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Slavery in Libya

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Slavery in Libya[1][2][3]has a long history and a lasting impact on theLibyanculture. It is closely connected with the wider context ofslaveryinNorth Africanandtrans-Saharan slave trade.

History[edit]

Further information:Slavery in antiquity,History of slavery in the Muslim world,Slavery in the Umayyad Caliphate,andSlavery in the Abbasid Caliphate

Roman Libya[edit]

Further information:Slavery in antiquity

As aRoman province,Tripolitania was a major exporter of agricultural products, as well as a centre for the gold and slaves conveyed to the coast by theGaramentes,while Cyrenaica remained an important source of wines, drugs, and horses.[4]

Enslavement of the Berbers[edit]

Further information:Slavery in the Rashidun Caliphate

WhenAmr ibn al-Asconquered Tripoli in 643, he forced the Jewish and Christian Berbers to give their wives and children as slaves to the Arab army as part of theirjizya.[5][6][7]Uqba ibn Nafiwould often enslave for himself (and to sell to others) countless Berber girls, "the likes of which no one in the world had ever seen."[8]

Ibn Abd al-Hakamrecounts that the Arab GeneralHassan ibn al-Nu'manwould often abduct "young, female Berber slaves of unparalleled beauty, some of which were worth a thousand dinars." Al-Hakam confirms that up to one hundred thousand slaves were captured by Musa and his son and nephew during the conquest of North Africa. InTangier,Musa enslaved all the Berber inhabitants. Musa sacked a fortress nearKairouanand took with him all the children as slaves.[9]The number of Berbers enslaved "amounted to a number never before heard of in any of the countries subject to the rule of Islam" up to that time. As a result, "most of the African cities were depopulated, [and] the fields remained without cultivation." Even so, Musa "never ceased pushing his conquests until he arrived beforeTangiers,the citadel of their [Berbers’] country and the mother of their cities, which he also besieged and took, obliging its inhabitants to embrace Islam. "[10]

The historian Pascual de Gayangos observed: “Owing to the system of warfare adopted by the Arabs, it is not improbable that the number of captives here specified fell into Musa’s hands. It appears both from Christian and Arabian authorities that populous towns were not infrequently razed to the ground and their inhabitants, amounting to several thousands, led into captivity.”[11][12]

Successive Muslim rulers of North Africa continued to enslave the Berbers en masse. The historianHugh N. Kennedyobserved that "the Islamic jihad looks uncomfortably like a giant slave trade."[13]Arab chronicles record vast numbers of Berber slaves taken, especially in the accounts ofMusa ibn Nusayr,who became the governor of Africa in 698, and who "was cruel and ruthless against any tribe that opposed the tenets of the Muslim faith, but generous and lenient to those who converted."[14]Muslim historianIbn QutaybahrecountsMusa ibn Nusayrwaging "battles of extermination" against the Berbers and how he "killed myriads of them, and made a surprising number of prisoners."[15]

According to the historian As-sadfi, the number of slaves taken byMusa ibn Nusayrwas greater than in any of the previous Islamic conquests.[16]

Musa went out against the Berbers, and pursued them far into their native deserts, leaving wherever he went traces of his passage, killing numbers of them, taking thousands of prisoners, and carrying on the work of havoc and destruction. When the nations inhabiting the dreary plains of Africa saw what had befallen the Berbers of the coast and of the interior, they hastened to ask for peace and place themselves under the obedience of Musa, whom they solicited to enlist them in the ranks of his army

Enslavement of Europeans[edit]

Main article:Barbary slave trade

There is historical evidence of North African Muslim slave raids all along the Mediterranean coasts across Christian Europe.[17]The majority of slaves traded across the Mediterranean region were predominantly of European origin from the 7th to 15th centuries.[18]In the 15th century, Ethiopians sold slaves from western borderland areas (usually just outside the realm of theEmperor of Ethiopia) orEnnarea.[19]

It is estimated that between 1 million and 1.25 million Europeans were captured by pirates and sold as slaves between the 16th and 19th century. Reports of Barbary raids and kidnappings of those inItaly,France,Iberia,England,Ireland,Scotlandand as far north asIcelandexist from this period.[20]Famous accounts of Barbary slave raids include a mention in the Diary ofSamuel Pepysand a raid on the coastal village ofBaltimore,Ireland, during which pirates left with the entire populace of the settlement. Such raids in the Mediterranean were so frequent and devastating that the coastline between Venice and Malaga[21]suffered widespread depopulation, and settlement there was discouraged. It was said that this was largely because "there was no one left to capture any longer".[22]

