Mauritania has the distinction of being a land of 5 living Presidents.
Now that doesn’t sound much of a distinction. But this is a rare feet
for a country in Africa, a continent which has a reputation for repeated
coups, civil wars and political instability. So coups do happen in
Mauritania as in most African nations but they are among the least
bloody.
Mauritania is a beautiful and remote country around the northern Atlantic coastline of Africa. Mauritanian Sahara was the last regions in West Africa to be occupied by the French only in 1920’s. And then also they found nothing of use in here, except for one iron ore mine in the north which they exploited. Otherwise this whole region was completely unaffected by French occupation and maintained its own distinct culture. After Independence, unlike the rest of West Africa, it was not much inclined to the French but embarrassed more of the Arabic culture. It not only declared was against Israel as a result of the 1967 Six-Day War but was among the few countries which supported Iraq in the Operation Desert Storm. Thus the country was largely isolated from the western world. Also the people are generally unchanged and follow their own version of modest Islam. Though Islamist Hardliners are slowly creeping in this remote region.
Mauritania is like a cradle of peace lying in North African Sahara. It’s a place where people live an amiable and collective way of life. It’s a place where violence and hatred considered an evil that should be rooted out. So even though it had long unsuccessful war with the Polisario guerrillas of West Sahara and a long violent internal strife with the Black African population on its southern borders with Senegal which still continues, Mauritanians are in general peace loving. The normal Mauritanian is that honest person obsessive about self-esteem and honor.
The country have been known one hundred ago by “the land of 1 million poets” which implies a high amount of peace of mind that dominates the overall behavior. Poetry maintains the feeling of popular culture through describing and molding the social memory. So much so that whenever one opens the National Television of Mauritania, there is almost always only musical poetry. Mauritanians are shaped to become hospital and humanitarian, regardless of the harsh deserted nature.
The fact that it was the last country in the world to end slavery (A law which was not really enforced) only by 1987, and still has (Some say about 20%) of its population as slaves, makes it difficult to believe that the people here are peace loving. Slavery is still largely practiced here in many areas, only because slavery is so integrated in the culture of Mauritania that people here (Both slaves and masters) cannot conceive of a life without this institution of slavery and not that people are violent.
The modesty of Islam backed through the peaceful traditions prevented the cradle of peace from civil wars that many African countries are still seething under. The society includes different races and components harmoniously with one another under the umbrella of brotherhood and social coexistence. Mostly ordinary individuals are not involved in politics as it is not appealing to their everyday life. So Politic here does not affect most of the people here. And few care about it.
Since August 2005 the country has seen 5 presidents, which shows the kind of political instability here. But all the presidents who were deposed are still living in Mauritania. They were not killed or forced into exile. Nor they left the country carrying there large accumulated wealth as many African leaders often do. Now killing another human is considered a great moral crime in Mauritania, so people do not find excuses to kill each other as in other politically unstable and ethnically divided regions of the world. Also saving someone’s life, specially from the desert is considered the highest good that can be done. So in Mauritania when there is a coup the new guy kind of just goes to the old guy and says “
Hi there.. Now your times up, man. Time to go.. Bye Bye. Now take rest.”
So political transits are the least bloody in Mauritania. And all deposed Presidents live in the same country. More or less peacefully. One major exception was President Ould Taya. While Ould Taya was out of the country for the funeral of Saudi king Fahd in early August 2005, soldiers seized government buildings and the state media and he was no longer the president. Ould Taya never returned. Though he was allowed to come back and live peacefully he chose to live in Qatar were his family joined him. In Qatar he is a school teacher, unlike other African heads who go to exile to live a lavish life from the money they have made up as rulers.
So even though Mauritania is like the rest of Coup friendly Africa, it is a land of Poetry and Peace..
And I hope it remains so... But I am greatly disturbed by the rising Islamic fundamentalism that is creeping in the country, specially from its border with Mali. I hope it retains it moderate Islamic culture.
Mauritania is a beautiful and remote country around the northern Atlantic coastline of Africa. Mauritanian Sahara was the last regions in West Africa to be occupied by the French only in 1920’s. And then also they found nothing of use in here, except for one iron ore mine in the north which they exploited. Otherwise this whole region was completely unaffected by French occupation and maintained its own distinct culture. After Independence, unlike the rest of West Africa, it was not much inclined to the French but embarrassed more of the Arabic culture. It not only declared was against Israel as a result of the 1967 Six-Day War but was among the few countries which supported Iraq in the Operation Desert Storm. Thus the country was largely isolated from the western world. Also the people are generally unchanged and follow their own version of modest Islam. Though Islamist Hardliners are slowly creeping in this remote region.
Mauritania is like a cradle of peace lying in North African Sahara. It’s a place where people live an amiable and collective way of life. It’s a place where violence and hatred considered an evil that should be rooted out. So even though it had long unsuccessful war with the Polisario guerrillas of West Sahara and a long violent internal strife with the Black African population on its southern borders with Senegal which still continues, Mauritanians are in general peace loving. The normal Mauritanian is that honest person obsessive about self-esteem and honor.
The country have been known one hundred ago by “the land of 1 million poets” which implies a high amount of peace of mind that dominates the overall behavior. Poetry maintains the feeling of popular culture through describing and molding the social memory. So much so that whenever one opens the National Television of Mauritania, there is almost always only musical poetry. Mauritanians are shaped to become hospital and humanitarian, regardless of the harsh deserted nature.
The fact that it was the last country in the world to end slavery (A law which was not really enforced) only by 1987, and still has (Some say about 20%) of its population as slaves, makes it difficult to believe that the people here are peace loving. Slavery is still largely practiced here in many areas, only because slavery is so integrated in the culture of Mauritania that people here (Both slaves and masters) cannot conceive of a life without this institution of slavery and not that people are violent.
The modesty of Islam backed through the peaceful traditions prevented the cradle of peace from civil wars that many African countries are still seething under. The society includes different races and components harmoniously with one another under the umbrella of brotherhood and social coexistence. Mostly ordinary individuals are not involved in politics as it is not appealing to their everyday life. So Politic here does not affect most of the people here. And few care about it.
Since August 2005 the country has seen 5 presidents, which shows the kind of political instability here. But all the presidents who were deposed are still living in Mauritania. They were not killed or forced into exile. Nor they left the country carrying there large accumulated wealth as many African leaders often do. Now killing another human is considered a great moral crime in Mauritania, so people do not find excuses to kill each other as in other politically unstable and ethnically divided regions of the world. Also saving someone’s life, specially from the desert is considered the highest good that can be done. So in Mauritania when there is a coup the new guy kind of just goes to the old guy and says “
Hi there.. Now your times up, man. Time to go.. Bye Bye. Now take rest.”
So political transits are the least bloody in Mauritania. And all deposed Presidents live in the same country. More or less peacefully. One major exception was President Ould Taya. While Ould Taya was out of the country for the funeral of Saudi king Fahd in early August 2005, soldiers seized government buildings and the state media and he was no longer the president. Ould Taya never returned. Though he was allowed to come back and live peacefully he chose to live in Qatar were his family joined him. In Qatar he is a school teacher, unlike other African heads who go to exile to live a lavish life from the money they have made up as rulers.
So even though Mauritania is like the rest of Coup friendly Africa, it is a land of Poetry and Peace..
And I hope it remains so... But I am greatly disturbed by the rising Islamic fundamentalism that is creeping in the country, specially from its border with Mali. I hope it retains it moderate Islamic culture.
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