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Bales Could Be Charged This Week; Incident Tests U.S.-Afghan Relations; Winter Storm Hits Arizona; Slavery's Last Stronghold; Special Report on Slavery in Mauritania

Aired March 18, 2012 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. It's the top of the hour and thanks for joining us here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The attorney for Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales has arrived in Kansas this evening to prepare for his face to face meetings with his client. Bales is the soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians including nine children last weekend. He is now at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas and could be charge in connection with those deaths as soon as this week.

CNN's Dan Simon is standing by with more for us. Dan, let's start with Bales' attorney. Did he have anything to say upon his arrival?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well he was surrounded by a gaggle of cameras, as you would expect. He just had some generalities to say and he is no stranger to high profile cases. This is a lawyer who represented serial killer Ted Bundy as well as Colton Harris-Moore, otherwise known as the "Barefoot Bandit" here in Washington.

I want you to take a look at what he said to reporters as soon as he arrived.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HENRY BROWNE, ROBERT BALES' ATTORNEY: Oh it was a shock; believe me more of a shock perhaps to them and the neighbors. You've been reading all the news accounts. I mean, everybody thinks he's a very nice person and a very mild-mannered person and a great person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Well, we are continuing to try to talk to people here in the Seattle area, who knew Robert Bales. One person we spoke to this afternoon is a former neighbor. We should point out that Bales lived in a condominium with his wife for a while. Then they moved to another house. They were using it as a rental property and it went into foreclosure. And this neighbor tells us that Bales was a great guy. He put it in no uncertain terms that he was a great guy. He just doesn't understand how something like this happened.

That said, it appears that he was under great financial stress. Also some emotional strain and physical strain as well. He had been injured in Iraq a couple of times.

This neighbor told us that his foot was badly injured and he went to rehabilitation a couple of times a week. And when he saw Robert Bales, he talked to him and Bales said that he was determined to get back into a war zone. That's how passionate he was about serving his country.

Don, we've been up here for the last couple of days now, and it's just a real mystery what happened here. But it's clear that the portrait that is emerging is that this is somebody who was under financial stress and perhaps some physical and emotional strain as well. Back to you.

LEMON: Yes, the stress of -- the stress of being in a war zone multiple times. Thank you, Dan Simon. We appreciate your reporting.

You know the relations between the U.S. and Afghanistan were rocky even before the massacre. Afghan President Hamid Karzai hasn't been shy in his criticism of the U.S., but today his Ambassador to Washington told CNN's Candy Crowley that he trusts the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EKLIL HAKIMI, AFGHAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Well, we do trust the United States and we do know how important this relationship is. And we are working as a partner to resolve all the issue as a partner. We should coordinate and cooperate with all these issues, like as I described.

And the bigger picture is very important. We are in the right direction, but down the road, things are happening that we should manage it in a way that should not deter us from our main objectives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: That was Candy Crowley's interview with the Afghan Ambassador to the U.S. on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION".

The U.S. embassy is working to confirm reports that an American has been killed in Yemen. Two defense ministry officials say it happened in Taiz province. Al Qaeda claim responsibility for the reported killing, the terror group says the American was a missionary who was trying to spread Christianity. The province's head of security identified the victim Joel Shrun and said he had been working for two years at a Swedish-run language center.

An American who was apparently held hostage in IRAQ is resting at the U.S. embassy after his release. Shiite militia loyal to radical Iraqi cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr turned Randy Michael Holtz over to the U.N. The embassy says Holtz is a private citizen who didn't work for the government and was apparently in Iraq on private business, but it's unclear what he was doing in Iraq or why no one appeared to know he was missing.

Breaking news into CNN on the Republican race for the White House: CNN projects Mitt Romney as the winner of today's Puerto Rico presidential primary. I want to take a look now at the results. Mitt Romney is the winner and he appears to have won by 82 percent. It was a really easy victory; it looks 83 percent. It's gone up since the last check, 14 percent now of the results in. An easy victory for Romney; 20 delegates are at stake in this contest. Romney will get all of them if he holds on and captures more than 50 percent of the vote.

It's not a lot of delegates, but as this drags on and on, each one counts. Here we go -- 1,144 that's the magic number; 513 so far for Romney, 239 for Santorum, 139 for Gingrich, 69 for Paul.