Enslavement of West & Central Africans[edit]

Further information:Afro-Arabs,Trans-Saharan trade route,Trans-Saharan slave trade,andOttoman slave trade
A depiction of slaves being transported across theSahara desert

TheTuaregand others who are indigenous to Libya facilitated, taxed and partly organized the trade from the south along thetrans-Saharan trade routes.In the 1830s – a period when slave trade flourished –Ghadameswas handling 2,500 slaves a year.[23]Even though the slave trade was officially abolished inTripoliin 1853, in practice it continued.[24]

The British Consul inBenghaziwrote in 1875 that the slave trade had reached an enormous scale and that the slaves who were sold inAlexandriaandConstantinoplehad quadrupled in price. This trade, he wrote, was encouraged by thelocal government.[24]

Italian postcard from 1937, purporting to show an enslavedCyrenaican (Libyan)woman. Sensualised depiction of slavery was a common cultural trope of the early 20th century.

Adolf Vischerwrites in an article published in 1911 that: "...it has been said that slave traffic is still going on on the Benghazi-Wadairoute, but it is difficult to test the truth of such an assertion as, in any case, the traffic is carried on secretly ".[25]AtKufra,the Egyptian travellerAhmed Hassanein Beyfound out in 1916 that he could buy a girl slave for five pounds sterling while in 1923 he found that the price had risen to 30 to 40 pounds sterling.[26]

Another traveler, theDanishconvert to IslamKnud Holmboe,crossed theItalian Libyandesert in 1930, and was told that slavery is still practiced in Kufra and that he could buy a slave girl for 30 pounds sterling at the Thursdayslave market.[26]According toJames Richardson's testimony, when he visited Ghadames, most slaves were fromBornu.[27]

The Italians reported to theAdvisory Committee of Experts on Slaveryin the 1930s that all former slaves inItalian Tripolitania- slavery in Libya was since long formally abolished - were free to leave their former Arab owners if they wished, but that they stayed because they were socially depressed; and that in the oases of Cyrenaica and the interiour of Sanusiya, theTrans-Saharan slave tradehad been erased in parallel with Italian conquest, during which 900 slaves had been freed in the Kufra slave market; that the slaves inItalian Eritreawere now given salary and thus no longer slaves, and that the slavery andslave trade in Somaliahad now been abolished.[28]

21st century[edit]

Human Rights Watchdocumented cases of migrants frequently being arbitrarily detained and sold in Libyan detention centers.[29]Amnesty Internationalalso noted that migrants traveling through Libya were subject to detention in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions, and torture.[30]The US state department also noted in their 2010 report on human trafficking: "As in previous years, there were isolated reports that women from West and Central Africa were forced into prostitution in Libya. There were also reports that migrants from Georgia were subjected to forced labor in Libya," and argued that the Libyan government did not show significant evidence of effort to prosecute traffickers or protect trafficking victims.[31]

Slavery in the post-Gaddafi era[edit]

Since the overthrow of theGaddafigovernment during theFirst Libyan Civil Warin 2011, Libya has been plagued by disorder, leaving migrants with little cash and no papers vulnerable. Libya is amajor exit pointfor African migrants heading to Europe. TheInternational Organization for Migration(IOM) published a report in April 2017 showing that many of the migrants from West, Central and Sahelian Africa heading to Europe are sold as slaves after being detained bypeople smugglersor militia groups. African countries south of Libya were targeted for slave trading and transferred to Libyan slave markets instead. According to the victims, the price is higher for migrants with skills like painting and tiling.[32][33]Slaves are oftenransomedto their families and untilransomcan be paid are tortured, forced to work, sometimes to death and eventually executed or left to starve if they can't pay for too long. Women are often raped and used assex slavesand sold tobrothelsand private Libyan clients.[32][33][34][35]Many child migrants also suffer from abuse andchild rapein Libya.[36][37]

