ABSTRACT
This article explores the history of on- and offline anti-slavery resistance among Soninke speakers with a special focus on Mali and Mauritania. It analyses the case of Ganbanaaxun Fedde, a pro-equality movement kickstarted by diasporic Soninke in France in late 2016, who, via social media, interconnected so-called ‘slaves’ from Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia. The aim of the movement is to engage in active resistance against the remnants of so-called ‘descent-based slavery’, which impedes equality for all. Two main arguments unfold: firstly, that the seemingly ‘sudden’ visibility of this movement is a culmination of longer term historical trajectories of individual resistance, illustrated by trajectories of three key activists in the movement, from Mali, Mauritania and France, respectively. Secondly, that digital technologies, and in this particular case, audio messages shared and reshared in WhatsApp groups, have been important venues to transform these individual forms of resistance into a more collective and transnational endeauvour. Thereafter, the article zooms in on the specific case of activism in Mali, to illustrate some of the unintended consequences of the activist focus on court cases and online mobilization. These led to polarization and a cristallization of identities in contemporary West African post-slavery landscapes.
