“Mbarak Laabayd” is a young man from the class of slaves, as it is suggested by his last name. The desert society still preserves the division even on the level of names, which allows those who hear them to guess the origins of their bearers! “Mbarak”, who is a taxi driver in the urban area of Laayoune city, says:” I remember when I was a child how the master’s young sons treated my elderly father; they ordered him as they were sitting and my father did not dare to eat with them at the same table. My father was happy with the worn out clothes that the master would give him and he was convinced that they were a blessing and a gift! I grew up and my rage and anger grew with me. I was not able to finish my studies as my family was poor. My father, who was afraid of my way of thinking and my disobedience, began taking me to the master’s house to sweep or wash or to do any work I was ordered... As I further grew up, I declared my extreme dissatisfaction with the master’s meager grace in addition to how he exploited my father, my brothers, and myself claiming that we were “their property”. Thus, I looked for a job everywhere, and here I am now, as you can see, a taxi driver and I am happy about it.”

Society offers to males what cannot be offered to females; the ability of “Mbarak” to rebel against his inherited enslavement was not offered to “Khwaira”, who seems to be servile and submissive to her ordeal. She was annoyed when I asked her why she would never leave the masters’ house and said:” You must be kidding! Moreover, where will I go? This is my world, and I really love the mistress and I hope to die in her service. Besides, she provides food and clothing for me and I love her children as if they were my own; wasn’t I the one who raised them?” She then added as she seemed not to accept what I had told her when I asked her about missing the opportunity to marry and have children:” How can I object to God’s will? My mistress has nothing to do with that; my mother sent me with my mistress when she got married since my mother was serving my mistress’s mother.- She strayed away for a while, then turned to me with a confident look- and said:” If my life were rewound, I would dedicate my life to her all over again.”

To know more about the representations of slavery, we contacted Mrs. Fatma Ezzahra Maa Al-Ainine, member of the National Bureau of the Moroccan Human Rights Organization, who declared:” Even though the desert belongs to the Arab rural society, it differs from similar societies due to its inhabitants being aware of the laws regulating this field while enforcing them even in a non-strict way. From a legal and political stand, all humans are equal when it comes to access to justice, their right to health, education, and other political or civic rights. The law is regulating these relationships. We do not deny the existence of this “soft” slavery, as I called it. This is due to the “slaves” themselves who are unable to free themselves despite what the social life grants them nowadays. However, their symbolic association with the masters and the fear of losing security if they were separated from them is what makes the reinforcement of the law to protect them [the slaves] an impossible situation. We previously talked about this subject in a discussion with the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. We clarified in a previous meeting that the problem was a purely a social and cultural one since many “slaves” refuse to be freed from their masters for reasons related to clothing and food, especially if they were stricken with poverty and ignorance. We observe, with the young “slaves” nowadays, signs of rebellion against this situation seeing that most of them refuse to accept the existing situation and seek to break the ties with the past of their fathers and ancestors.

The problem of intermarriage and mixing between slaves and masters is due, in my opinion, to the major social barrier that stands in the way of a slave marrying a mistress. It is something that is condemned to the extent that all ties with both spouses are totally cut-off as if they had committed an unforgivable crime! However, I personally think that the financial ability will make it possible for many complex matters to be solved spontaneously!”