Understanding the causes of modern day slavery in Libya
Permit me to add my voice to the disheartening issue of human trafficking that has become a lucrative business nowadays. Migrants pay money to traffickers to take them to Europe in search of greener pastures. They are firstly smuggled to Libya by a network of criminal gangs on the promise of reaching Europe. Human traffickers who have syndicates often deceive our young men and women who constitute bulk of the migrants by promising them good “jobs” in Europe.
The migrants are promised new life and paradise on earth. They think and believe something wonderful is waiting for them in Europe.
However, who buys slaves in Libya and for what? Why do Africans migrate to Europe? Why do the EU countries block migrants from entering Europe? How can Africa stop migration to Europe? Please come with me!
In my observation, high rate of poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and political instability in most of the African countries were and or are still some of the reasons convincing African migrants to move to Europe in search of greener pastures.
Libya is a major exit point for African migrants heading to Europe. Libya as the main gateway for people attempting to reach Europe through Italy and once the migrants get to Italy, they can easy enter other the European countries because of their effective transportation system and proximity.
In the past, some African migrants ended up in Libya on their way to Europe. Libya’s economy during its heydays was by far better than those of many African countries. The country has a total population of only about 6 million people. The country, when there was peace, used to be producing over 1.6 million barrels of crude oil daily. More so, it has proven crude oil reserves of over 46 billion barrels, which is the biggest in Africa. During the 42 years reign of Muammar Gaddafi, he maintained an open-door policy to all African citizens and coupled with Libya’s good economy then a lot of Africans who were on their way to Europe found Libya as a home.
The migrants’ population later became too many, right from Gaddafi era where detention centres were introduced. However, the real problem began to manifest after the power vacuum in Libya. The fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 made Libya to become a failed state. The power vacuum in Libya after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi has made human trafficking and people smuggling a booming trade in Libya. There is really no rule of law across much of Libya.
More so, the economic shocks in Libya, caused by the collapse in the price of crude oil as well as the drop in Libya’s daily crude production might have added to the crisis.
The detention centres established in Libya as early as the year 2000s were to deter migrants from flooding Libya. The detention centers in Libya which are referred to by Libya as “holding centers” were to deter migration to Libya and Europe. Italy, the country where most of the girls among the migrants end up as prostitutes, is alleged to be paying the Libyan traffickers more money in order to stop them from sending migrants on boats to Italy.
The European Union’s renewed strategy to stop migrants and refugees travelling across the Mediterranean has led to more people being stuck in the North African country, without money or food. This EU policy of helping Libyan authorities to intercept people trying to cross the Mediterranean and return them to prisons or detention centres has been described as inhuman. However, there is no proper registration process for the tens of thousands of migrants arriving in Libya.
According to reports, the business of detention centres is unsupervised in some parts of Libya and stories of torture, rape and forced labour have emerged. When the centres get over crowded, people are then allegedly sold off like goods in open markets. They are being sold off for various amounts in the range of $400.The policy of intercepting the migrants by the Libyans made some of the traffickers run into trouble. It is alleged that the migrants were beaten up and forced to call their families to arrange money for their release. Some of those who could not pay their captors are reportedly killed or left to starve to death. Women are ordered to work in private night clubs as prostitutes. Some are sold to farmhouses for slavery.
Who buys slaves in Libya and for what? In my understanding, traffickers or smugglers who are now unable to get the people who have often sold all their possessions in order to pay their way to Europe are holding them against their will. When warehouses overflow or migrants run out of money to pay the smugglers, some are sold into slavery. CNN recorded footage of men being sold for $400 as farm labourers at a nighttime auction in Libya.
How can Africa stop migrants from going to Europe? The only way to stop or minimize migration from Africa to Europe is for African governments to work hard towards reducing poverty, unemployment and illiteracy among their peoples. Political stability is also needed in Africa.
May God bless Africa!