bona
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- Nov 6, 2009
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Students have been up in arms, since March 25, against the Arabization of Mauritania, as expressed by members of the government on March 1, a day set aside to commemorate the Arabic language. Despite the authorities denial, the malaise within the Black Mauritanian community remains palpable. This comes in the backdrop of recent steps taken by the Mauritanian government to seek the return of Black-Mauritanians who fell victim to a 1989 mass deportation, especially those exiled in France and the United States. But Human Rights organizations and those concerned have denounced the selective and discriminatory nature of the policy. Abda Wone, a journalist and political activist, tells Afrik.com that the "thorny question" remains to be answered.
Every government has tried to go a step further to achieve a complete Arabization of Mauritania. It is an old problem that dates back to the countrys independence. Already in 1965, the regime enacted laws (65-025 and 65-026) that sought to make the teaching of Arabic in Mauritania mandatory. This led to the first crisis, and the drafting of the 1966 manifesto 19 (manifeste des 19), which was against excessive Arabization. In 1979, the Movement of Black students again protested against a bill known as "circulaire 02", a pro arabization document Their strike action led to a blank school year. In 1986, Mauritania experienced its major crisis yet. After writing a manifesto that simply called for a debate between the various organizations, Black-Mauritanian executives were arbitrarily arrested and sent to jail in Oualata. Some never got the chance to get out of this deathtrap.
Mauritania had close ties with the Iraqi government during the time of Saddam Hussein who wanted to help the Taya regime to create an exclusively Arab Mauritania. This was to happen in two stages. The first was to reduce Black-Mauritanians numerically. The second was to grab lands that belonged to Black-Mauritanians in the South. The Mauritanian government wanted the country to be part of the Arab world although 80% of its population was Black. Black Mauritanians were kicked out of their country in 1989. The military came at night and entire villages were razed to the ground. The next day, the poor victims found themselves in Senegal and Mali. Over 120 000 Black Mauritanians fell victim to the deportations. For those who were not deported, life became a living hell. In 1990, Black soldiers were killed when the authorities decided to purge the army under the Arabization program. Over 3 000 were killed that year. It was on November 28, 1990, Mauritanian independence day, that the barbarism reached its peak. 28 Black Mauritanians were sacrificed to celebrate the independence day celebrations.
Every government has tried to go a step further to achieve a complete Arabization of Mauritania. It is an old problem that dates back to the countrys independence. Already in 1965, the regime enacted laws (65-025 and 65-026) that sought to make the teaching of Arabic in Mauritania mandatory. This led to the first crisis, and the drafting of the 1966 manifesto 19 (manifeste des 19), which was against excessive Arabization. In 1979, the Movement of Black students again protested against a bill known as "circulaire 02", a pro arabization document Their strike action led to a blank school year. In 1986, Mauritania experienced its major crisis yet. After writing a manifesto that simply called for a debate between the various organizations, Black-Mauritanian executives were arbitrarily arrested and sent to jail in Oualata. Some never got the chance to get out of this deathtrap.
Mauritania had close ties with the Iraqi government during the time of Saddam Hussein who wanted to help the Taya regime to create an exclusively Arab Mauritania. This was to happen in two stages. The first was to reduce Black-Mauritanians numerically. The second was to grab lands that belonged to Black-Mauritanians in the South. The Mauritanian government wanted the country to be part of the Arab world although 80% of its population was Black. Black Mauritanians were kicked out of their country in 1989. The military came at night and entire villages were razed to the ground. The next day, the poor victims found themselves in Senegal and Mali. Over 120 000 Black Mauritanians fell victim to the deportations. For those who were not deported, life became a living hell. In 1990, Black soldiers were killed when the authorities decided to purge the army under the Arabization program. Over 3 000 were killed that year. It was on November 28, 1990, Mauritanian independence day, that the barbarism reached its peak. 28 Black Mauritanians were sacrificed to celebrate the independence day celebrations.