You know Romney was endorsed by Puerto Rico's Governor and he also campaigned there on Friday and Saturday. All eyes now turn to Illinois, which holds its primary on Tuesday. And we'll carry it here live here on CNN.

Protesters who launched the Occupy Wall Street Movement returned to the spot where it all began, but New York City police were ready arresting 74 and refusing to let them take over Zuccotti Park again. The overnight demonstration came six months after the Occupy Movement began. Some of the protesters accused police of abuse. No response from the department, the Occupy Movement started as a protest against income inequality and corporate greed.

A late winter snowstorm cripples travel along a major southwest route. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras will tell us when the roads might reopen.

And later this hour CNN takes you to a place where slavery still exists. You heard that right -- Slavery in 2012. Hear from former slaves and even slave owners, in-depth coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right a foot of snow on the ground to start spring. Where's that Punxsutawney Phil when you need him? This is what's facing the people of Flagstaff, Arizona. Snow started falling overnight and is still coming down right now. Another foot could hit the area by tomorrow. Rescue workers are maxed out responding to the accidents there nearly 200 miles of Interstate 40 closed.

Good news. People say they need the snow to hold off Arizona's fire season. So there's some good news in all this. Hopefully people in Arizona will get a break soon but other parts of the country may get some rough weather over the next few days.

Jacqui Jeras joins us now. Jacqui, what's -- what's in store this week? We're getting back to work on Monday. We want to know what's up.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we're going to have a lot of weather to deal with, you know. The same system that's bringing all of the snow across parts to the west is a real slow mover. And it starts to nudge into the Plain States it's going to be kicking up some severe weather. And we've already have been dealing with a couple of tornado warnings into parts of Texas. We've got a tornado watch in effect with the Eastern Panhandle on up in the western parts of Oklahoma. So this is going to be ongoing through 10:00 tonight in an area that we're going to be watching.

As we head into tomorrow, that severe weather threat a little bit more widespread. We're going to be looking at places like Houston, into Dallas, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, even Des Moines, Iowa could see this severe thunderstorms. And you can see we still stay very active into the west. But by Tuesday, you're going to be done with the snow at least for parts of Arizona.

Temperature wise, we've been talking about how crazy it is. It's just been the flip-flop or backwards weather going on. Look at this. The Albuquerque at 40 degrees; Minneapolis looking for 76 degrees tomorrow and there have been a plethora of highs going on there. In fact it hit 87 out of the last nine days in Minneapolis. That's more like May or June weather.

LEMON: Can you slide over to the left a little bit? I can see the temperatures -- 83, 87, 80, 85.

JERAS: You had them all.

LEMON: No I don't want you out of the screen. We like you.

JERAS: Talk about great for like Florida spring breakers though, right?

LEMON: Look at Minneapolis. Yes look at Minneapolis.

JERAS: Oh it's beautiful. It's my hometown.

LEMON: Minnesota.

JERAS: I never got 80 in March when I was there.

LEMON: Thank you, Jacqui. I appreciate it.

Hey, a very serious subject now. If you think slavery ended generations ago, you probably never heard of the African nation of Mauritania. There slavery still -- still exists in 2012, very much a part of life.

Ahead CNN goes in depth talking to slaves and abolitionists who are risking their lives to make slavery a thing of the past.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Whatever you're doing right now take a seat. Pay attention.

Slavery, forced labor and the excessive abuse that comes with it is something America hasn't experienced in close to 150 years since the end of the Civil War and the adoption of the 13th Amendment. Now for most of us, slavery is something we've only learned about history class or stories from generation ago. While slavery may exist on a small scale throughout the world, in one place, it is very much alive. The place I'm talking about is Mauritania, the African nation is probably as little known as the secret world within it. In the next 45 minutes, we are going to hear from former and current slaves and abolitionist in Mauritania. They've gone on record with CNN risking their lives to reveal the truth about modern day slavery and bring justice to the masses. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Chains are for the captive. Chains are for the slave who has just become a slave. But the multigenerational slave, he is a slave even in his own head. He is totally submissive and unfortunately it is this type of slavery that we have today; the slave the American slavery plantation owners dreamed of.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: There's one place in the world where slavery is still normal. Mauritania in 1981 became the last country in the world to abolish slavery. There was no punishment for slave owners until 2007. The U.N. says 10 to 20 percent of Mauritanians live in slavery today.

