘Slaves’ in impoverished Yemen still dream of freedom

focus 07/23/2010 SANAA — Officially, slavery was abolished back in 1962 but a judge’s decision to pass on the title deed of a “slave” from one master to another has blown the lid off the hidden bondage of hundreds of Yemenis. The judge in the town of Hajja, which is home to some 300 slaves, according to residents, said he had certified the transfer only because the new owner planned to free the slave. But his decision has triggered a campaign by local human right activists. A 2009 report by the human rights ministry found that males and females were still enslaved in the provinces of Hudaydah and Hajja, in northwest Yemen — the Arab world’s most impoverished country. Mubarak, who has seven brothers and sisters, has never set foot outside the village where he was born into a family which was inherited as slaves by their local master.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100723com6.html

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