They Are Selling Black Men in Open Markets in Libya. This Is Happening Right Now.
We don’t usually step outside African and Black history to cover current events — but some stories are too urgent, too painful, and too close to home to stay silent.
This is one of them.
In Libya — a country fractured by war and abandoned by justice — sub-Saharan African migrants are being auctioned off in garages, car parks, and town squares. Human beings. Sold for as little as $400.
These are not stories from the 1600s. This is the 21st century.
Most victims left their homes running from poverty, conflict, and hopelessness — chasing a better life across the Mediterranean. They never made it. Traffickers, armed militias, and smugglers intercepted them in a country with no functioning government and no rule of law — a direct consequence of the 2011 NATO-backed removal of Muammar Gaddafi that left Libya in permanent chaos.
To make it worse — EU border policies designed to stop Mediterranean crossings have left hundreds of thousands of migrants trapped inside Libya. Trapped. With nowhere to go and no one to protect them.
In 2017, CNN aired undercover footage of a live auction. The world watched. There was outrage. There were protests. Then — silence.
The IOM, the UN, and the African Union have all raised alarms. Reports continue to confirm forced labor, extortion, and modern slavery are still happening as you read this.
Black lives are still being bought and sold. The world must not look away.
Share this post. Talk about it. Refuse to be silent.
Sources: IOM, CNN (2017), BBC, NPR, UN Human Rights Office, Al Jazeera, The Guardian.
Africa has EVERYTHING. Let’s NOT running away. There’s nothing in Europe or America which can make us leave Africa.
Why can’t we make our countries better instead of admiring our neighbour?
Which is better, to stay at home and fight for improved social and economic environment or risk being auctioned off?
Life in the diaspora is not easy.
