Tribal proclivities still define Mauritanians' political choices and deprive youths of career opportunities, according to activists.
It is a long-standing feature of Mauritania's political and social landscape but the newer generations are rising up against the country's entrenched tribal culture. For many youths, it's impossible to attain political positions or land a job without relying on the tribe.
"As young people, we strive for a radical change in the country," said Rabi Ould Idoumou, of theFebruary 25th Youth Movement. "We fight the traditional pattern which is detrimental to national unity, because it is based on a system of feudality and nobility, and the categorisation of tribes into honourable and contemptible."
Though Mauritania embarked on democratic reforms in the 1990s, tribes still dominate the country's public and private life. Over the past months, the February 25th Movement has been organising sit-ins to demand an end to the system.
Ould Idoumou complained that regimes "still rely on leaders of tribes to pass policies that do not serve the people as much as caters to the interests of a limited group".
"Likewise, we fight employment and voting on the basis of tribal affiliations," he added. "We seek to educate young people to understand that tribal affiliation is not bad if it hinges on spiritual and emotional reasons. But it is a real disaster if it impacts ones' views of the state, whereby one is with or against someone because they belong to a certain tribe."
The impact of tribal mentality stretches far beyond civil society, according to Ould Idoumou. It also affects "the military, the constitution and the judiciary sector".
"A judge is biased to those who belong to his tribe," he explained. "A supreme officer chooses soldiers who do not belong to his tribe so as to assign them hazardous tasks and station them on border points and in volatile areas."
"Standards are disrupted under the tribal system," Ould Idoumou added.
Movement members handed hundreds of national flags to campaigners. "The first step toward demolishing the tribal system begins by fostering the culture of carrying the flag and respecting it," he added.
The concept of state, handed over by colonial powers to certain tribes, remains mysterious in the minds of Mauritanian citizens, social analyst Ahmed Ould Mohamed Lemine said. Tribes, on the other hand, have always been strongly present in individuals' lives.
"The tribal caste system has always been and will remain a safety valve for people in Mauritania, where many of the big problems are solved socially without referring to the state," politician Khalifa Ould Moustaf said.
"Many patients are treated for free, with the cost covered by the tribe, without adding a burden to the state treasury," he added. "On the whole, we can say that tribes in this country are in the service of individuals, not a burden weighing down on the state."
Tribes hold regular meetings to raise donations in special funds to help the needy and the unemployed. But for young people, their far-reaching influence in political life is becoming a source of frustration.
Any cabinet formed in the country must take into account the tribal map to preserve the balance between the east, north and south of the country. Election candidates must co-ordinate with tribal leaders to up their chances for success.
"Democracy is a laudable plant that cannot grow in a land irrigated with tribal or sectarian water," Lemine said. "It is time to reconsider the systems and methods that have governed the country since independence," academic Mohamed Ould Dah said.
© Magharebia.com 2011
