Photo by Roberdan
Migrants who are trying to reach Europe are caught and sold into slavery in Libya.
Per The Guardian, “The north African nation is a major exit point for refugees from Africa trying to take boats to Europe. But since the overthrow of autocratic leader Muammar Gaddafi, the vast, sparsely populated country has slid into violent chaos and migrants with little cash and usually no papers are particularly vulnerable.”
Even though many people don’t recognize the human trafficking going on in Libya, it is out in the open where everybody can see it. Human rights groups recognized it in the past, yet it has begun to worsen in recent time.
NewsWeek reports, “‘There are now more migrants coming back from Libya, so that’s also why all these stories are coming to the surface. And conditions are worsening in Libya so I think we can also expect more in the coming months,’” said Giuseppe Loprete, chief of mission at IOM Niger.”
These are not statistics, but people who are hurting and want freedom.
The BBC explains, “A Senegalese migrant, who was not named to protect his identity, said that he had been sold at one such market in the southern Libyan city of Sabha, before being taken to a makeshift prison where more than 100 migrants were being held hostage.”
As they are held in prison, migrants are treated inhumanely. Often, they die of the consequences of this inhumane treatment.
Per The Guardian, “Men who lingered there too long without the ransom being paid were taken away and killed, he said. Some wasted away on meagre rations in unsanitary conditions, dying of hunger and disease, but overall numbers never fell. ‘If the number of migrants goes down, because of death or someone is ransomed, the kidnappers just go to the market and buy one,’ Manente said.”
Some slaves are not sold to be put into ransom, but to do a job they are skilled at, such as painting or tile work.
BBC states, “The price is definitely different depending on your qualifications, for example if you can do painting or tiles or some specialised work then the price gets higher.”
Christian Aid is sharing Christ’s hope with the Tuareg people, a group of Sunni Muslims that are known for violence.
Christian Aid explains, “With help from Christian Aid supporters, Mohammed, a missionary in Mali with Christ Among the Tuaregs, placed himself in this strategic stopping place, intentionally targeting them with the gospel. Following a friendly relationship of three years, he was able to lead three of them to Christ.”
Please pray for those on the slave market to be freed and for Christian Aid Mission to share Christ’s hope with the Tuareg people.
The Guardian: Migrants from west Africa being ‘sold in Libyan slave markets’
BBC: African migrants sold in Libya ‘slave markets’, IOM says
NewsWeek: African Migrants Smuggled Into Libya Sold at ‘Modern-Day Slave Markets’
Christian Aid: The Tuareg: “Blue People” of the Sahara
