What is Happening in Libya?

The former colony of Libya is experiencing one of the world’s most horrific infringements on human rights. As most are aware of slavery still exists in the darkest corners of world taking away the rights of men, women, and children as laborers and sex workers. On November 15th a video was released from CNN that uncovered the secret slave trade that is occurring within Libya. It displayed a Nigerian migrant who has set hopes on reaching Europe trapped in a detainment camp, in Libya, being sold off for $400. Comments such as “Does anybody need a digger? This is a digger, a big strong man, he’ll dig,” were made by the salesman (CNN).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=369&v=2S2qtGisT34

The UN and other international associations have declared this a humanitarian crisis and have called for “urgent action to end [Libya’s] trade in enslaved people.” These markets are inhumane degrading humans and treating them as if they were animals. However, if one further investigates the origins of the slave markets within Libya it is wrapped up in politics and policy. The former Italian colony that reached independence in 1947 has had a tomaculous history since achieving freedom. For a majority of the countries independence it has been governed by “prime minister” Muammar Gaddafi. After the removal of Gaddafi and the fall of Tripoli the former authoritarian state has suffered from chaos. This has lead to many Libyans like other Africans from failed states to set their sites on Europe, a land of promise. Libya being at the northernmost part of Africa promises a travel path for migrants to a better life. However, what lies in Libya is caged detainment camps for anyone caught within their path to Europe through the Mediterranean sea. This humanitarian crisis is due to the policy of Western countries denying access to their shores. Italy after the Arab Spring had agreed to pay Libya under Gaddafi reparations of $5 billion over the next 25 years to halt migration from Africa towards European countries. An article released by Pacific Standard highlights the consequences of Gaddafi’s fall and the migrant crisis within the slave markets that run rampid on the coast. After Gaddafi the reparations stopped and migration exponentially increased.

In Tripoli, capital of Libya, these markets hold encaged Africans from various countries. They are places where “rape, murder, robbery”, and  diseases such as TB and scabies infest the population of migrants searching for a better life. French President Emmanuel Macron according to Time Magazine called these markets and process “a crime against humanity.” The video of these markets has caught the attention of international actors but will there be action? With the migrant crisis of 2016 countries around the world cut off migration channels closing its doors to those in peril. The selling of human beings in the 21st century is appalling, but less developed countries experience this in everyday circumstances. Out of 45 million people around the world in forms of modern slavery, “Asia consists for ⅔” of that population”(BBC). Modern forms such as sex trafficking, debt bondage, and laborers exist in daily life. Examples in Africa extend from slave labor in mines for mineral resources to children being taken for rebel armies. The real question that needs to be answered by the international community is, what can be done? What policies have to be set forth to stop trafficking?

Works Cited

http://time.com/5042560/libya-slave-trade/

https://psmag.com/social-justice/understanding-libyas-slave-trade

https://nypost.com/2017/12/04/slave-auctions-in-libya-caught-on-camera/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-12688033