While many Americans are here living lavish lifestyles, driving expensive cars, wearing high-end fashion and utilizing luxury items like iPhones on the daily—we tend to sometimes forget those less fortunate.

Yet, we still have the nerve to complain about our lives. Not to discredit any American who has lived a hard life—because millions have faced hardships and suffered tragedies—but many of us need to open our eyes past our national borders into the third-world countries of those suffering much worse.

Recently, footage of men being auctioned off as slaves in Libya has surfaced and gained attention from the U.N., as well as rallied protests in some European and African countries including cities like Paris. News outlets are publishing headlines like, “Libyan slave trade has shocked the world,” and “slave market footage sparks outrage.” However, this is not new to Libya. Slavery and corruption have been prevalent in this region for centuries. To still see it now that it’s almost 2018 is sickening.

Once the video was obtained, CNN journalists traveled to the country's capital, Tripoli, to further investigate. What they found was beyond disturbing.

They witnessed at least a dozen men being auctioned off, negotiated and eventually sold for $400.

According to CNN, the evidence has now been handed over to the Libyan authorities, who have promised to launch an investigation.

They reported, “First Lieutenant Naser Hazam of the government's Anti-Illegal Immigration Agency in Tripoli told CNN that although he had not witnessed a slave auction, he acknowledged that organized gangs are operating smuggling rings in the country.”

With a long history of social and economic conflicts, corruption, refugee and smuggler crises, Libya has been and will continuously be a place in need of love and support.

The main question here is, why has Libya been on the back-burner for so long? Yes, this slave auction has finally been brought to our attention, but in reality, Libyan history represents a lifetime of struggling.

According to The World Factbook of the CIA, “Since 2014, transiting migrants – primarily from East and West Africa – continue to exploit its political instability and weak border controls and use it as a primary departure area to migrate across the central Mediterranean to Europe in growing numbers.”

“In addition, more than 200,000 people were displaced internally as of August 2017 by fighting between armed groups in eastern and western Libya and, to a lesser extent, by inter-tribal clashes in the country’s south.”

When news breaks about tragedies in European countries, America is quick to speak up and help. Places like Libya need that love and support too.

We can’t solve a problem that’s not our own—but we can help fight against it.

A few ways to contribute:

The UN Refugee Agency

Save the Children

Free the Slaves

End Slavery Now