The Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) has expressed dismay at a recent media report about the sale of African migrants as slaves in the North African nation of Libya.
West African migrants were being sold in modern-day slave markets in Libya, based on information from the International Organization for Migration, a United Nations agency, Reuters and other media organisations have reported.
IHRDA said the practice is in contravention of Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which stipulates that, “Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being and to the recognition of his legal status. All forms of exploitation and degradation of man particularly slavery, slave trade, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment shall be prohibited.”
It calls on the Libyan Government and the African Union, including the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to investigate the violations and take measures aimed at bringing the perpetrators to justice, as well as ending the phenomenon.
Which Libyan Government is being called upon to arrest this barbaric practice? There is no “Libyan Government”; only gun wielding warlords, holding an entire nation, or what used to be a nation, hostage. Why aren’t the people who created this situation been called upon to sort out this mess? African Union, United Nations, International Community!!! What have they got to do with this mess?
It’s France, Britain, US and their allies who are responsible for this mess and they should be the ones held to account. Nobody consulted the AU when they decided to depose Gadaffi; (the AU didn’t want that) the UN Resolution they relied on only sanctioned “Protection of the population”; not destruction of the power of the regime and its overthrow.
Now that the LIES they told the whole world about the so called “Libyan Opposition” is being exposed, it must be hoped that there will be courage to demand that key players be held accountable. It is not right that whilst some leaders are pursued for crimes against humanity, some of the biggest perpetrators of crimes against humanity are shielded from accountability due to their geographical locations.
The truth about Gadaffi’s opponents is now clear: they are Arab supremacists who did not regard Black Libyans as worthy of Libyan citizenship and could never forgive Gadaffi for being colour blind. They had decimated Black Libyan Communities, on the pretext that these were mercenaries, before they turned on African migrants.
The Gambia Government should try, as much as possible, to evacuate as many Gambians from that place, as they can and use the experience of the evacuees to educate potential “back way” migrants.
What used to be Libya is now controlled by gun totting Arab supremacists and all people of colour, especially Africans, would be going to that place at their own risk. We should stop calling it Libya because it is not Libya anymore.
Horrible tragedy. The real question for us is what our responsibility is in this human tragedy and what is the remedy. Our government must put a premium on the future and life of young Gambians, by investing in education, providing an enabling environment for business to employ young workers and make staying at home in Gambia attractive. We must respect and value freedom of expression and a belief that ALL Gambians are created equal and will be judged by the quality of their intellect and the strength of their character.
The nations responsible for the present situation in Libya, do not have their citizens for sale, only Africans are sold like livestock. If we do not value us, no one will. It is not enough to register our disgust about what is happening and continue to happen, we must change our behavior and attitudes towards country and countrymen.
God Bless The Gambia
Dr Sarr and Bax, I agree 100% with what you’ve both said. The Gambia Government should work with the Senegalese Government for both countries to repatriate all Gambians and Senegalese nationals in Libya. However, I would urge both Governments not to only stop at Libya but also come to Europe where some of our brothers and sisters are living in horrible conditions in some detention camps. The Gambia Government in particular should not allow any distractor to stop them from doing what is right by providing consular support to Gambians in those camps and repatriate them back to the Gambia if need be.
Bourne; it’s no internet hoax; I received the unhuman clip too; you must be braver than me for watching to completion; I couldn’t watch further when the evil Arabs started to set the poor fellow’s beard alight with the lighter (if we are referring to the same clip); your pronouncements above are no insults at all to anyone much more the African leaders; most of whom are blinded by wealth acquisition in self enrichment & can never see beyond their very own noses for the peasantry communities, who entrusted them with managing their collective lives & resources…
I can’t help ponder, time & again; what real future lies ahead for our children & future generations ahead…???
If, a Gambian with their distinctive Godly humility gene characteristics by nature; can be subjected to experience the evil kanilai Murderdom lately for so long on Gambian soil….
The African with our individual self determinated endeavour to better ourselves on our own duly earned sweat no matter how long as it’s earned legitimately; except for the fewer selfish individuals, both local & foreign like everywhere who will ensure to catastrophe in any ways possible if not for their selfish explorations first; the African as have been witnessed all the way, generally have been subject of abuse in both physical & violence, as well as resources endowed on African soil itself in no uncertain terms…
The African in general in various individual countries unfortunately, through communal cooperations (AU) together as a continent; & in mirror down to the Gambian themselves as a community & our only home, must ensure to resilient resolve together, in reorientation endeavours to sensitization to the youths in particular, to know there are devils & vultures out there; posing in human flesh & walking on human legs & shape, once you step out beyond the boundaries of Gambia as a country…
Let’s do away with our ‘naive’ habitual (humility) perception; expecting everyone out there to be like the (selfless) ‘Gambian’; be fully prepared to face the racist persecutions at best, even in so-called mature democratic supremacist societies; for some of us ever venturing out of the Smile Coast at anytime; (I can’t believe I said venturing out, when one can be subjected to the same on technology even between the walls of your own home nowadays)….
