NIGER SLAVERY: Where are the LIBERALS?
Dr. Walter E. Williams, guest hosting on the Rush Limbaugh show, made his usual great impact on me today with some comments on slavery as it exists today, in Niger, Sudan and other countries of North Africa. What sinks in the most is that I have to listen to the "right wing media" to hear about this abomination. The MSM has the occasional story about it, but this latest, the aborted "release" of 7,000 slaves, hasn't been out there. Luckily he links to the story on Mr. Limbaugh's website. Here are the relevant quotes:
"Timidria, a local human rights group, blamed government threats against local leaders for the absence of any slaves for liberation." ; "The government denied the charge. 'We're a state of rights, the government hasn't threatened anyone,' said Mallam Ari Boukar, an interior ministry official. A spokesman for the government's human rights commission, which had helped to organise the event, said the cancellation was because slavery did not exist."
Dr. Williams and his guest, Dr. Thomas Sowell, mentioned that slavery has been occurring in this reigon before Europe colonized America, and that US Marines went "to the shores of Tripoli" (from the USMC Hymn) to free Americans taken as slaves in the early 1800's. I think there were other motivations involved, but the point is that while slavery has been stamped out in much of the world, IT STILL EXISTS! Why don't the liberal groups that look for "reparations" for past slavery say ANYTHING about the heart of this institution as it exists TODAY!
I think this should be a "cause celebre" for the left, if they really cared about this violation of human rights. They should push for action from their friends in the "international community," though the UN and African response has been negligible so far. They might have trouble doing anything about any nation that is considered "equal" to all others under the UN Charter, even if it violates all the basic human rights of it's citizens. Especially when many African nations, and a large number of UN members are just as corrupt, repressive, and even tolerant of slavery as Mauritania, Niger and Sudan, the worst offenders mentioned in the article (linked in the title).
"Timidria, a local human rights group, blamed government threats against local leaders for the absence of any slaves for liberation." ; "The government denied the charge. 'We're a state of rights, the government hasn't threatened anyone,' said Mallam Ari Boukar, an interior ministry official. A spokesman for the government's human rights commission, which had helped to organise the event, said the cancellation was because slavery did not exist."
Dr. Williams and his guest, Dr. Thomas Sowell, mentioned that slavery has been occurring in this reigon before Europe colonized America, and that US Marines went "to the shores of Tripoli" (from the USMC Hymn) to free Americans taken as slaves in the early 1800's. I think there were other motivations involved, but the point is that while slavery has been stamped out in much of the world, IT STILL EXISTS! Why don't the liberal groups that look for "reparations" for past slavery say ANYTHING about the heart of this institution as it exists TODAY!
I think this should be a "cause celebre" for the left, if they really cared about this violation of human rights. They should push for action from their friends in the "international community," though the UN and African response has been negligible so far. They might have trouble doing anything about any nation that is considered "equal" to all others under the UN Charter, even if it violates all the basic human rights of it's citizens. Especially when many African nations, and a large number of UN members are just as corrupt, repressive, and even tolerant of slavery as Mauritania, Niger and Sudan, the worst offenders mentioned in the article (linked in the title).
Comments
In order to do that, though, they need to be convinced that there is an authority higher than themselves. With many people refusing to believe in God and acting immorally, they do not want to confront that in which they have contributed to, if only by ambivalence. (sp?)
Really good article. I think we should be careful though. We are all responsible, not just the liberals. I know we talk about it on the right, and President Bush has even tried to bring attention to what is going on in Darfur.
I just wish people would stop hating him long enough to hear his message. Have a good evening.
The truth is it will take a revolution to change the practice of slavery, and right now the revolution, and world attention, is in the Middle East. That doesn't mean that nothing can happen on the North African front. Many of the same groups involved in slavery are allied with some of the factions we are fighting in the war on terror, I believe. The battle against Al Queda can spread the cause of freedom by reducing the resources they can allocate to North Africa, and if some countries get a new government, that could be a good thing. This may be something on the periphery right now, but we have a lot of history with that region, and it stands as a reminder of our past slaveholding.
I thought it was too rambling for the piece, but now I'm not sure, so there it is.