After receiving unverified CNN video of a November 2017slave auctionin Libya, a human trafficker toldAl-Jazeerathat hundreds of migrants are bought and sold across the country every week.[38]Migrantswho have gone throughLibyandetention centres have shown signs of many human rights abuses such as severe abuse, includingelectric shocks,burns, lashes and even skinning, stated the director of health services on the Italian island ofLampedusatoEuronews.[39]

A Libyan group known as the Asma Boys have antagonized migrants from other parts of Africa from at least as early as 2000, destroying their property.[40]Nigerian migrants in January 2018 gave accounts of abuses in detention centres, including being leased or sold as slaves.[41]Videos of Sudanese migrants being burnt and whipped for ransom, were released later on by their families on social media.[42]In June 2018, the United Nations applied sanctions against four Libyans (including a Coast Guard commander) and two Eritreans for their criminal leadership of slave trade networks.[43]

A 2023 report by theUN Human Rights Councilwarned thatcrimes against humanitywere being committed by state security forces and militia groups against migrants in Libya, which included women being forced intosexual slavery.The report highlighted that theEuropean Unioncontributed to these crimes by sending support to such forces.[44]

Reactions[edit]

The governments ofBurkina Fasoand theDemocratic Republic of the Congoresponded to the reports by recalling their ambassadors from Libya.[45]The CNN report incited outrage. Hundreds of protesters, mostly young black people, protested in front of the Libyan embassy in centralParis,with French police firing tear gas to disperse them.Moussa Faki Mahamat,chairmanof theAfrican Union Commission,called the auctions "despicable".[46]Protests also took place outside Libyan embassies inBamako,Conakry[47]andYaounde.[48]UN Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterresstated that he was horrified by the auction footage and these crimes should be investigated as possible crimes against humanity.[49]Hundreds protested outside theLibyan Embassyon 9 December 2017 inLondon.[50]

President of NigerMahamadou Issoufousummoned the Libyan ambassador and demanded theInternational Court of Justiceto investigate Libya for slave trade.Foreign minister of Burkina FasoAlpha Barry also stated he had summoned the Libyan ambassador for consultations.[51]Franceon 22 November 2017 sought an emergency meeting ofUN Security Council,whilePresidentEmmanuel Macroncalled the footage "scandalous" and "unacceptable." He called the auctions a crime against humanity.[52]President of NigeriaMuhammadu Buharistated that Nigerians were being treated like goats and stated stranded Nigerian migrants in Libya will be brought back.[53]

TheAfrican Union,European UnionandUnited Nationsagreed on 30 November 2017 to set up a task force in Libya against migrant abuse. The task force's aim is to coordinate its work with the GNA to dismantle trafficking and criminal networks. It also aims to help countries of origin and transit hubs to tackle migration with development and stability.[54]African and European leaders agreed on the same day to evacuate the migrants trapped in camps.[55] Former Nigerian aviation ministerFemi Fani-Kayodepublished images onTwitterclaiming that slaves were having their organs harvested and some of their bodies are burnt. He also quoted a report claiming that 75% of the slaves are from southern Nigeria. It was unclear however whether his images were authentic.[56]

A Ghanaian lawyer, Bobby Banson, also claimed that the organs of the migrants were being harvested and they were not being sold for work. He requested African Union to set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the slave trade.[57]

In 2017, the progressive media watchdog organizationFAIRaccused the mainstream media inWesternnations of whitewashing the role NATO and the United States played in the resurgence of open slave markets in Libya, following the NATO-led ousting of Muammar Qadhafi in 2011.[58]

NCHRL accusations of exaggerated reporting[edit]

