Abeed orabīd (عبيد, plural of ʿabd,عبد) is anArabic word meaning "servant" or "slave". The term is usually used in theArab world and is used as a slur for slaves, people of colour and it dates back to theArab slave trade. In recent decades, usage of the word has become controversial due to itsracistconnotations and origins, particularly among theArab diaspora.[1]
Thepractice of owning slaves by Arabs inMandatory Palestine andJordan was observed at least until the 1930s,[2] many of these slaves were from African descent and as a result many of today'sAfro-Palestinians are themselves of African descent.[3] Today, many Palestinians emphasize on the equality and unity of the Palestinians (including Afro-Palestinians),[4][5] but the legacy of the slave-trade practice is still evident in today's Palestinian territories: The term "Abeed" (slave) is sometimes used to describe dark-skinned Palestinians. Moreover, Afro-Palestinian are limited in who they can marry[4] and have fewer employment options.[4] The Afro-Palestinian neighborhoods are sometimes referred to using the "Abeed" word. For example, in the Gaza city district of Al-Jalla, the Afro-Palestinians live in a neighborhood that is sometimes referred to as "Harat Al-Abeed", which means "neighborhood of the slaves".[4] Also inJericho, where an Afro-Palestinian's neighborhood is still referred to as the "slaves of Duyuk".[5]
InNorth Sudan, the terms "Abeed" and "Junubi" are commonly used to refer toSouth Sudanese people (mostlyDinka andNuer[citation needed]), who are considered by many North Sudanese as a "slave tribe" due to their enslavement during thetrans-Saharan slave trade.[citation needed] Usage of the term "Abeed" in North Sudan is considered derogatory in nature and has fallen into relative disuse in recent decades.[citation needed] In South Sudan, people from North Sudan are in turn referred to derogatorily as "Jalaba" and "Mundukuru" (meaning untrustworthy).[6][7] However, Ugandan historianMahmood Mamdani has noted that the north–southethnic conflict in Sudan does not reflectWestern preconceptions of "race" and the Western view of the conflict as a conflict between "Arabs" and "Black Africans" is simplistic and inaccurate.[8]
South Sudanese politicianFrancis Deng framed an allegorical microcosm ofBritish colonial rule in Sudan as Britain stating to the North Sudanese that "You Northerners are slave traders and you treat the Southerners like Abeed. Don't call them Abeed! They are slaves no longer."[9]
South Sudanese scholarJok Madut Jok has argued thatslavery in Sudan remains widespread in the 21st century despite being ostensibly outlawed on paper, claiming that South Sudanese people who work in North Sudan in low-payingworking class jobs are regarded as "Abeed" due to the social standing which is gained from being in such occupations. Jok noted that South Sudanese labourers who only make enough money to feed themselves are commonly treated as the property of North Sudanese landowners and merchants. According to him, "Displaced Southerners are at the bottom of the racial hierarchy in Northern Sudan", as they depend uponpatronage andexploitative relationships with power brokers, with relations ranging from servitude through bonded work to serving as attractants for resources fromforeign aid agencies. "The lines dividing slavery andcheap labor", as he writes, "are blurred."[10]