Those, venturing out through the DARK Backway; there are ALLIGATORS in colossal numbers literally feeding on human beings whenever one crosses outside the Gambian boarder (just like the few we have inside the Gambia too); gaping their infectious evil jaws, to abuse, exploit, persecute, assault, harass, attack, barbarise, rape, maim & kill in cold blood for ANY reason; ranging from economic & to even a mere ‘game for fun’ as been documented abundantly…
The African & the collective leadership have some way to go, to stand up to the challenges the real world poses for our own good & very own survival, individually & collectively together…
God bless Africa (Gambia); Ameen…
Leaders of African countries are basically cowards and spineless, Sudan is another hot spot for buying black people, this is nothing new, these spineless leaders will keep quiet or give the odd lip service, to make it look and sound like they really (people have to remember it is them and us) care that’s it! If they the spineless leaders talk to hard, they will get either sanctions, trade embargo, less aid money, non democratic label or human rights abuse slapped on them or all 5.
Very sad world we live in.
It is said that those who don’t learn from the mistakes of history, will often repeat those same mistakes. And unfortunately, Africans have either not learned anything from our past or we are too trusting of the present, but either way, we will ultimately suffer the consequences of our naivety, now and in the future.
One of my favourite online commentators, Saul Saidykhan, has got a piece on Kaironews culled from mantankara.com. It is a must read because it has put the current happenings in Libya in their proper context.
Having read the commentaries above as regards the slavery drama in Libya lately, I must admit I felt a little bit let down that none of the commentators has delved into a cultural historical interpretation of this inhuman trade in the Arab world. Unfortunately! However, those of you who can by no means be regarded as historical illiterates shall without doubt agree with me that the main reason behind the persistence of black African slavery all over the middle-east is the “culture” subsisting in that region.
For over a thousand years Arabs have in collaboration with local black Muslims been enslaving non-Muslim Africans by invoking verses from the Holy Quran that justify it. Even though those very verses appeared in the Holy book at a time when slavery in one form or another was present in each and every community on the globe. However, not least due to the chronic shortage of enlightenment in the Arab world to date, most of the population of the region have not been able to critically confront such verses with the critical eyes that it deserves. Accordingly, the Arab term for “nigger” “Abd” (which means “slave”) is still routinely hurled at black Africans on a daily basis in each and every country in the middle-east and north Africa to date. Our diplomats have known about this state of affairs for over fifty years, so do our historians and journalists not to mentioned the reading public.
I would therefore suggest a pan-African grass roots movement that shall have as its main objective exposing and challenging the cultural basis of this very inhuman cultural practice on a constant basis – and not just when news about the phenomenon is making the headlines in the world press. The Arab world ( in addition to our neighbour Mauritania) has been in denial of this fact for far too long even though it is an open secret to anyone who has been following developments in this regard in that part of the globe. The AU could be held to account by such a body if it continuous to drag its feet on this important issue: Needless to say, our self worth and dignity as a race is at stake here. Our own investigative journalists can also make a difference here by reaching out to blacks living in the region (both Africans and the descendants of Black African slaves most of whom continue to live as second or third class citizens in each and every Arab majority country) and relaying their narratives to their readership on a frequent basis – and thereby keeping the topic on top of the agenda in the short and medium term. This shall surely increase the pressure on our leaders on the continent to do something about it sooner rather than later.
Using the Holy Quran to justify the inhuman treatment of our brethren in the middle-east is an abuse of the Muslim religion which should be wholly unacceptable to any right-minded black African Muslim in this day and age, period! Yes, if need be, the AU as a continental body should kick out any Arab or Berber member-state that subjects blacks to slavery and place them under a regime of appropriate continent-wide sanctions. Not least, bearing in mind the fact that all the countries in the region that persist in subjecting black Africans to such inhuman and degrading treatment need us more as a continent than vice versa! Indeed, united we stand, divided we fall!!
Mr Drammeh..
You have indeed “spoken” well. I think we all know the historical context of current happenings in Libya regarding the mistreatment of vulnerable Africans, and I would like to quote from a piece on Kaironews by Saul Saidykhan, because it is so pertinent to this discussion.
Quote @Saul Saidykhan:
” The fact that so many barbaric criminals – Arab, European, and Indian- daringly video-tape themselves while inflicting UNPROVOKED and UNJUSTIFIABLE SAVAGERY on Africans cheerfully is testament to the mind set of the people of the region as far as Africans are concern. Let me be clear: as outrageous and egregious as what is currently taking place in Libya is, the country is merely a metaphor for Arab attitude towards Africans. If truth be told, there isn’t a single Arab country where Africans are treated as human beings. Muamar Ghadaffy, and before him, Kama Abdel Nasser are simply exceptions when it comes to Arab leaders and Africans.”
Our challenge today, is to produce leaders that will stand up and challenge these backward attitudes, cultures and prejudices directed at Africans, not only from the Arab World, but wherever it may be present. And part of addressing this challenge will be to institute democratic governance practices that upholds, respects and guarantees the dignity of the African at home and create systems that uplift the economic, social, political and educational status of the African. We need leaders who will begin to work on creating systems, structures and resources/instruments/tools/equipment that guarantee our territorial independence and continental security.
As a coloured people, with the history that we unfortunately have, we will never be respected until the rest of the world sees and feels that we are a force to reckon with: politically, socially, economically, scientifically and militarily. Only then will Africa and Africans enjoy respite from maltreatment, mistreatment and unfair treatment in this world.
Unfortunately, like I stated before, we don’t seem to have learnt anything from history and it may be too late for us now, as the world rushes headlong towards another, potentially, the most deadly global conflict.
Yes Bourne, I agree with you that we should be optimistic but, we need a “call to action” to be optimistic about, we can not sit and hope.