We travel to the country on the western fringe of the Sahara to see for ourselves. We would meet people who never knew freedom. People who escaped to find their lives hadn't changed and abolitionists who have been fighting against slavery for years with minimal results.

We weren't allowed to be reporting on slavery. It's a practice the government tries to hide from outsiders, but as we would find, slavery is everywhere in Mauritania if you know where to look.

BOUBACAR MESSAOUD, CO-FOUNDER SOS SLAVES (through translator): No, we cannot go to her house. It is not possible. Also it wouldn't be very smart because one time we took journalists there and the police came and took their cameras.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Boubacar Messaoud, the head of an abolitionist group called SOS Slaves to introduce us to people who had recently escaped from slavery. One woman we met is trying to bring her case to court. The government is keeping a close eye on her to stop her from telling her story.

MOULKHEIR MINT, ESCAPED SLAVE: The man who beat at us made us herd a whole lot of cattle, goats, cows, camels. We would be tired and if we came back without some of the cattle, he would beat us and fir a gun above our heads.

Yes he was beating all of us, beating us with sticks. He would have sex with us all. My children are actually their children. These are the children of my masters.

SELEK'HA MINT HAMANE, MOULKHEIR'S DAUGHTER: I didn't know anything about it when I was young. You know how I understood they were not my family -- when they started beating me and not their other children. If they were my family, they would not beat me like that.

He raped me and I became pregnant. This was when we were with the masters. You know how they killed the child? When the time came for me to give birth, they put me in a car and drove it hard until the baby came out of me and it was dead.

(OFF MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: While SOS Slaves was able to reunite Moulkheir with her children, others are forced to leave them behind.

MATALA OULD M'BOIRLK, ESCAPED SLAVE (through translator): Personally, I was always thinking of a safe way to run forever. Then one day I met a military unit. I spoke to the military men saying, I am going with you because I trust you. If you are going to hand me over to these masters, I prefer you shoot me.

I think about slavery, yes. I think about it because I can't forget it at all because my brothers and sisters are still there. So I can't forget about it. Also a person like me will never forget about the torture he has suffered. I will not forget it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: CNN was not allowed to enter Mauritania to report on slavery, so it took some strategy on our crew's part to make it happen.

Next the words of those they spoke to who are still enslaved today and the slave owners who believe there is nothing wrong with the way of life there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Welcome back to our special look inside "Slavery's Last Stronghold".

As many as one in five people in Mauritania live in slavery today. So far we have heard from former slaves about the widespread abuse that they faced. In a few minutes, I'm going to speak with two CNN producers who risked their own lives to bring you their stories.

But first, here's more of their journey and the surprises they encountered on the western fringe of the Sahara.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: These abolitionists are trying to prove that slavery still exist here. That's one reason SOS Slaves helped us meet Matala and Moulkheir. Their stories are evidence that brutal forms of slavery are still very real.

Since slavery became a crime, only one slave owner has been successfully prosecuted. The government still denies the practice exists.

BRAHIM OULD M'BARECK OULD MED EL MOCTAR, MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (through translator): But I must tell you that in Mauritania, there is total freedom -- freedom of thought, equality between all the ethnicities, all the men and women of Mauritania, equality between the genders. There's a phenomenon to which you are alluding. I will be direct with you. That has existed in Mauritania. That has existed in other countries, which is slavery. And in all of the communities, it has been abolished. And it is criminalized today by our government. So there is absolutely no more problem with that in Mauritania. In all cases, that has been the way of the government for a long time.

MESSAOUD: The Mauritanian government stances that there's no slavery, particularly in front of cameras or foreigners. Yet we can find a number of people who do admit they are slaves, but you have to go out and find them.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: We traveled into the Sahara to see slavery firsthand. It was a mission hindered by government minders who were assigned to follow us into the desert to make sure we didn't talk about this topic.

In the interior region, we slowed down and then stopped unexpectedly hoping we'd have a few moments before the minders noticed. The first people we spoke with told us in plain terms that they were living in slavery. But when the government minders realized what we were up to, our guide had to try to distract them while we continued the conversation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we are, on this land, everybody is exploited. And we are among the people, this community. We're also exploited.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A short distance away, we spotted a group of lighter-skinned people who we thought might be their slave masters. Most slave families in Mauritania consist of darker-skinned people whose ancestors were captured by whiter-skinned Arabs centuries ago. Many of those ties remain intact.

