Modern Slavery
Small, wet, overcrowded, smelly and hot. This could easily be the description of a sauna or even a Jacuzzi, where regular people go to relax, feel the high temperatures and sweat for a short period of time. The same applies to the gym; people go there to work hard, get sweaty and tired but we leave whenever we feel like it. We tend to like the extremes because we know there is always a way out, we are free to make that choice. But what if we were forced to stay in conditions similar to these for an indeterminate period of time? Obligated to stay in confined spaces with multiple people, experiencing high temperatures at all times, working hard and carrying heavy weights as your main duties, would it still be pleasant? Certainly not, moreover, it sounds unrealistic to the world we currently live in, since the times where people would be deprived of freedom, ended 152 years ago.
In October, a CNN reporter travelled to Libya in scope to find proof of slave auctions in the country. The reporter and the CNN crew were able to shoot a video of a live auction in a warehouse, where migrants were being kept and sold for as little as £400. In the video, we can see a group of African standing in a row, and we can also hear the traders negotiating the value of, referring to them as merchandise and by saying "big, strong boys for farm work" which indicates that they are being sold to work unwillingly at a farm. These migrants come from different parts of Africa, namely, Niger, Nigeria, Mali and Ghana. They leave their country with dreams of getting smuggled into Europe by sea, and that is how slave traders get access to them. During the process of getting to Europe, the migrants are placed into empty warehouses. If these become overcrowded or if the refugees run out of money to pay their smugglers, they are sold.
This issue has been causing outrage and it has recently prompted a protest in central Paris. Hundreds of people participated in the protest, by carrying signs and shouting “Put an end to the slavery and concentration camps in Libya”. The same has been happening in London, protesters have gathered outside the Libyan embassy on Saturday, the ninth of December. The streets were filled with people eager to cause change and raise awareness in a less traditional way. Demonstrators walked around the streets of London proudly showing their placards that exposed very powerful messages saying: “Do something, stop slavery” others had “African lives matter” or just “Slavery must go” they were demanding some action. A petition has also been created and signed by more than 260,000 people to pressure the Libyan government to stop the inhumane act.
Shouting the words “slavery must go”, was a young, beautiful, dark-skinned African woman called Taira Bondy. Taira is an 18-year-old biology student, who´s very passionate about social inequality, race-related issues, and has strong feelings about the media coverage of news. “It does not affect them and that´s why we don´t really see it a lot on the news”, she explains. The fact that this news is rarely highlighted in the British press it’s certainly a concern. When questioned about her reason to be there she sarcastically replies “well, I don´t work for the media so I have to find my own way to spread the word and raise awareness”. Koffi Delome shares the same opinion, “ the mainstream media is silent, it’s not talking about it”. Delome is responsible for one of the Instagram responsible for organizing the protests, he says that he wants to raise awareness and organize “our people, African people in the diaspora and raise awareness of what is happening in Libya”.
Humans react more effectively and faster with the shock factor, if we don´t see anything to react to, how else are we supposed to attend to the issue? The protests have helped raise awareness but change is yet to happen.
It takes more than a few protests to alter any issues happening in other countries, it takes a whole government to help cause that change. The modern slavery a British based helpline which only deals with problems that are UK based. “We have had calls from people asking what it´s being done about it” explains Stephen, “but we have no direct contacts with the slave trade in Libya case”. Regarding the Libya situation, a sense of helplessness dives and the helpline fails to attend to slavery cases happening outside the UK but believes the problem is being dealt by Amnesty International, a London based non-governmental organization that focuses on human rights.
In a recent article published on the twelfth of this month, also written by CNN, Amnesty accuses the EU governments of being complicit in the Libyan migrant abuse. In an interview given to the CNN, John Dalhuisen, the Amnesty International's Europe Director advises the government of the European Union on how to help stop the slave trade. In their opinion, policies should be reframed and changed in order to help refugees get into Europe legally.
Koffi Delome also believes there is a lot the UK government can do about it. Putting pressure in the different factions in Libya is a start, “ remember that Libya has three governments, three factions fighting each other”, he describes, “ the UK government controls one of the factions, but they can also put pressure on the other factions”.
It is also important that the Libyan authorities end the policy and practice of arrests and detention of refugees and migrants. If the migrants are immediately sent back to their countries the probability of them getting into the hands of the wrong people are low.
“Bring the perpetrators of this crime against humanity to justice” Koffi ends.