MAURITANIA: A Nation on the Brink of Change (Short Documentary Film)

#mauritania #africa #moors #french #sahara #resources

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If you were to do a Google search on the West African nation of Mauritania, you’ll more than likely be confronted with some depressing reports about the horrors of slavery, poverty, violence and terrorism which currently plague this otherwise enthralling country.

Geographically, Mauritania is in the significant position of being right on the Sahul. This area forms the gateway between the deserts of northern Africa and the savanna’s of the south.

This also translates into a large cultural contrast between the lighter skinned Arabs from the north (sometimes called “White Moors”), and the darker skinned Haratin (The “Black Moors”), Halpulaar, Fulani, Mande and Wolof peoples from the south.

This diversity has resulted from the multitude of tribal nations and empires, that have come and gone over the last two millennia – such as the Berber tribes, the Yemeni arabs, and the Ghana empire. This was followed by the Moors, and in more recent times, the French Empire.

In the 2020s, much of the population are still nomadic. Arabic is the official language, although French is still widely spoken. Mauritania achieved its independence from France in November 1960, and established itself as an Islamic Republic.

Last year, the CIA world factbook reported that a massive 99.9% of the Population are Sunni Muslim. There are also national blasphemy laws, which can result in the death penalty for those found guilty.  

The giant Sahara Desert takes up around 90% of Mauritania’s landmass. Hence, most of the nations 4.5 million residents live beyond the desert, on the Atlantic coast. This powerful landscape is rich in natural resources such as gold, phosphate, gypsum, iron ore and of course, Oil.

The exporting of these resources has overtaken traditional agriculture as the lifeblood of the national economy. In addition, the wide, blustery waters off the coastline contain some of the best fishing areas on the planet. The capital, Nouakchott sits on the central coast, and is home to around a quarter of the nations people.