migrants sold into slavery as global outrage grows
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today
Egypt Today, egypt today
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today

In Libya Tell Of 'Total Hell'

Migrants sold into slavery as global outrage grows

Egypt Today, egypt today

Egypt Today, egypt today Migrants sold into slavery as global outrage grows

The Cameroonians flew back to Yaounde on Tuesday
Abidjan - Egypt Today

Survivors of slave auctions in Libya have described a "total hell" that they wouldn't wish on their "worst enemy" as global outrage grows over footage showing migrants being sold off in the war-torn country.

"We were slaves," said Moussa Sanogo, a migrant who flew back to Ivory Coast from Libya this week after surviving regular beatings and forced labour in the fields.

"For the Arabs (Libyan jailers), black-skinned men are nothing but animals -- animals were treated better," said Sanogo, who spent more than four months in Libya trying to get to Italy by boat.

The North African country has long been a major transit hub for migrants trying to reach Europe.

He was just one of those who returned home with stories similar to those aired last week by US TV network CNN, which showed an apparent slave auction where black men were presented to North African buyers as potential farmhands and sold off for as little as $400 (340 euros).

"It was total hell in Libya," said Maxime Ndong, one of 250 migrants flown back to Cameroon on Tuesday night.

"There is a trade in black people there. People who want slaves... come to buy them," he told AFP.

"If you resist, they shoot at you. There have been deaths," said Ndong, who spent eight months in Libya.

The Cameroonians flew back to Yaounde on Tuesday aboard a plane charted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as part of a project to return and reintegrate some 850 people.

- Sold by the police -

Sanogo, 22, was one of about 600 Ivory Coast migrants that were returning from Libya with IOM's support. Around 150 people landed in the capital Abidjan on Monday with the rest to be brought home during the week.

Sanogo described Libya as an anarchic country preyed on by bandits where the forces of law and order were involved in human trafficking.

"At one point, we were caught by people who said they were police," he said.

"The police then sold me for 500 dinars (310 euros, $365) to a man who made me work in a tomato field for a month. You have to work."

Sanogo fled across the desert to Niger where he was imprisoned again before finally escaping to Tunisia.

Then a people smuggler promising a path to Europe convinced him to return to Libya.

- 'Pricing you like merchandise' -

"We were captured and locked in a small room with 60 other people," and were "not able to wash," he said.

"When the Arabs entered they wore masks due to the smell," he said, shaking his head at the memory.

"They are buying you. You're there, you have been arrested, you see they are judging your price like merchandise. They bought you and you're going to work... like a slave," he said.

"They hit you all the time -- especially if you're big like me -- until the blood flows, with sticks, metal, the butt of a gun.

"For food, you are given a piece of bread and a piece of cheese, that's all... I'm happy to be back," he said.

"I would not wish it on my enemy."

- 'Humiliation for Africa' -

Another migrant, Seydou Sanogo from Abidjan, said: "You would have to see what we lived through to believe it".

But not everyone wanted to leave Libya. One woman with an 18-month-old baby said she did not want to return to Ivory Coast.

"We were waiting for the boat. We were almost there," said the woman, who did not give her name.

The slave auction footage has triggered an outcry across Africa, bringing to public consciousness a situation that has previously been condemned by many non-governmental groups and observers.

Source:AFP

egypttoday
egypttoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

migrants sold into slavery as global outrage grows migrants sold into slavery as global outrage grows



GMT 08:02 2015 Tuesday ,15 September

No snow: Californian water source at 500-year low

GMT 15:25 2018 Wednesday ,14 November

Friedrich Merz vows to steal half of AfD voters

GMT 06:53 2017 Saturday ,18 February

G20 foreign ministers vow to fight poverty in Africa

GMT 14:27 2017 Friday ,10 March

Hypercars mingle with station wagons

GMT 13:13 2011 Friday ,16 December

Hyundai i-oniq Concept for Geneva 2012

GMT 11:53 2011 Monday ,26 September

Guerrero: We’ve got Peruvians dreaming

GMT 18:17 2016 Sunday ,18 December

Iraqi warplanes bomb Daesh warehouses

GMT 16:54 2017 Sunday ,15 January

26 killed as Hadi forces push Houthis back

GMT 04:29 2016 Saturday ,25 June

A New Generation of Robots is Ready for the Market

GMT 12:31 2011 Saturday ,26 November

Google working on OnLive rival for Chrome OS

GMT 23:18 2017 Wednesday ,01 March

Dh4.2m lawsuit against George Wassouf thrown out

GMT 12:57 2018 Tuesday ,09 January

German industrial orders dip in November

GMT 07:18 2018 Sunday ,07 January

Palestinians mark Orthodox Christmas

GMT 02:09 2017 Sunday ,08 January

Downtown Dubai is a place to be on New Year’s Eve

GMT 06:32 2018 Wednesday ,03 January

A Weathered Penny appoints

GMT 10:14 2015 Tuesday ,11 August

Woman drowns in Dubai after father blocks rescue

GMT 13:51 2013 Friday ,25 January

Billy Bragg to get BBC Folk Award

GMT 00:30 2012 Thursday ,27 September

Causes of snoring in pregnancy revealed

GMT 08:30 2016 Sunday ,10 April

War photographer and mother, the woman

GMT 14:06 2012 Thursday ,26 July

Depression linked to artificial light

GMT 05:44 2011 Tuesday ,19 April

New hope for secretive rare animal

GMT 18:53 2012 Tuesday ,27 November

Radio host suspended over anti-Semitism
 
 Egypt Today Facebook,egypt today facebook  Egypt Today Twitter,egypt today twitter Egypt Today Rss,egypt today rss  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
egypttoday, Egypttoday, Egypttoday