Narrative:Seba-Household Slave

Slavery can take many different shapes. They can be working in the fields or running errands for their masters. One individual’s recollection of slavery is Seba, born and raised in Mali by her grandmother. A woman that Seba’s family knew told her grandmother that she would enroll her in school and learn French. By the time she arrived in Paris, she was forced to work, clean and take care of the children. Seba had to work from 7 a.m.-11 p.m. everyday. She slept in the children’s bedroom on the floor and was only fed scraps of leftovers. Seba was periodically beaten by her masters and their mistress that formed her situation as a household slave and her right of “choice.”
One day during her time living in Paris, Seba asked her master that she wanted to go to school. Her master replied, “We had not brought you here to France to go to school, but taking care of the children (Bales 10).” Seba was suffering false hope from her masters. She was promised that she would go to school and learn French, but instead had to work. This injustice is being caused through false hopes of a better life in order to make them believe they’ll have a better life. The master was disguised as an innocent woman from France representing her country and government, to give Seba a chance of a better life, but resulted in cruel labor and beatings.
In 1992, Seba was one day late picking up the kids at school and by the time she brought the kids home, her mistress and her master’s husband were furious. They began by beating her up and then they threw her out on the streets. Seba did not have anywhere to go and could not understand the language and wandered the streets. The master’s husband found her and then took her home. Seba was suffering horrible beatings by her mistress and husband and that by being late to pick up the kids from school, their mood changes from nice to evil. This is related to CST #2 , Call to Family, Community, and Participation because although Seba is a slave, she is family to her master and should not act towards being mean. By finding and picking up Seba from the streets, the husband disguises himself as a good husband by going to get her and bring her back home, but after bringing her back home, he transforms into a mindless monster.
After her master’s husband brought Seba back home, Seba was beaten up again, but this time worse. Seba describes her beating when she arrived, “there they stripped me naked, tied my hands behind my back, and began to whip me with a wire attached to a broomstick. Both were beating me at the same time. I ws bleeding a lot and screaming, but they continued to beat me.” Seba is suffering mass beatings from the husband and mistress. Her cruel beating was a punishment of not picking up the children on time and had to suffer the consequences. This is related to CST# 1, The Life and Dignity of the Human Person because human life is very sacred and we should cherish and protect and not trying to destroy it. The husband was described as a good moral person until he began beating Seba up like a deranged animal for picking up the kids late. After years of being a slave, getting repeatedly beaten by her masters, Seba was finally freed after neighbor-heard sounds of abuse and beatings. The neighbor was able to see her wounds and scars and notified the French Committee against Modern Slavery and took Seba into care. Today, Seba is well cared and living with a good family and receiving the best counseling, and education. During her years as a slave, Seba’s understanding of the world was less developed. She was not able to understand the idea of “choice.” Seba was still unable to grasp the idea because her entire life she was working and was never given a “choice.” Seba’s story helps illustrate a picture that poor families can be easily manipulated and given false hopes to their children and promising them a better life, but then they transform themselves as good people into evil mindless monsters.