It was impossible for us to discuss the matter openly, but this man told us he doesn't pay his darker-skinned workers and their situation seemed obvious.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why don't you pay them?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't pay them. Pay them for what? They just farm. They cultivate for themselves. We just sat and stayed here. They just cultivate for us and others cultivate for themselves.

UNIDENTIFIED REPOTER: The minders warned us not to stop unexpectedly again. We left wishing we had more time to talk.

Not all instances of slavery are so clear-cut. Many people in Mauritania exist somewhere on the spectrum between slavery and freedom. We set out on a second journey, this time hoping to find people in slave villages called "adwaba" (ph).

MESSAOUD: An adwaba, in fact, it's a village made up of former slaves and slaves who have left their masters who live and work there in that village.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: In the southern deserts, we found people who no longer live with their masters but remain in a form of slavery. Food and water are scarce and people here live in extreme poverty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Life here is difficult or not?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course it is difficult. We don't have water. We depend on barrels on top of donkeys. Tell him that children eat sand.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These children you see here eat sand -- eat sand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Their masters allow them to live on their own and sometimes keep part of the harvest. But the masters also can come back to demand work without pay.

MESSAOUD: They are emancipated slaves, or people who aren't actively living as slaves, but their state is that of a slave.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Boubacar told us that when a slave is granted this kind of partial freedom, their masters make them feel indebted. In a way this pulls them further into slavery.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want our children to have something so they can be different from their mothers and fathers. We educate them so they don't up like us. The older generation that has never studied, may God love them more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have masters or are you free?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Us? We're free. We're dependent on ourselves because you will not see any Arabs here. If we were slaves you would find us living with Arabs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you hear that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But when you see a family like this, it means they're dependent on themselves.

UNIDENTIFIED REPOTER: At first this man denied having contact with his master, but when we jumped into a car with him to talk privately, he explained that his master still demands work and he pointed out the slaves here are seen as inferior.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: None of this black community is a politician, a governor or a secretary.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: After the sunset, we drove several miles to visit a final village. We found people who were grateful that we had stopped to talk with them and to acknowledge their existence. That's not something that normally happens here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the past, guests came only to the home of families who were financially able and own others. The owned families like ours were not considered. Now things have begun to change a little bit.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: Fascinating. And joining me now: Edythe McNamee and John Sutter, two CNN.com producers who brought us this eye-opening look at modern slavery in Mauritania. So Edythe I'm going to start with you, what was going through your mind when you went there to do this and you started uncovering this story?

EDYTHE MCNAMEE, CNN.COM PRODUCER: I think when we first got there, we knew some abolitionists that we wanted to talk to and that's where we started. Part of what the abolitionists are trying to do is to prove that slavery does exist because the government seems pretty adamant to say that they have passed a law and it's abolished.

So the abolitionists we spoke to started by introducing us to some people that they have helped escape from slavery so that they can, by telling their stories to us, sort of prove that there is still this form of slavery.

LEMON: Afraid for your lives?

MCNAMEE: No, I wouldn't say we were afraid for our lives. No, because I think the consequences that we were facing were more along the lines of being expelled from the country having our footage stolen. But no, I can't say at any point I was really truly afraid for my life. More of fear for the journalist part of it.

LEMON: Interesting. Yes, when you're in that situation, having gone there and did the documentary and you're not afraid for some reason. You're just wanting to get back to the United States to tell these peoples' story.

What I thought was interesting, John, is even everyone in the story by American standards were black. Yet still, they still used black and white. I think it's kind of interesting, and so interesting to the viewer, to see it's not just we're not talking about European or whatever. Still white and black, but there's a difference there.

JOHN SUTTER, CNN.COM WRITER, PRODUCER: Yes. I mean, they make big distinctions between these groups, but as our center come in, it's very difficult to tell and there are different standards of dress, different, you know languages that are spoken, all of which with the Mauritanian context are used to tell, you know which of these groups people come from. They refer to us white Morison black horse, they are both sort of Arabic-speaking groups. And historically, the white horse have enslaved the black horse.

And a lot of those ties, you know, between families go back centuries or at least decades. The practice is old and one thing that makes Mauritania unique in the world is, you know, how long it's continued. A lot of -- CNN has been doing freedom project stories, but, you know, a lot of that is about trafficking and other sort of modern occurrences.

