Modern day slavery? Testimonies recorded by NPR suggest a pattern of slave-trade abuses of migrants detained in Libya. The conflict-riven country is a final stopover for many people from across Africa and parts of Asia taking long, risky journeys for refuge in Italy or onward in Europe.
Italy has sought to reduce the number of arrivals by financing and training Libyan authorities to stop the migration, even as rights experts decry inhumane conditions for asylum-seekers in the North African country.
On Wednesday, the United Nations human rights office reported that migrants in Libya have been bought and sold at “open slave markets.”
Now, some migrants who escaped are speaking out and detailing harrowing experiences.
KJ