UN agency says captured migrants sold as slaves

Othman Belbeisi, Libya head of the International Organization for Migration, reported on April 11 that people fleeing war and starvation in West Africa are being sold as slaves.

“Migrants also are being sold, and selling human beings is becoming a trend among smugglers as the smuggling networks in Libya are becoming stronger and stronger,” he said.

Interviews with migrants reveal that many are being kidnapped and sold in Sabha, Libya. Sabha is a main migrant-smuggling hub, where refugees flock in hopes of catching boats to cross the Mediterranean to Italy.

Migrants report being sold in markets set up in garages and parking lots.

“If you go to the market and you can pay between $200 and $500 to get a migrant that will work with you on your daily jobs or support your work,” Belbeisi reported. “After you buy, this person is handed over to you, again then it becomes your responsibility. Many of them escape, many of them are kept in bondage, and many of them are even imprisoned inside an area where they are forced to work on daily basis.”

Not surprisingly, women receive the worst treatment. There are reports of rape and sexual abuse, as well as women being forced into prostitution.