LEMON: Well, you guys stick around because John and Edythe, you are going to join us a little bit later. But we are not done with this. This is a very intriguing story. You can check out our Web site here. You'll find pictures and stories of abuse and freedom from Mauritania slaves. You can also find out how you can be part of the solution by donating to the training center that runs by SOS slaves. It's all on our Web site at CNN.com/slaves or slavery, right. Slavery, OK.

So, you know, he says it was like picking out a toy. Next, a former slave owner reunites with the slave he chose as a young boy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Welcome back, everyone. This is a fascinating special. A special look inside slavery's last stronghold. As many as 20 percent of the people in the African nation of Mauritania are living in slavery.

Now, slavery is against the law. Its abusers largely go unpunished. Another problem is, in ending its widespread practice is freeing the slaves of their mental shackles. Here's more of our in-depth coverage, our in-depth investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOUBACAR MESSAOUD, CO-FOUNDER, SOS SLAVES (through translator): That's the problem here. That's why slavery persists because people don't need to exercise physical force, but their symbolic violence and what is symbolic violence? It's misery.

TEXT: God decided to weaken these kinds of people. We haven't received yet any help from the government. We heard that it will help people like us, but nothing has been done so far.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Perhaps the most surprising thing about slavery in Mauritania is this. Some people who are born into slavery don't even realize they are being exploited.

Back in the capital, we spoke secretly with a former slave named Yebawa. He was liberated years ago, but told us he never understood the freedom he was granted.

YEBAWA OULD KEIHEL, FREED SLAVE (through text): It wouldn't matter to me, didn't gain anything. The master father never told us anything about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: We reunited Yebawa with his former owner, Abdel, who has been living abroad and hadn't seen in years.

ABDEL NASSER OULD ETHMANE, CO-FOUNDER, SOS SLAVE (though text): This is Yebawa.

KEIHEL (through text): Thanks to God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Their relationship isn't what you'd expect. We were surprised by their interactions.

ABDEL (though text): He may not have this white hair. But there are other signs at aging, yes. How are you all doing? And you, what exactly do you do?

KEIHEL (through text): I just farm.

ETHMANE (though text): And do they pay you or not?

KEIHEL (through text): They do pay me.

ETHMANE (though text): Are you sure?

KEIHEL (through text): They always pay my service.

ETHMANE (though text): Choosing Yebawa, it was - it was as if I were picking out a toy. It was nothing new. Traditionally when a boy is circumcised, he generally picks out a slave.

For me, it was just a thing that amused me, and who came to mind because there were all those funny stories that he talked in his sleep, that he was a bit chubby, a bit clumsy. That he was always losing the animals he was supposed to be watching and was always getting punished for this.

You remember taking care of animals coming in late in the night? Locusts, people yelling and screaming? And where did this go, where did that go?

KEIHEL (through text): My life is of course better. When I was young I only took care of my family's animals. But I sometimes lost some and they would yell at me. And when I left there was no one to yell at me. And if I lose some, I have to blame myself and look for it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: But there's a twist Abdel master story. The slave master would go on to become one of Mauritania's most prominent abolitionists.

ETHMANE (though text): When I was 16, I was starting to spend time at the French Cultural Center here in Nouakchott. I started reading and I found the story of the French Revolution in an illustrated book. I came across the article that states that all men are born free and equal in rights. That was the article that made me think the most. And I began to ask myself. Were the lies coming out of this book? Or are these lies coming out of my very own culture?

I came to realize that slavery was not very common in the rest of the world. I went on vacation at the end of the year to the countryside to see my grandfather. And there I decided that in my relationship with the slaves, everything would change. And I would no longer allow them to serve me.

But no one listened to me. They just laughed because they'd never heard anyone say such things. Even Yebawa didn't understand. And if Yebawa were here now and you asked him who he was, he would say he is my slave.

KEIHEL (through text): My family is really them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: As you just heard, a one-time slavery owner is leading the fight to end slavery. Step one. Proving slavery even exists.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Welcome back, everyone, to our special investigation into the secret world of slavery in Mauritania.

Without the government's help in ending slavery, it's largely resting on the shoulders of abolitionists. One in particular is a former slave master who team within unlikely partnered to rescue slaves, many of them children.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: In 1995 the reformed master teamed up with man named Boubacar. His family was a slave. Together they started the group called SOS slaves.

