Libyan Slave Trade
Last month, CNN exposed the presence of slavery in today’s modern world. This instance of the gross violation of human rights was filmed in Libya with slaves being auctioned to buyers on a regular basis.
The power vacuum created by the downfall of the Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011 resulted in the country’s decline into mayhem. With no formal economy, a weak government, and militias such as General Khalifa Haftar holding up the nation’s centers of power, conditions are ideal for smugglers to conduct illicit activities freely.
Geographically, Libya serves as a transient point to Europe for tens of thousands fleeing the violence or financial strife from West African countries such as Niger, Mali, Nigeria and Ghana. The recent surge in refugee and migrant numbers has attracted many to the lucrative people-smuggling business. Estimated at 1 to 1.5 Billion dollars, people-smuggling offers comparable profits to that of drug or arms trade with fewer risks. “Messaging apps provide secret channels through which smugglers guide migrants on their journeys.” Furthermore, West Africans proceed to essentially sell all their belongings to finance their transport to the Mediterranean.
The thousands of individuals who embark on the perilous migratory route across the Sahara Desert in open trucks with little food and water, arrive only to be deprived of their promised transport across the Mediterranean. Many of the migrants perish in the journey due to the harsh conditions. Those who arrive to the transit location in Libya are often denied port exit by the Libyan coastguard and are detained in overcrowded centers in grim living conditions. Out of 700,000 migrants, tens of thousands are subjected to arbitrary detention in warehouses suffering from food deprivation, torture and sexual abuse. The humanitarian crises arising from the unjust detention of these thousands of migrants, creating an environment in which smugglers are able to enslave the world’s most vulnerable.
By exploiting the impoverished migrants, the smugglers proceed to systematically beat, mutilate, and auction them as laborers in suburban neighborhoods outside the capital of Libya, Tripoli. In these seemingly normal towns with families leading normal lives, migrants are auctioned in backyards once or twice a month. Although not shackled, the African migrants are resold frequently to repay their debt to the smugglers. Smugglers then proceed to extort families into exchanging a ransom for their relative’s freedom. The International Organization of Migration discovered a Facebook Live Feed sent back to West African families relaying videos of 75 migrants held for torture.
Families proceed to take on considerable debt in the hope of releasing their traumatized relatives. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) searches for victims throughout detention centers in Libya. They then inform and allow the migrant to decide if they would like a free return (via charter planes) to their origin. Migrants are also given the option to withdraw their application after submission. The IOM has helped over 7,000 people return home in 2017 after being stranded in Libya. Further, the most vulnerable ones receive additional assistance to resettle back home.
What is the humane and responsible thing to do?
To tackle this crisis in a humane and responsible manner, support must be extended to the current initiatives of the IOM in shutting down all official and non-official detention centers. Rather, “open-centers” should be established adhering and respecting the human rights of the migrants. Today the IOM is pragmatic about the few viable and quickly executed humane solutions for these migrants. Their voluntary humanitarian assistance staff are working to improve conditions to meet minimum safety and hygiene standards in these detention centers.
The notion of accepting migrants is perceived negatively in most developed countries. However, the 1.5 million migrants that came North into Europe in 2015 account for less than 0.5% of the EU’s total population. As William Lacy Swing, the Director General of the UN Migration Agency, explains: migration is “a perfectly manageable issue, it’s not a problem to be solved. It’s a human reality that we all have to learn to manage.”
Europe’s ageing population will need migrants especially in the healthcare and caretaking sectors. The median age in Western Europe is 47; in contrast, Niger’s population’s median age is 14. Europe will need to accept these demographic realities as they will ultimately benefit from supporting pro-migratory policies.Europe’s ageing population will need migrants especially in the healthcare and care-taking sectors. The . Europe will need to accept these
The establishment of institutional safeguards to formalize the migration process is essential. Examples of this would be migrant health examinations, psychological support, and most importantly, information on opportunities that await them. The world cannot remain spectators merely condemning these crimes, swift action must be taken. Migrants fleeing poverty and persecution are not criminals and need to be treated accordingly. European nations should dedicate additional resources to ensure that basic human rights are maintained and to benefit from the flow of migrants that are required to maintain the shrinking working population across many European countries.
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