Mauritanie

En Afrique de l’Ouest, les cancers pédiatriques sont souvent pris en charge tardivement, et présentent de faibles chances de guérison. Notre travail repose sur des enquêtes ethnographiques réalisées à Bamako (Mali) et Nouakchott (Mauritanie). Il s’intéresse à la manière dont les soignants, les parents et leur enfant malade communiquent autour de cette maladie dont on évite souvent de prononcer le nom. Il s’agit d’analyser la façon dont ils la désignent, les informations qui sont communiquées, ainsi que les compréhensions et espaces de dialogue qui en découlent. Au fil des parcours de soins, la communication autour de la maladie est modulée par des enjeux paradoxaux – favoriser l’engagement dans les soins, informer, réconforter – et par des statuts liés au genre, à l’âge et aux milieux sociaux. Les oncopédiatres sont confrontés à des difficultés spécifiques : la faible connaissance des cancers en général et la diversité culturelle et linguistique de leurs interlocuteurs, qui entretie...

The development of biomedical care in Mauritania has increased the number of patients being diagnosed with non-communicable diseases—especially cancer—, often at an advanced stage. Many of these patients return home to villages far from hospitals when they perceive their curative treatment has finished. This context produces particular end-of-life situations, creating new conditions for families. This article proposes to study the local forms of end-of-life support arising from these situations. It is based on an anthropological study carried out in several villages of the Senegal River Valley, combining interviews with health workers practicing in these areas, relatives who cared for a patient at the end of life, imams and respected residents of the villages. All participants agree on the imperative need to surround the person, to support them morally and to preserve their dignity. However, these end-of-life experiences test their roles and the values they defend. This work provides elements to facilitate the discussion on the value of promoting palliative care in rural areas.

En Mauritanie, l'accès aux soins et la prise en charge des enfants malades constituent une problématique majeure pour la santé publique. Les interprétations des maux infantiles, les perceptions de l'offre de soins, les relations de parenté sont envisagées comme autant de configurations qui modulent l'accessibilité des différentes options thérapeutiques. Cet ouvrage propose une incursion dans les milieux au sein desquels les enfants vivent et se soignent. Confrontés à de cruelles difficultés financières, les parents s'efforcent de négocier l'itinéraire thérapeutique de leur enfant. Ce faisant, afin de préserver l'enfant d'un discrédit social, ils taisent la maladie et musèlent certaines expressions des maux.

The purpose of this report is to analyse the application of the anti-slavery law. However, before getting into the heart of the matter, we will explain the status of slavery in Mauritania. Slavery indeed exists in all Mauritanian communities, albeit to different degrees. First of all, it affects Haratins, some of whom continue to work as slaves for White Moors or Beidanes (especially in the Nema region, Bassiknou, Adel Bagrou, Barkeol and others). ey are subjected to abuse and ill-treatment in total ignorance of legislative developments in this area. Alongside the Haratins, the Black Mauritanians (Fulani, Soninkes and Wolofs) have also traditionally maintained slavery-like systems among themselves. This is the case with the Soninkes of Guidimakha, especially in Sélibaby and the surrounding areas, where slavery is more marked than among the Halpulaarens, the Soninkes of Kaédi and the Wolofs, where this phenomenon is much less common. It can even go unnoticed due to the lack of complaints from these communities. The Global Slavery Index estimates that slavery in Mauritania affects around 90,000 people, i.e. 2.1 per cent of the Mauritanian population in 2018,1 while other organizations speak of 62 per cent of the population being ‘exposed’ according to a recent article from the BBC.2 The chair of the IRA (Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement), Biram Ould Abeid, estimates this figure at 20 per cent of the population. To date, there has been no internal or external official inquiry or study making it possible to know an exact or even approximate figure for the number of people still subjected to slavery. What is certain is that there are still many people in this situation, many of whom are in a situation of slavery by descent, sometimes known as ‘traditional slavery’. It should be noted that victims and survivors of slavery have difficult access to protection, justice and redress, namely because these people are unable to afford such costs. Also, civil society is organising to support legal aid activities for victims. Those who escape their situation of servitude remain in extreme poverty, as they do not benefit from any support measures or adequate rehabilitation from the State. These persons face major difficulties in obtaining identity cards, preventing them from accessing State services, which are already limited. is also makes them vulnerable to returning to their masters or farms. Judicial recognition and remediation are an integral part of a successful reintegration. However, while the racial dimension is part of the phenomenon, it is also linked to the caste system and the economy. Slavery was abolished in 1980 after a long struggle, through the adoption of an order by Mauritania. However, for 26 years, no criminal law was enacted to enforce this order. In this report, we will attempt to explain how the legal system in Mauritania is structured to combat slavery and attempt to analyze the effectiveness of this system through the implementation of Law 2015-031 on the Criminalization of Slavery and the Punishment of Slavery Practices.

Climate knowledge and prevision are important concepts within the Soninke savoir-faire in adapting to the constraints of the Sahelian environment. Weather perception and time structuration are closely linked, even though calendars originating from Islam and French colonisation overlap the traditional agricultural calendar. The Soninke are particularly concerned with available water, whether it comes from the "useful rains" of the rainy season, river floods or dry season dew. Weather forecasting is based on observation of animals and plants. It plays a part in agricultural strategies, together with socio-economic factors such as land resources or available manpower. The forecasting methods, which do not include adages referring to relatively fixed yearly timing marks as in Europe, show the important role of the calendrical system in constituting and transmitting meteorological knowledge.La connaissance du climat et sa prévision occupent une place importante parmi les savoir...

La connaissance du climat et sa prevision occupent une place importante parmi les savoir-faire qu'a du developper la societe soninkee pour s'adapter aux contraintes du milieu sahelien. La perception du temps qu'il fait et la structuration du temps qui passe sont etroitement liees, meme si d'autres calendriers sont en vigueur a cote du calendrier agricole, temoins de la penetration ancienne de l'islam et de la colonisation francaise. Les Soninkes sont particulierement soucieux des differentes formes d'apport en eau : " pluies utiles " de l'hivernage, crue du fleuve, rosee de la saison seche. Les previsions meteorologiques, qui s'inspirent notamment d'une observation du monde animal et vegetal, interviennent dans les strategies culturales a cotes de facteurs socio-economiques tels que les ressources foncieres ou la force de travail disponible. La formulation de ces previsions et, en particulier, l'absence de proverbes se referant a des...

Appel à contribution de la revue L'Année du Maghreb, pour un dossier coordonné par Monia Lachheb, Institut de recherche sur le Maghreb contemporain (IRMC, Tunis), et Christophe Broqua, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID, Genève) :

« Expériences et politiques du VIH/sida au Maghreb »

​​Les résumés sont à envoyer avant le 15 mai 2018, en se rendant sur le site de la revue (http://journals.openedition. org/anneemaghreb/3319).