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.Only the breeding of camels and the nomadic lifestyle are honorable, so virtually all work falls to the slaves.Bilal’s father and grandfather were also slaves to his master’s family.Before that he doesn’t know anything about his own family.His mother continues to work at his master’s house in the countryside.When I first spoke to Bilal, he acknowledged that he had no money but insisted, “I do this, not because I get money, but because I want to help my master.” This is a standard response of the slaves when they are unsure of those to whom they are speaking, concerned that what they say might get back to their masters.In time, we convinced him of our interest and he explained that his master had told him never to admit he was a slave now that he was in the city.“But, of course,” he said, “I am a slave.” Since coming to the capital Bilal has learned a great deal.Now he has a vague understanding about El Hor, the organization of escaped and freed slaves.He doesn’t know how to find its members, but he knows that they exist.He has also learned that life has more possibilities than being master or slave.“What I really want,” he said, “is a salary—a fixed amount of money for the work I do.” He knows now that other people sometimes work for salaries, that they have jobs and at night go to their own homes.“But when I asked my master about a salary, he told me it was better this way, that he gives me food, maybe a little pocket money, and that I should stay in his household—what can I do?” There is very little Bilal can do; he is trapped.He has no money and no other way of making money.He knows how to sell water, but the donkey, cart, and barrels belong to his master.Away from his master he has nowhere to live and no way to pay for a rented room.“If I complain, my master will send me back to the countryside where he has even more control over me,” he told me.In addition, Bilal and the others know what can happen to escaped slaves.They have heard the stories of slaves hunted down and killed by their masters, and they know that the courts rarely take any action against the killers.Where the Money Flows Like WaterIt’s no surprise that Bilal’s master doesn’t want to give him a salary: as a slave, Bilal ensures excellent returns for his master.Even though he sells water at the tiny sum of one ouguiya per liter, Bilal’s work creates a large profit.In fact, Bilal is just one of four slaves his master has put to work selling water, a small business that brings in a steady stream of cash.Start-up costs are relatively low, and it is unlikely that the master will have to start from scratch since he would normally have some donkeys in the countryside and maybe a cart as well.Even if he does start with nothing, little capital is needed.The most expensive item (leaving aside the slave) is the donkey cart.Made of welded steel, with old car axles and tires, they cost between 30,000 and 55,000 ouguiya ($160 to $290).A good donkey can be bought for 6,000 to 10,000 ouguiya ($32 to $56), and old barrels are about 600 ouguiya ($3) each.Total outlay is, at most, 66,000 ouguiya ($350), and the returns are very good indeed.On average Bilal brings home 800 ouguiya ($4.25) every day, as do the other three slaves that distribute water.It’s not very much, but this is a volume business that provides a regular and reliable income.Bilal collects 24,000 ouguiya ($130) each month—96,000 total from all four slaves—and overhead is very low.In the master’s house the female slaves cook for the entire household, making large amounts of rice or couscous.Slaves like Bilal get a portion of rice each day and whatever scraps are left over from the meal prepared for the master.The slave’s meal is often rice mixed with the water in which the master’s meat has been boiled.If the master has vegetables or potatoes with his meat, Bilal may get the peels and edible scraps.It costs his master about 100 ouguiya (about 50 cents) a day to feed Bilal [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]