Africa is still vulnerable to modern slavery

Editor, Allow me to react to Kenneth Agutamba’s article, “A bachelor’s degree in house-keeping” (The New Times, July 12). The proposal to send Ugandan graduates to the Middle East is pure modern slavery. Some African chiefs and kings sold their people to Arabs to be abused, tortured and killed. We are very lucky in Rwanda we have strong leadership that cannot allow its citizens to be “sold”, abused and tortured by Arabs. This resilience is our heritage as our kings never sold any person to the slave traders. The latter attacked Rwanda and used different means to deceive our leaders as they were doing in many parts of Africa but nothing worked. Agaciro should be introduced on the whole continent for Africans to be respected. Sincerely speaking, it is a shame for a graduate in any discipline to work for an Arab with limited knowledge of worldview. Butare **************************** Dear Butare, do not be biased in your opinion. What is happening in Uganda does happen in Rwanda as well. Do you know Rwandans who are doing the same job in Dubai? If not, get time and I will show you a good number of them. The Agaciro you talk about does not work in words when you are not financially stable and if you talk of it, talk of how to get money. These Arabs or whites do use us because they have money. With the high rate of unemployment across the continent, do not expect an African to be valued or stop being tortured, abused either. The solution to this entire circus is finding more jobs for the youths and reducing the rate of unemployment. Mohammed Mpenda **************************** Mr. Butare, you seem to be living in utopia. Please come down to earth. Thousands of Africans, including Rwandans, continue to travel to the Middle East in search of jobs. If you have no job, you have no “agaciro”. James

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Africa is still vulnerable to modern slavery