The world was shocked when news of slave markets in Libya broke four years ago, but since then cases of modern slavery in Libya have evolved considerably. And they are all linked back to migrant detention centers and the money and power fueling their existence.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the United Nations have all documented major human rights violations and clear cases of modern slavery in these facilities.
So who’s throwing these vulnerable people behind bars?
The Libyan Coastguard — supported generously by funding from the European Union.1,2
In a bid to prevent refugees and migrants from reaching the shores of Europe, the Libyan Coastguard has increased its interception of boats in the Mediterranean Sea, returning those on board to Libya and locking them up in migrant detention centers.3
And as the devastating, deadly airstrike on the Tajoura migrant detention center shows, these facilities are now targets in the country’s ongoing conflict and no place for refugees to live.
We know racism within Libya is contributing to the problem as well; black and dark-skinned refugees and migrants from Sub-Saharan African are the majority of those trafficked and subjected to forced labor. The United Nations even reported that “a commonly used word to refer to black people in Libya is ‘abidat’, which translates to “slaves.”4
Take it from Leyla, a Somali refugee.
“We barely ate and there wasn’t enough water. So many people were sick with TB, some died in my arms. I was beaten up and we were tortured – with electricity,” she said.5
She and her husband fled Islamist al-Shabab militants in Somalia in 2016 but ended up in the hands of human traffickers in Libya. When they managed to escape their traffickers, the couple boarded an inflatable boat, hoping to cross the Mediterranean.
But when their boat ran out of fuel it was the Libyan Coastguard that forcibly took them to Tripoli, locking them up in the Triq al-Sikka Detention Center. Running out of hope that they would be freed, her husband set himself on fire, burning to death.
We must break this cycle of exploitation.
And that starts with putting pressure on the EU. Telling the EU to put human lives before inhume immigration policies that are sending refugees and migrants back into danger in Libya.
Your signature tells the EU that it can no longer be complicit in allowing modern slavery to persist in Libya. Act now.
Notes:
- https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jan/21/eu-support-for-libya-contributes-to-extreme-abuse-of-refugees-human-rights-watch-study ↩
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/08/un-accuses-libyan-linked-to-eu-funded-coastguard-of-people-trafficking ↩
- https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jul/10/under-fire-libya-refugee-detention-centres ↩
- https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/LY/LibyaMigrationReport.pdf ↩
- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49154959 ↩
Briar K.,
JUAN CARLOS Z.,
I charge every American news outlet to be in American faces with this story! We are bombarded with slavery from the past that we can do nothing about, how about slavery happening now? I wonder if they have the courage to tell these victims stories!
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/14/africa/libya-migrant-auctions/index.html
It is being reported. ALL of it is important, both the ongoing repercussions of slavery at the foundation of U.S.A. and any slavery anywhere. Its not an either/or circumstance. All slavery, past and present, must be faced, stopped and amends must be made by those who profited from it at any stage.
Wait a minute, Europeans went to Africa to buy slaves, Arabs are still owning nearly 20 million blacks as slaves, yet your anger is geared only towards Americans?
YES, THe Proceeds of Crime. Slavery,factory,mine,mill owner or any other exploitation on which dynasties are based. Expose and remove their assets.
Inhuman, No Human Being can or should own another.
I agree this is so terrible. And it is a Direct result of the NATO bombing the country and removing Gadaffi. I Wonder if they are proud now, all those who said “something must be done”? But inthis situation now, what can be done? Who can do anything?
Thank you so much for this petition and the background informations! It’s horrible! Gaddafi was called as “crazy dictator” and killed by “Western States” (NATO members)… But he supported OAS and spent plenty of money for infrastructure not only in Libya…!!! I didn’t like him. But when I compare him with the crazy man in WH …… and what is happening now in North Africa… – I think, many people wish Gaddafi back…., isn’t it?
How could I look at myself in the mirror tomorrow, knowing that I had heard about this and done nothing?