Chapter 988 An Unacceptable Gift
The first time Xiao Peng heard about the "Moor" was from a news report three years ago: a black man was caught stealing in a shopping mall in Shanghai.
This is a minor matter. If you're there, you should abide by the local laws. Getting caught is no problem. But don't be like a certain student who went to Germany to study and was scammed out of 600 yuan. He immediately reported the case to the police online in China, but when they refused to accept the case, he filmed a video on TikTok to criticize the police there. He wouldn't do that unless he's had a cerebral thrombosis for ten years!
Back to the point, after being arrested, the black man tried various tactics, such as lying on the ground and pretending to be dead, but it was no use. He was still arrested. But what happened next was fascinating: seeing him being arrested, his Shanghai girlfriend got anxious and started pushing the police and said shockingly: "He is a Moorish man, you have no right to arrest him!" As for the subsequent bizarre remarks, they are too numerous to count.
I have to say that sometimes some people in China are really disappointing. As a "daily necessity" for foreigners, what this woman said and did was really infuriating.
It was because of this that Xiao Peng learned about the so-called "Moors". He was not angry if he didn't understand, but he became even angrier after learning about them.
Moors are divided into 'Moors in the broad sense' and 'Moors in the narrow sense'.
If you've seen the TV series "My Captain, My Regiment," the first words the British said when they raised the white flag and surrendered to Long Wenjian were, "Mr. Othello, we surrender to you, our newly emerged enemy." Meng Fanle's explanation at the time was, "They call you Othello, which means Moor, or black, because they think you're dirty."
This 'Othello' comes from Shakespeare's famous work "Othello", which refers to the black general in the play.
The broad definition of Moor encompasses a wide range of Muslims living in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Malta, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and other regions. The narrower definition of Moor refers to the mixed-race descendants of Muslim Spaniards, Berbers, and Blacks in North Africa, primarily living in Morocco, Western Sahara, and Mauritania. Mauritania has the largest population of Moors, comprising over 70% of the country's population. Essentially, everyone except Black Africans is Moorish.
These Moors are divided into two types: the white Moors are also called "Bidan" and the black Moors are called "Haladin". The "white" and "black" here have nothing to do with their skin color, but refer to their bloodline.
To put it more simply, the Black Moors were slaves of the White Moors.
That's right, Mauritania is still a slave state! The country's total population is approximately 4.5 million, of which 40% are Black Moors, and nearly a third of them are enslaved: that is, approximately 700,000 Black Moors are considered enslaved in Mauritania.
Of course, Mauritania refused to acknowledge its status as a slave state. Instead, they described it differently: White Moors were "teachers" and the Black Moorish slaves as "students." These so-called "students" were essentially subjected to heavy labor year after year, denied education, and often subjected to beatings and even murder. Rape of female slaves by their masters was also commonplace. Slaves were often used as gifts or even rented out for rent. Working male slaves and attractive female slaves were particularly valuable gifts to the White Moors.
So Xiao Peng ran away - he really couldn't accept such a gift!
In fact, the fact that white Moors do not treat black Moors as human beings is simply human nature. Those who bully their own people the most are always their own people.
The most brutal ones who captured black slaves were the blacks, the most cruel ones who bullied Chinese people were the traitors, and the ones who enslaved the Moors were the Moors themselves.
Although international public opinion criticizes them every day, and even several of their presidents have repeatedly demanded the abolition of slavery, it is basically in vain because the force of custom here is too strong.
It wasn't until 2018 that the African Union Court of Justice ruled that the Mauritanian government compensate two escaped slaves and punish their owner. This was the first time Mauritania had ruled against a slave owner! And this was the ruling of the African Union Court, not the Mauritanian government.
In fact, Mauritania enacted a law in 2007 criminalizing slavery, with a maximum sentence of ten years. In 2015, the sentence was increased to 20 years! However, this law is largely ineffective. To date, only one slave owner has been prosecuted and sentenced to six months in prison for owning slaves in Mauritania, in 2011. The rest of the population lives as they should. Meanwhile, advocating for the abolition of slavery in Mauritania is a matter of minutes, with charges ranging from "illegal assembly" to imprisonment.
The Mauritanian government's attitude is particularly peculiar. Journalists must first obtain permission to take photos in Mauritania. Even tourists must exercise caution when taking photos. The government strictly prohibits any discussion of slavery and forbids foreign media from interviewing or reporting on locals.
Crucially, the laws regarding slavery here are also peculiar. A complaint must be filed by the victim themselves before an investigation can be accepted by the court; no one else can file a complaint on their behalf! But the slaves were largely illiterate, so how could they file a complaint? After all, many government officials were white Moors who owned slaves themselves. How could they possibly handle their own case?
Moreover, most of Mauritania's territory is desert, and various villages are scattered like stars in the depths of the desert. Even if there are laws, no one enforces them.
Crucially, these slaves couldn't survive without their masters. Supplies were scarce, and the Black Moors lacked survival skills, forcing them to rely on their masters. Over time, many Black Moors developed a deep-seated belief: "I am a slave, I must obey completely! God has ordained our suffering!"
I don't know if the Moor the Shanghai girl who yelled, "He's a Moor, you have no right to arrest him" was looking for was a black Moor or a white Moor, but judging by his behavior of stealing things at the mall, the former is more likely. If that's the case, then it's really "hahaha".
Xiao Peng wasn't a saint! How many of these slaves could he possibly help? Besides, accepting slaves and then releasing them wasn't a good deed! How could they survive? And if he truly accepted slaves as gifts, that would mean he endorsed slavery! Many Chinese people in Mauritania had been given slaves by the local White Moors, but who dared to accept them?
Unless you don’t want to go back home!
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