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Outlook: Fighting Slavery For my Father

Magazines & Reviews

Biram Dah Abeid

08/08/2016 GMT

Fighting Slavery For my Father

BBC World Service - Outlook, Fighting Slavery For my Father

Biram dah Abeid's struggle to abolish slavery in Mauritania

Biram dah Abeid is from Mauritania. His grandparents were slaves and when his grandmother was pregnant, the master fell ill and was advised that he would feel better if he freed one of his slaves. The master didn't want to lose a slave of working age, and chose to emancipate the foetus. So it was that Biram's father was born free - into a family of slaves. Biram himself has spent his whole life campaigning - at great risk - against slavery in Mauritania, where it is still very much a live issue. 

One of the top boxers to watch at this summer's Olympic games in Rio is young American star, Claressa Shields. She was just 17 when she won gold as a middleweight in the London Olympics in 2012. She tells Outlook's Jo Fidgen about the long journey from street fighting in Flint in Michigan to the winners podium. 

The Scottish writer James Kelman has collected awards over the years, including one of literature's biggest prizes - The Man Booker. His latest novel, Dirt Road, was inspired by his experience as a 17 year old, when his family uprooted and went to live in California. The BBC's Samira Ahmed spoke to James how much the book draws on that period in his life.  

As Rio de Janeiro welcomes people from all over the world to its Olympic Games, the city has also been welcoming refugees - about 2,000 of them from Syria. However, it can be difficult to settle in - few speak Portuguese which makes it harder to get work. Father Alex Coehlo is a Catholic priest who heard about their plight and offered up a church building to house a few of them. He showed Outlook's Jo Fidgen around his informal refugee centre.


Image: Biram dah Abeid
Credit: Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement / IRA-Mauritania

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