In November 2017, the National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) claimed that the media reports of slavery in Libya were exaggerated, and that while slavery existed in Libya, it was also rare as well.[59]Slave auctions, the commission said, are "such rare sights" and "are very discrete and clandestine".[59]The commission also called for the Libyan government to stamp out the illegal practice of slavery as well.[59]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^TRT World (12 April 2017)."Libya Slave Trade: Rights group says migrants sold off in markets".Archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-21 – via YouTube.
  2. ^TRT World (26 April 2017)."Profiting off the misery of others: Libya's migrant 'slave trade'".Archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-21 – via YouTube.
  3. ^"Immigrant Women, Children Raped, Starved in Libya's Hellholes: Unicef".28 February 2017. Archived fromthe originalon 30 March 2019.Retrieved11 June2017.
  4. ^Mommsen, Theodore.The Provinces of the Roman EmpireChapter: Africa
  5. ^Pipes, Daniel (1981).Slave Soldiers and Islam: The Genesis of a Military System.Daniel Pipes. p. 142-43.ISBN9780300024470.
  6. ^Kennedy, Hugh (2007).The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In.Da Capo Press. p. 206.ISBN9780306815850.
  7. ^The History of the Conquest of Egypt, North Africa and Spain: Known as the Futuh.Cosimo. January 2010. p. 170.ISBN9781616404352.
  8. ^Barbarians, Marauders, And Infidels.Basic Books. 26 May 2004. p. 124.ISBN9780813391533.
  9. ^The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise.Open Road Media. 9 February 2016. p. 43-44.ISBN9781504034692.
  10. ^The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain.p. 252.
  11. ^The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain.p. 1:510n10.
  12. ^The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise.Open Road Media. 9 February 2016. p. 43.ISBN9781504034692.
  13. ^Kennedy, Hugh (10 December 2007).The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In.Hachette Books. p. 222.ISBN978-0-306-81728-1.
  14. ^Barbarians, Marauders, And Infidels.Basic Books. 26 May 2004. p. 116.ISBN9780813391533.
  15. ^The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise.Open Road Media. 9 February 2016. p. 42-44.ISBN9781504034692.
  16. ^The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise.Open Road Media. 9 February 2016. p. 100.ISBN9781504034692.
  17. ^Conlin, Joseph (2009),The American Past: A Survey of American History,Boston,MA:Wadsworth, p. 206,ISBN978-0-495-57288-6,retrieved10 October2010
  18. ^McDaniel, Antonio (1995),Swing low, sweet chariot: the mortality cost of colonizing Liberia in the nineteenth century,University of Chicago Press, p. 11,ISBN978-0-226-55724-3
  19. ^Emery Van Donzel, "Primary and Secondary Sources for Ethiopian Historiography. The Case of Slavery and Slave-Trade in Ethiopia," in Claude Lepage, ed.,Études éthiopiennes,vol I. France: Société française pour les études éthiopiennes, 1994, pp.187-88.
  20. ^"When Europeans Were Slaves: Research Suggests White Slavery Was Much More Common Than Previously Believed".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-25.
  21. ^"BBC - History - British History in depth: British Slaves on the Barbary Coast".
  22. ^"BBC - History - British History in depth: British Slaves on the Barbary Coast".
  23. ^K. S. McLachlan,"Tripoli and Tripolitania: Conflict and Cohesion during the Period of the Barbary Corsairs (1551–1850)",Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series, Vol. 3, No. 3, Settlement and Conflict in the Mediterranean World. (1978), pp. 285-294.
  24. ^abLisa Anderson,"Nineteenth-Century Reform in Ottoman Libya",International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 16, No. 3. (Aug., 1984), pp. 325-348.
  25. ^Adolf Vischer,"Tripoli",The Geographical Journal, Vol. 38, No. 5. (Nov., 1911), pp. 487-494.
  26. ^abWright, John (2007).The trans-Saharan slave trade.New York: Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-38046-1.
  27. ^Wright, John (1989).Libya, Chad and the Central Sahara.C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd.ISBN1-85065-050-0.
  28. ^Miers, S. (2003). Slavery in the Twentieth Century: The Evolution of a Global Problem. Storbritannien: AltaMira Press. 226
  29. ^"Pushed Back, Pushed Around".Human Rights Watch.2009-09-21.Retrieved29 May2021.
