Slavery

Like everyone else I was raised thinking that slavery was an absolute evil.  Let me tell you a story that made my world more gray than black and white.

Nasser (the man formerly known as my husband) is from a long line of falconers.  One winter when he went to Somalia to hunt with his falcons he hired a guide who brought along his ten year old son.  The boy worked every bit as hard as his father.  He prepared meals for the group and Nasser was gracious with his praise of the boy's culinary talents.  Nasser thought that the little boy was charming and they laughed and told each other stories.

Nasser came back from that trip feeling just heartsick.  At the end of their stay, his guide had offered his son up as a slave for Nasser.  Nasser told the father that while his son was certainly a wonderful worker, that in the modern world that slavery is illegal.  The father begged him to take the boy.  He explained that Somalia was in the midst of a famine and that if his son stayed there, he would surely die.  He promised that his son would be a good and loyal servant all of his life, but please take him so he could live.  He told Nasser that he had been looking for a long time for a man who would be fair and kind to his son, and he believed that Nasser would be that kind of a master.  All three of them were heartbroken when they parted.  Nasser paid them both for their services and added huge tips in the hopes that they could both live through the famine.  Realistically it is unlikely that they did.