- Googled to find out more on the <b>Akhdam of Yemen that Dhu mentioned</b>:
(1) [url=http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:8wrWGtk6_WwJ:europa.eu.int/comm/echo/information/eye_witness/2005_05_en.htm+"Akhdam"&hl=en&gl=nz&ct=clnk&cd=3&ie=UTF-8]European Union - Akhdam (Google cache)[/url]
(2) Yemen Mirror - Akhdam: Ongoing suffering for lost identity Sunday , 16 July 2006 By Mohammed al-Qadhi
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->They hardly call us humans; it is true that we may be darker in color and lower in the social status but that does not give them the right to exercise discrimination against us.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--> <!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Legends Surround their Origin</b>
Legends surround Akhdam history which is mostly unknown and highly <b>controversial</b>. The most common account is that they descend from Abyssinian soldiers who stayed in Yemen after a failed invasion in the sixth century AD. The soldiers, from ancient Ethiopia, were so hated they were forced to accept the worst jobs, such as transporting and disposing of human sewage and collecting garbage. <b>In one of his research, Professor Kaid Tarboosh said that the Akhdam used to do such worst jobs even in ancient Ethiopia.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->(that is, 'research' says Akhdam plight today is ok, because it was just as bad in their <i>legendary</i> past)
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Akhdam are considered to be the country's largest and poorest minority who do not belong to any tribe. They are poorly educated and <b>are not allowed to marry into higher social castes.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->After slavery was abolished with the birth of the 26 September Revolution in 1962, their social position remained relatively the same. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
(3) YEMEN: Akhdam people suffer history of discrimination - UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>According to the most popular account</b>, they are the descendants of Ethiopian invaders from the sixth century, forced ever since into the performance of menial jobs, such as sweeping and shoe-making.
Generally isolated from the rest of Yemeni society, they reside in low-income districts outside of the cities.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->"Most popular account" for their origin: meaning there are more.<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The Akhdam are Arabic-speaking Muslims, same as the rest of the population. They <b>do not belong to any of the three main Arab tribes</b>, however, that make up traditional Yemeni society<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
(4) Minority Report: Yemen's Akhdam "Out-Castes"
Historically attested racist Islamic slavery affecting today's population:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->With the abolition of slavery in Yemen (in 1962!), the Akhdam are now all "free" but face widespread discrimination and economic hardship:
<!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->They are almost always kept at arms length, and any chance of social integration is next to impossible. Their name, akhdam, is the plural of the Arabic term khadim, which literally means servant, a term far predating their common occupation nowadays as sanitary workers and garbage collectors, and is given to any Yemeni-born person with black skin, especially in the north of the country.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->Note: no proof they ever invaded, it's only a <b>legend</b>, one of several origin legends created for them.
They are stuck in slums, one of which (see photo on page)
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->lies "virtually in the shadows of the multi-million-dollar presidential mosque<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->(5) The Accursed Minority: The Ethno-Cultural Persecution of Al-Akhdam in the Republic of Yemen: A Documentary & Advocacy Project
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->the Al-Akhdam are persecuted on account of their being of African-descent in a country with an Arab-majority.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
(6) ETHNIC VIOLENCE AS A CASTE SYSTEM: A CASE OF CRUEL TRADITION Huda Seif - Research project
(1) [url=http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:8wrWGtk6_WwJ:europa.eu.int/comm/echo/information/eye_witness/2005_05_en.htm+"Akhdam"&hl=en&gl=nz&ct=clnk&cd=3&ie=UTF-8]European Union - Akhdam (Google cache)[/url]
(2) Yemen Mirror - Akhdam: Ongoing suffering for lost identity Sunday , 16 July 2006 By Mohammed al-Qadhi
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->They hardly call us humans; it is true that we may be darker in color and lower in the social status but that does not give them the right to exercise discrimination against us.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--> <!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Legends Surround their Origin</b>
Legends surround Akhdam history which is mostly unknown and highly <b>controversial</b>. The most common account is that they descend from Abyssinian soldiers who stayed in Yemen after a failed invasion in the sixth century AD. The soldiers, from ancient Ethiopia, were so hated they were forced to accept the worst jobs, such as transporting and disposing of human sewage and collecting garbage. <b>In one of his research, Professor Kaid Tarboosh said that the Akhdam used to do such worst jobs even in ancient Ethiopia.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->(that is, 'research' says Akhdam plight today is ok, because it was just as bad in their <i>legendary</i> past)
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Akhdam are considered to be the country's largest and poorest minority who do not belong to any tribe. They are poorly educated and <b>are not allowed to marry into higher social castes.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->After slavery was abolished with the birth of the 26 September Revolution in 1962, their social position remained relatively the same. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
(3) YEMEN: Akhdam people suffer history of discrimination - UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>According to the most popular account</b>, they are the descendants of Ethiopian invaders from the sixth century, forced ever since into the performance of menial jobs, such as sweeping and shoe-making.
Generally isolated from the rest of Yemeni society, they reside in low-income districts outside of the cities.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->"Most popular account" for their origin: meaning there are more.<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The Akhdam are Arabic-speaking Muslims, same as the rest of the population. They <b>do not belong to any of the three main Arab tribes</b>, however, that make up traditional Yemeni society<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
(4) Minority Report: Yemen's Akhdam "Out-Castes"
Historically attested racist Islamic slavery affecting today's population:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->With the abolition of slavery in Yemen (in 1962!), the Akhdam are now all "free" but face widespread discrimination and economic hardship:
<!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->They are almost always kept at arms length, and any chance of social integration is next to impossible. Their name, akhdam, is the plural of the Arabic term khadim, which literally means servant, a term far predating their common occupation nowadays as sanitary workers and garbage collectors, and is given to any Yemeni-born person with black skin, especially in the north of the country.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->Note: no proof they ever invaded, it's only a <b>legend</b>, one of several origin legends created for them.
They are stuck in slums, one of which (see photo on page)
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->lies "virtually in the shadows of the multi-million-dollar presidential mosque<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->(5) The Accursed Minority: The Ethno-Cultural Persecution of Al-Akhdam in the Republic of Yemen: A Documentary & Advocacy Project
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->the Al-Akhdam are persecuted on account of their being of African-descent in a country with an Arab-majority.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
(6) ETHNIC VIOLENCE AS A CASTE SYSTEM: A CASE OF CRUEL TRADITION Huda Seif - Research project