MESSAOUD (through translator): I can still tell you I'm the son of a slave. My mother was never freed. And I also have never been freed. But I was lucky not to be in direct contact with the master.

ETHMANE (though text): It was Boubacar, with his group of friends. And we came from the bourgeois class of government. And they were from, they were the sons of slaves who had been educated. And our meetings gave way to the birth of SOS slaves. It was the first time that these two groups found themselves together in the history of Mauritania.

MESSAOUD (through translator): Our actions can only affect sensitized slaves. Because without awareness, you can do nothing. So we have to find the ones who have opened their eyes.

ETHMANE (though text): The greatest success was when the laws that penalized slavery and established the penalties and punishments for slavery was established in 2007.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Activists are trying to make the courts enforce the law, but the government has been cracking down on their efforts. Members of another antislavery group called IRA Mauritania have been imprisoned for speaking out.

BIRAM DAH ABEID, PRESIDENT, I.R.A. MAURITANIA: Since the launch of our organization anti-slavery protests have started which were unprecedented in Mauritania. As a result, the Mauritanian authorities started responding to our peaceful protests with crackdowns, imprisonment and torture.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Biram took us to a safe house that's run by his organization. The group gives shelter to slaves to escape their masters.

ABEID (through text): Here is a family that we were able to reunite after freeing them from slavery. And here is the living room. Many victims spend the night here, as well as many activists.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: If he's Martin Luther King, Biram is not that.

ABEID (through text): And why are all these people wearing white shirts and black ties? That's the security team who's always with me when I'm at home or when I'm traveling. Because my life is threatened by the system, by intelligence groups and by authorities.

We have hundreds of clear cases and presented credible evidence, but we were never able to apply the law. Because those in power in the country in the legal sector and the judicial police officers all fall into the slave owner category.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Abolitionists in Mauritania are trying to pressure the government to treat slavery as a crime, but they are also working to help people who have escaped slavery and have nowhere to go.

Without marketable skills, it's difficult to survive. And some people actually return to their former masters just for regular food and shelter.

MESSAUOD (through text): And it's for that reason that we demand that they not only make slavery a crime, but that economic programs be put in place that will allow slaves to no longer need their masters.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Up next, some CNN keeping slaves from returning to a life of servitude. We will take you inside a school that is teaching slaves real life lessons. Cooking, sewing and grooming.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Tonight, we are devoting a majority of this hour to the secret life of slavery in Mauritania. While slavery is prohibited by law, as many as one in five people are enslaved there today. Now, opponents of this century's old practice are making tribes, they have rescued dozens of slaves, many of them children and they are now teaching them to survive on their own.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: We visited a school for escaped slaves in the capital. Women there, their skills they can use to keep themselves out of slavery, sewing, cooking and dying fabric.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through text): here, we're trained in a variety of skills to show that we are no longer under someone's control and we are not oppressed by anything. Some of us work on sewing, and some of us work on this, braiding hair like this.

What is important is that we believe in this work. It means a lot to us. We came here for this and we welcome anyone to join. God willing, when we graduate and get our diplomas, we will open new businesses, God willing, and also have an income.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: SOS opened the school last year. It serves only 30 women, of the hundreds of thousands of people who are enslaved in this country. Funding is tight and it's unclear how long the school will be able to continue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through text): It's just one year. But now, at the end of the year we have to come up with other financial resources in order to continue.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through text): We believe that it has added value to our lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: The U.N. says more programs like this are desperately needed for Mauritania to break the centuries-old cycle of slavery. This is only one school, fighting against the system that refuses to acknowledge these women were ever enslaved.

Saleka, who is only 18, and who we met at the beginning of our journey, has not been able to get justice for the baby she says her master killed. Still, she finds an unexpected peace when she's learning to sew at the center. She's able to forget the horrors she endured as a slave, if only briefly.

SALEKA, 18-YEARS-OLD (through text): Only my sewing, I think only about what I sew.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Abolitionists are trying to break the multi-generational cycle of slavery.

MESSAOUD (through text): People often say here, "you can't be better than your father," which isn't true. One can be better than one's father. Or your father could be a slave, but you don't have to be. You can search for something else. You can find complete human dignity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through text): And that dignity is exactly what Lohair and Saleka are beginning to feel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through text): And now when I came here, I became free. If I want to lay around, I lay around. If I want tea, I make tea. It feels good when I wake up whenever I want. Nobody wakes me up. I eat well. Nobody is telling me get up and do.

