Victory is a 21-year-old Nigerian man who was forced into indentured slavery, last year while crossing into Libya in hopes a better future. The young man was held in a Tripoli detention center because he was caught and prosecuted as an illegal immigrant; Victory was soon forced into slavery. This is something that the Libyan government later claimed that they knew nothing about.
The young man had a large debt that he was forced to pay off, by means of slavery. The brutality in Libya is so unreal, and most people don't even hear about it. After Victory paid his smugglers more than $2,780, he was finally released. However, his smugglers did contact his family demanding ransom money and indirectly threatening them.
Victory even opened up to International Business Times about how most of the people seen at these centers are almost always brutally beaten and mutilated. Slavery is so abundant in Libya because the country sees a lot of North Africans attempting to flee to Europe, in hopes of a better life.
While the Libyans claim that they know nothing about the slave trade, it is easily disputable due to a large number of slave auctions around the country. Signs advertising men's ability to dig or lift large amounts of weight are constantly seen by reporters.
This is one of the worlds most tragic and disturbing issues, and no one seems to be talking about it. Men are constantly caught in detention centers for being illegal immigrants, and then later forced into indentured slavery. This is an issue that needs to be stopped, and more international awareness needs to be spread about this issue. I believe that the United States needs to become more involved because it is such a tragic world issue.
"It's a total extortion machine," Lenard Doyle, Director of Media and Communications for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Geneva. It is absolutely sickening that the Libyan slave traders will continue to prey on hopeful immigrants, who truly believe that they will find a prosperous and happiness new life, for as long as they can.
My true hopes are that this article will spread awareness to people and change the way that certain crowds view immigrants and slavery. Currently, there are mass amounts of people in the United States who constantly look down on immigrants. There is nothing wrong with wanting to find a better life in a new and thriving country. However, it is widely important that immigrants come into countries legally. There has to be an ethical process, that can allow of lawful entry into a country.
In terms of slavery, it makes no sense that it is still a thriving enterprise in impoverished countries in today's modern world. Slavery is not something that one reads about in their history book. Slavery has a much denser history than just the Atlantic Slave Trade, which is something that a lot of Millennials need to realize. Slavery will continue for as long as time, however there should be extreme efforts that help cut the slavery in half.