Educational Media Reviews Online

This television program originally aired on ABC News Nightline on June 2, 2005 with the title, “Cutting the Chains in Niger.” The video, issued here as a documentary, reveals the reality of modern-day slavery in Niger. This sub-Saharan African nation, one of the hottest and poorest of all, is largely agrarian and supports a subsistence-based economy.

We follow Oliver Steeds, British journalist, as he reveals the unbelievable truth that in this 21st century world there still exists a master-slave relationship and economy in Niger. Over the course of the program, Steeds interviews several Niger ex-slave women. We hear their stories and see them as they labor for their masters in their meager surroundings. We learn that their parents were slaves and that their children will also be slaves; the older generation working for the master, the next generation working for the master’s son. This caste-based slavery practice is rooted in ancestral master-slave relationship.

We learn about several women who have walked away from their situation to a life of “freedom and liberty” with nothing, not even shoes on their feet. Although slavery in Niger has been condemned, is illegal as of the 2003 law passed that criminalizes human ownership and carries a punishment of 10-30 years in prison, it continues to this day.

Steeds also interviews Romana Cachiolli from Anti-slavery International in London, Masouse-a Damou from the Niger Ministry of Justice, Ilguilas Weila who is the leader of Timidria, the human rights organization in Niger fighting to free slaves, a Muslim imam, and several men who were previous slave owners.

The last segment shows the interview between Ted Koppel and William F. Schulz, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA. Koppel wants to know what is being done worldwide for these unfortunates.

The immediate fallout from this 2005 TV segment put pressure on the Niger government to improve the lives of slaves. Citizens of the world learned of their plight and responded through international humanitarian agencies, e.g., Anti-slavery International (the world’s leading anti-slavery campaigning organization).

In October 2008 Hadijatou Mani, an ex-slave, won a landmark case in the Niger courts because the government failed to protect her from slavery, which as we have learned, was criminalized five years earlier. She received financial compensation, but her true reward is that her children will grow up free and independent.

Viewed online in January 2010 and according to the latest CIA World Factbook “Niger is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to eliminate trafficking in 2007; in particular, measures to combat and eliminate traditional slavery practices were weak; the government's overall law enforcement efforts have stalled from 2006; while efforts to protect child trafficking victims were steady, the government failed to provide services to or rescue adult victims subjected to traditional slavery practices, and made poor efforts to educate the public about traditional slavery practices in general.” (2008)

Although not the only country in the world in which slavery exists, sadly Niger is one of the best countries to have been used as an example and thus depicted.

The reality of slavery is conveyed with facts, interviews and visuals; not hard-hitting, sensational journalism. The DVD is broken into three segments, each segment adding more in-depth information to the previous segment, creating a good reporting style.

This newscast would be an excellent curriculum development tool for an international human rights, African studies, or international studies module. The inclusion of different perspectives, commentary and reactions from participants on the personal, regional, national and international levels is admirable.

The video quality is excellent. Interpreters translated native language into English. The video was edited correctly to engage the viewer and develop the story. The brevity of the program (22 minutes) is just long enough to engage a viewer and deliver the opinions and viewpoints surrounding this human tragedy.

This video would enhance any curricular program on human rights, African studies or sociology in high school or college. It is a good example of video journalism for media studies.