  30. ^"Seeking safety,finding fear. Refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants in Libya and Malta"(PDF).Amnesty International. December 2010.Retrieved29 May2021.
  31. ^"United States Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report 2010 - Libya, 14 June 2010".Refworld.Retrieved29 May2021.
  32. ^abAfrican migrants sold in Libya 'slave markets', IOM says.11 April 2017.{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)
  33. ^ab"Migrants from west Africa being 'sold in Libyan slave markets'".The Guardian.
  34. ^"African migrants sold as 'slaves' in Libya".3 July 2020.
  35. ^"West African migrants are kidnapped and sold in Libyan slave markets / Boing Boing".boingboing.net.11 April 2017.
  36. ^Adams, Paul (28 February 2017)."Libya exposed as child migrant abuse hub".BBC News.
  37. ^"Immigrant Women, Children Raped, killed and Starved in Libya's Hellholes: Unicef".28 February 2017. Archived fromthe originalon 30 March 2019.Retrieved11 June2017.
  38. ^"African refugees bought, sold and murdered in Libya".Al-Jazeera.
  39. ^"Exclusive: Italian doctor laments Libya's 'concentration camps' for migrants".Euronews.16 November 2017.Retrieved24 June2019.
  40. ^Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, financial, and technical series, Volume 37.Blackwell. 2000. p. 14496.Retrieved28 February2018.
  41. ^"'Used as a slave' in a Libyan detention centre ".BBC News.2 January 2018.Retrieved24 June2019.
  42. ^Elbagir, Nima; Razek, Raja; Sirgany, Sarah; Tawfeeq, Mohammed (25 January 2018)."Migrants beaten and burned for ransom".CNN.Retrieved24 June2019.
  43. ^Elbagir, Nima; Said-Moorhouse, Laura (7 June 2018)."Unprecedented UN sanctions slapped on 'millionaire migrant traffickers'".CNN.Retrieved8 June2018.
  44. ^"UN mission accuses EU of aiding crimes against humanity in Libya".Al Jazeera.March 27, 2023.RetrievedJuly 3,2023.
  45. ^"Esclavage en Libye: Après le Burkina Faso, la RDC rappelle aussi son ambassadeur à Tripoli!".Digital Congo(in French). 22 November 2017. Archived fromthe originalon 16 November 2018.Retrieved22 November2017.
  46. ^Youssef, Nour (November 19, 2017)."Sale of Migrants as Slaves in Libya Causes Outrage in Africa and Paris".New York Times.RetrievedNovember 24,2017.
  47. ^Peyton, Nellie (November 21, 2017)."Sale of migrants in Libya 'slave markets' sparks global outcry".Reuters.RetrievedNovember 24,2017.
  48. ^Michael Ike Dibie (November 22, 2017)."Libya: Cameroonians protest against sale of migrants as slave".Africanews.RetrievedNovember 24,2017.
  49. ^"Libya auctions of migrants sold as slaves may be crime against humanity: U.N. chief".The Japan Times.November 20, 2017.RetrievedNovember 24,2017.
  50. ^"Anti-slavery march: Hundreds of protesters descend on Libyan embassy in London".Evening Standard.December 9, 2017.RetrievedDecember 24,2017.
  51. ^"Slave trade in Libya: Outrage across Africa".Deutsche Welle.November 22, 2017.RetrievedNovember 24,2017.
  52. ^"France calls UN Security Council meeting over Libya slave auctions".France24.November 22, 2017.RetrievedNovember 24,2017.
  53. ^"Nigeria's Buhari vows to fly home stranded migrants".BBC.November 29, 2017.RetrievedDecember 1,2017.
  54. ^"AU, EU, UN chiefs meet in Abidjan, agree on Libya migration task force".Africanews.November 30, 2017.RetrievedDecember 1,2017.
  55. ^"African and European leaders want to evacuate thousands mired in Libyan slave trade".The Washington Post.November 30, 2017.RetrievedDecember 1,2017.
  56. ^"Nigerian slaves have organs harvested, bodies mutilated and are set on fire, horrifying pictures claim".Newsweek.December 1, 2017.RetrievedDecember 24,2017.
  57. ^"Lawyer: Slaves In Libya Are Used For Organ Trade".Newsweek.December 3, 2017. Archived fromthe originalon December 13, 2017.RetrievedDecember 24,2017.
  58. ^Norton, Ben (November 28, 2017)."Media Erase NATO Role in Bringing Slave Markets to Libya".Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting.RetrievedApril 4,2019.The American and British media have awakened to the grim reality in Libya, where African refugees are for sale in open-air slave markets. Yet a crucial detail in this scandal has been downplayed or even ignored in many corporate media reports: the role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in bringing slavery to the North African nation.
  59. ^abc"Libyan human rights body upset over CNN report of slave auctions in Libya - The Libya Observer".libyaobserver.ly.Retrieved24 June2019.
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