‘Modern-Day Slavery’: Migrants Sold At Slave Auction For $400 In Libya
Human rights are violated in Libya as the migrants who are trying to reach Europe through North Africa are sold at the slave auction for $400 by smugglers. They are sold to buyers for manual labor or farm work as shown in the investigation.
CNN searched this modern-day slavery and witnessed the actual slave auction in Libya. They saw that dozens of people were auctioned in the space of six or seven minutes. The salesman at the auction was dressed in camouflage gear shouting and asking someone who needed a big strong man digger. And the buyers raised their hands as the price rose to 500, 550, 600. Afterwards, the bidding was over and the men were handed to their new masters.
This is the fate of some desperate migrants who are trying to escape their countries, like Nigeria, looking for supposed to be peaceful and green pastures in Europe. On the other hand, they were victimized by these mean smugglers in Libya, who just wanted money in their pockets.
Almost tens of thousands of migrants each year pay a substantial amount to the smugglers, who would let the migrants board the boat and travel across the Mediterranean Sea. They could make their way in the sub-Saharan Africa and then to Libya. The cost of the trip from Sudan to Libya and to Italy is about $3,500 for a mother and her daughter, according to Newsweek.
This undercover video shows a slave auction in Libya https://t.co/H6euYHffin
— Author Alli Abdulquadri (@AlliAbdulquadri) November 17, 2017
On the other hand, Libyan coastguard had restricted their entry, so only fewer boats could make it to the sea. This left the migrants to the hands of the smugglers, who later became their masters. And the migrants became refugees then slaves. It is also reported that there were about 5,079 fatalities or missing people who tried to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
.@iomchief reacts in dismay to a CNN report of a slave auction in #Libya: https://t.co/ozsd935yt6
— IOM – UN Migration ?? (@UNmigration) November 16, 2017
First Lieutenant Naser Hazam of the government’s Anti-illegal immigration Agency in Tripoli said he had not witnessed the slave auction. Although, he confirmed that there are gangs managing smuggling trips in Libya.
He further said that they fill a boat with 100 people, those people may or may not make it. He added that the smuggler does not care as long as he gets the money and the migrant may get to Europe or die at sea.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Abdiker, the director of operations and emergencies for the International Organization for Migration, described the incident as extreme and drastic. He further said that some reports are truly horrifying and the latest reports of slave markets for migrants could be added to a long list of outrages. The Libyan authorities have promised to conduct investigations.
[Featured Image by David Ramos/Getty Images]