SALEKA (through text): which life is better? My life is now what I prefer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Some smiles, finally. Smiles.

I want to bring back now our CNN.com producers who brought us this incredible look at slavery in Mauritania, Edythe McNamee and John Sutter.

So regaining dignity. And I heard her say in the story, there's no sense of justice so far. She hasn't been able to get justice over her baby. Is that going to be the beginning? Is it justice, or is it really bringing back dignity, getting people to the tempting the new job?

SUTTER: I think, you know, bringing back that dignity will take generations. You heard abolitionists talking about this being a multi-generational process that's been going on for centuries. But there are these sorts of small reasons for hope. Like one, you know, is that 2007 law that made slavery a crime. Before that, you know, it wasn't illegal. There's been one prosecution against slavery owner that was successful. You know, activists say there should have been many more and they're trying to bring dozens of cases into court.

So, I think there are these, you know, small reasons. That school that we just saw for example, only opened last year. And before, I say five years ago, something like that wouldn't have been possible. It would have been shut down. So I think there are these small reasons to see that they're moving forward very slowly.

LEMON: Do you get the sense that people want to stay or - because I understand there was one woman who said escaped all the way here to Cincinnati. Are they escaping to other places, or do you get the sense that they'd rather stay there and have that dignity of where they were born?

MCNAMEE: I think it depends on the person. The person we spoke with in Cincinnati did tell us that she felt that she did have to escape that far to get truly free. And even then, she asked us that we don't use her name, because she -- last time she went to west Africa, she received threats from the government for speaking out.

LEMON: And it's interesting that it still - you know, it's so pervasive and it takes over -- because they're still enslaved in their minds, even though they're set free. That says a lot about not only Mauritania, but just about every single country and every single individual.

MCNAMEE: And there's a strong sense of racism there as well. (INAUDIBLE), the woman who chose to stay in the country, who, you saw, just now in the video, just because she's free doesn't mean that life is going to be good, and there's still a strong sense of racism for her, because she is an escaped black moor.

LEMON: There's a lot that you can do to - you guys brought light through your helping in that situation, but there's a lot of the viewer can do to help them We're going to tell them how.

For more on this intriguing story, make sure you go to CNN.com/slavery. And you'll find pictures of stories and views of freedom from Mauritania's slaves. You can also find out how you can be part of the solution by donating to a training center that's run by SOS slaves. You can also send a message of hope to the women at the school in Mauritania that we just featured there. Go to our ireport page and you can leave a message or a video there. Go to ireport, ireport.com or CNN.com/ireport.

Thank you very much, Edythe. Thank you very much, John. We appreciate and it will be right back here on CNN

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: I want to check your headlines right now. The attorney for army staff sergeant Robert Bales has arrived in Kansas to prepare for his meetings with his new client. Bales is the soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians last week. He is now at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He could be charged in connection with those deaths as soon as this week.

Breaking news in the Republican race for the White House. CNN projects Mitt Romney is the winner of today's Puerto Rico presidential primary with 21 percent of the vote in. Mitt Romney is rolling. He's currently at 83 percent of the vote.

CNN also projects that Romney will get all 20 of Puerto Rico's delegates. Now all eyes turn to Illinois, which holds its primary Tuesday. Full coverage right here on CNN, of course.

Canadian police say they expect more arrests following rioting overnight in London, Ontario. Police say a St. Patrick's day celebration turned into a drunken mob of about a thousand people. People set fire, pelted police with rocks and bottles, and caused about $100,000 worth of damage. Most of it took place in a college neighborhood.

A dozen Venezuelan police officers are under investigation after the fatal shooting of the daughter of a Chilean diplomat. The 19-year-old was shot and killed when the car her brother was driving failed to stop at a checkpoint in Maracaba. Her father calls the shooting irresponsible and the sign of disrespect for human life in Venezuela. The country's interior minister condemned the shooting and is planning to punish those responsible.

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Thank you so much for joining us. I hope you enjoyed our special on slavery in Mauritania. I'll see you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Fareed Zakaria's special called "GLOBAL LESSONS: THE GPS ROADMAP FOR SAVING HEALTHCARE" begins right now.

Thanks for joining us, again. See you at 10:00.