Libya.

Veronica Bateman
Dec 15, 2017
4 min read

Updated: Jul 15, 2018

Slave trade in Libya exposed.

A current event affecting the world is the horrendous slave trade of Africans occurring in Libya.

Photos have been released of African slaves being tortured and laboured in Libya, exposed by the network CNN [9], and the shocking evidence has showed that even in 2017, slave trade is still occurring, along with . It is vile, outdated and unacceptable.

Slavery is generally thought to be something of the past, and the fact that innocent humans are still being sold and bought for as little as the equivalent to $400 [9] a 'piece' (circumstantial example) is truly heartbreaking.

CNN caught auctions taking place in nine locations of Libya: Zuwara, Castelverde, Sabratah, Garyan, Alzintan, Kabaw, Alrujban, Gadamis, and Sabah, although there is 'believed to be many more'[9] locations where the grotesque trading occurs. This auction is where slaves can be purchased and the buyer or 'master' can effectively do as they like; put the slave to work, torture them by leaving marks and mutilations, sexually assault them, or even murder them after a life of abduction and mistreatment, leading to extreme trauma. In a world incomparable to that of people such as I, living in first-world countries, the human life is often not as valued and fought for, with no rights being put in place to protect the people who need it most.

The number of emigrants from Libya is estimated at approximately 700,000-1million [13], all in search of hopefully a brighter future or attempting to escape conflict zones, and stemming from an unwelcoming and impotent community in the countries that these people in need migrate to, and the hopelessness of the prospects for many immigrants who cannot necessarily, as a very vague overview, contribute to society due to their unfortunate situation and obstacles in life, and have often sold all their possessions to flee Libya, leaving them with nothing. This leads immigrants often not finding a better life where they have migrated to, and are still overlooked and betrayed by those with any power, including people from these countries who create stigmas due to their ignorance, commonly including racist and narrow-minded views on speaking the country's home language.

However, often the migration does not go accordingly to plan: measures have been taken by the coast guard to reduce the amount of boats transporting migrants, [9] and the 'leaders' who would have orchestrated the shipping of the people can become 'slave masters', leading to an unpromising future to come, all for the money that the smugglers and 'puppeteers' of the disgusting trade reel in, without a care for the conditions that the slaves or migrants endure.

Horrific treatment of these helpless people has been allowed to occur, but a silver lining is that it hasn't happened without notable recognition in the media. It will never make up for the occurrence of the slave trade, but word of this mistreatment must be spread as widely as possible to attempt to make a valuable change, and I'm pleased to witness a degree of coverage on the matter, and contribute myself to the spread of information. The 'First Lieutenant Naser Hazam of the government's Anti-Illegal Immigration Agency in Tripoli' [9] has also acknowledged the existence of the trade and its problems, along with Mohammed Abdiker, the 'director of operation and emergencies for the International Organization for Migration' admitting that the "situation is dire" [9]. Awareness of the issue leads to more being done to put a stop to it: there are now 'detention centres' in Tripoli, the capital Libya, where migrants are 'repatriated', although in CNN's report a man recounts his journey and despairs of how "[He] could not make it, but [He] thank[s] God for the life of those that make it [to Europe via emigration]" [9] - a heart-wrenching reflection on having to go back to his home country with nothing; this is a difficult prospect to come to terms with.

On the 9th December 2017, I attended a march in Central London to protest the slavery of African immigrants in Libya and to promote the Black Lives Matter movement. The march was targeted to end up at the Libyan Embassy in Knightsbridge, to make a stand to the Libyan consular officers. This was an incredible experience, and although tainted with the disgust of the concept that such motion is still necessary in 2017, the day was powerful, educational and inspirational. I recorded the day through a multitude of photos to document and share the experience with anyone unable to attend, which are included throughout this article.

Upon my arrival at the meeting place of the march, there were, at a guess, 150 people present, and about an hour later the crowd had grown to approximately a couple of thousand bodies. Screams of powerful messages were chanted throughout the streets along with megaphones and whistles, stopping traffic and turning heads - an environment impossible to ignore. The chants included "shame on Libya!", "no more slavery, slavery must end!", "tear down the fences!" and "we're not for sale!" The chanting was moving and sentimental, but so empowering at the same time.

I hope within my lifetime that I have the privilege of witnessing the end of racial hatred and violence, however my rational (and possibly cynical) side knows that such ideologies potentially cannot be completely eradicated due to ignorance that heartbreakingly passes down generations. I appeal to the readers of this article, that my small impact can be to encourage you to always think fairly and neutrally, without factorising race in decision and always treating others as equals. Privileged people should do what they can to help others who are not as fortunate.

To summarise the matter, one of my favourite quotes:

"if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention"[14][15].

References

9. Edition.cnn.com https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/14/africa/libya-migrant-auctions/index.html “People for Sale” article by Nima Elgabir, Raja Razek, Alex Platt, Bryony Jones. Date accessed: 11 December 2017.

13. Anti slavery.org https://www.antislavery.org/libya-slave-trade/ “Libya slave trade sends shockwaves around the world” article by Jakub Sobik, Anti-slavery International’s communications manager. Published 8 December 2017. Date accessed: 11 December 2017

14. MetaFilter. 2018. original quote | Ask MetaFilter. [ONLINE] Available at: https://ask.metafilter.com/153111/original-quote. [Accessed 11 December 2017].

15. If you aren't angry, you haven't been paying attention - Topic. 2018. "If you aren't angry, you haven't been paying attention" - Topic. [ONLINE] Available at: http://forum.quoteland.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/99191541/m/6131018921. [Accessed 11 December 2017].

photo credits:

1) Veronica Bateman, 2017

2) Veronica Bateman, 2017

3) Veronica Bateman, 2017

4) Veronica Bateman, 2017

5) Veronica Bateman, 2017

6) credit to twitter.[9]

7) CAJ News Africa [10]