When French colonists first arrived towards the end of the nineteenth century, they noticed sultans linked to trans-Saharan social and economic networks. Much of the area was both a zone of trading (for slaves, ivory, and other goods) as well as a zone of refuge for those fleeing raiders, processes that happened in active tension with each other and contributed to the diversity and mobility of the area’s people. The French saw their number one task as removing the sultans, since they believed, as “foreigners,” the sultans had no right to rule over Central Africans. Penury and corruption plagued the colonial government. The combination of slave-raiding and forced labor depopulated much of the country and impoverished what had in many cases been prosperous agrarian …show more content…
Until, a United Nation aid worker for thirty-years named, Anders Kompass allegedly passed on documents about the abuse to the French authorities. Many believe the United Nations tried to cover up the abuse by their soldiers and peacekeepers. The abuse was reported in early 2014, but the United Nations did not publicly disclose nor investigate the alleged abuse. Sadly, this isn't the first time soldiers and peacekeepers have been accused of sexually abusing citizens. The author Kukil Bora goes into detail about how they were taking advantage of Haitian's basic needs after the earthquake in 2010. Women weren't able to receive neither food nor medication unless they performed a sexual act. During that time, millions of donations were received to help survivors, but the U.N hampered all deliveries of supplies and food. The issue of sexual abuse comes up a lot during these peace missions, stated by the New York Times, "the United Nations mission has received at least thirteen allegations of sexual abuse by troops and police officers from Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Morocco. The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, stepped in last month and fired the head of the mission, Babacar Gaye, Chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, said no one is above the law and he is calling upon the French government to investigate and address the abuse of women and children,