The Arabs who in past ages were the merchants of the Orient in gold,
frankincense and myrrh, both then and now traded in slaves also. And the
cruel trade is not yet ended. Would you like to hear about some boys who
have darker skins than yours, and darker hearts, because they do not know
the Lord Jesus as their own Saviour? Well, these poor little boys were
stolen from their mothers and fathers by wicked men called Arabs, who go
from Arabia to Africa in boats to steal boys and girls and bring them here
to sell them. Each boy is sold for nearly ten pounds ($50). These men know
it is wrong in their hearts, but you see what a lot of money they make!
What does St. Paul say? "The _love_ of money is the root of all evil." And
then the religion of the Arab permits him to do this work of stealing and
selling boys and girls.
One night about two or three years ago, just as the sun was setting, some
little black boys were playing and fishing near the water on the coast of
Zanzibar, in East Africa; a man came up to them and offered them some
dates. Little black _and white_ boys are always ready to eat, are they
not? These boys took the dates and while they were eating, the man threw a
cloth over their heads and carried them off to a boat standing near. The
Arabs caught a great many in this way, and when the boat had as many as it
could carry they moved away and began to travel towards Arabia. The poor
children were kept in the bottom of the boat, all huddled together, and
given very little to eat and drink. Sometimes the sea was rough and they
were sick, so altogether their voyage in an open boat was not a pleasant
one. But "Some One" was taking notice of these children and He was going
to deliver them. Do _you_ know who was watching over them? After many days
at sea the boat came near Muscat. A servant of the British Consul saw the
boat and knew there were slaves in it. Then the Consul got ready in a
small boat and went after the big one. They had to follow nearly all night
and at last overtook the slave-dhow. The Consul pulled alongside in a
Bedden (native boat) and demanded the firearms of the Arabs. Then he bound
them and put his own sailors on board, and brought the precious cargo of
souls into Muscat harbour.
[Illustration: SLAVE GIRL IN ARABIA.]
The owner of the slave-dhow was sent to prison, and the boys and girls
were given away to Christian people to train, the missionary in Muscat
getting the largest share.
This was the origin of the rescued-slave school at Muscat. Other slaves
are caught from time to time and liberated. Sometimes they are sent to
Bombay or other places in India; a large number were once liberated at
Aden and are now in a school at Lovedale in Africa. When these poor slave
children first come from the slave ships they are very ignorant and almost
like wild animals. They need to learn everything, and even their language
is of little use to them, as they need to learn Arabic before they can get
along in Arabia. The Muscat boys first learned English from the
missionary, but it was not easy for them.
They only knew a few words when I first went to Muscat. For instance, they
called all lights, such as lamps, candles, etc., _fire_. Well, one night
we were sitting on the verandah with the lamp, reading, and Suliman came
and said _"big fire!"_ We jumped up and said "where?" Looking all around
we could not see a sign of fire. Then he said, "big fire on table." We ran
into the dining-room--still no fire. Suliman then pointed to the lamp and
said again "big fire"; so we learned by that time he wanted the lamp for
the table, as dinner was ready.
[Illustration: LIBERATED SLAVES AT BAHREIN.]
Would you like to hear how a day was spent in this Muscat school when the
boys were beginning to learn? Now the boys are all big and have scattered;
they are working as servants in different places and some are learning a
trade. But here is a description of the early days of their training: "We
are up before dawn almost, and yet the boys are up before us, and have
taken in their mats (beds), and are splashing about in the big cement bath
in the yard. They do not use towels; the sun soon dries the skin, and then
they dress with one article only, a _wazeera,_ a piece of cloth. After the
bath they clean up the schoolroom, sweep the yard; then they eat bread and
dates and drink water. When the meal is finished all the boys wash their
hands and put on their coats to come up-stairs. See how nicely they march
forward, two and two, just like the animals going into Noah's Ark. They
_halt_ in front of the harmonium 'single file'--'face about'--'toes to
line!' Now we are ready for prayers. Look, boys and girls, how quietly
these black boys stand; now we are going to sing:' 'Jesus loves me, this I
know.' They love the singing, and all make as much noise as possible.
Singing finished, we read a short passage of Scripture, and tell very
simply how Jesus loved them and died for them. They are beginning to learn
about God and who the Lord Jesus is. One morning I held up the Bible and
asked them, 'What is this?'
"They answered, 'God's Book.'
"'And what do we read about in God's Book?'
"They all answered, 'The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.' I had been
teaching them this Psalm, but I did not know how well they knew it; it was
a nice answer, do not you think so? After the scripture lesson we kneel
and pray, all the boys repeating, 'O God, wash me from all my sins in the
blood of my Saviour, and I shall be whiter than snow; give me Thy Holy
Spirit, for Jesus' sake. Amen.' Will you ask God to make the boys pray
this prayer from their hearts? You see they are only just beginning to
learn about God. Before they came to us they were quite heathen. Prayer
ended we all march into another room,--you may come too, and begin
lessons. The big boys are learning sentences now; the little ones are
still at A, B, C, 1, 2, 3. At the end of two hours of spelling, reading
and writing, a little simple drill and the morning school is ended. Some
of the boys help prepare their fish and rice for dinner, and others make
baskets. At three o'clock all march up again for sewing. And let me tell
you a secret; the smallest boy of all sews the neatest. After this the
boys get ready to go for a bath in the sea, or for a walk. When we return
we have evening prayers, and then the boys eat their supper of rice and
fish, take their mats into the garden and go to sleep."
That was the way in which eighteen rescued slave boys began to live a life
with more light, and therefore also more responsibility than their former
life as savage children in Africa.
But what of the thousands who are _not_ rescued, but are taken to places
along the coast of Arabia and sold? Their lot is miserable. In Mecca there
is a slave market where boys and girls are sold to the highest bidder. At
Sur, in South Arabia, there are still many Arabs who make money by buying
and selling poor negro children. Only last month a little negro lad called
"Diamond" told me how he had been captured and sold to a merchant in
Persia. I am very glad that I can tell you that the little lad escaped to
a British ship and is now free.
A writer who travelled in the Red Sea says that he passed hundreds of
slave-dhows. What a lot of misery that means; not only misery to the
parents of these stolen children in Africa, but to the children
themselves. There may be many slaves in Arabia who get enough to eat and
have good clothing to wear, but they always remain slaves at the best, and
are taught a false religion by their masters. I think dearly all of them
were happier at home in Africa than in dark Arabia.
It is hard to love the cruel slave trader, is it not? Yet Jesus told us to
"love our enemies." The way to root out the slave trade is to evangelise
the slave trader. The entire west coast of Arabia has not a single
missionary; no wonder that here the slave trade is carried on without
hindrance! Will you not pray for western Arabia, and also for the Arab
slave dealers that God may soften their hearts and make them stop their
bad work? And will not all the girls pray for their enslaved black sisters
in Arabia, whose lot is very miserable?