I am not a freedom fighter of some sought, neither am i a political bigwig, a celebrity cum superstar or even a revolutionist. I am not any of these. But just because I am not any of these doesn't necessitate i turn a blind eye to the happenings around and speak against any of which violates humanity. Especially when it concerns young people.
Slave trade is considered to be the worst trade human beings have ever encountered. That is why it was abolished several decades ago by governments and institutions across the world. However this inhumane phenomenon is back. Situated at the north east of Africa Libya is becoming the turntable of the modern slave trade. How does the world get back to this?
Today, hundreds of Africans especially Nigerians are peddled in what could be described as the return of modern day slavery. Are we going to pretend like we don't know what's happening. Well, i'll leave that for you to ponder on. t’s a mass grave that we don’t need the United Nations to verify. Every day an average of 14 migrants, the vast majority from countries in sub-Saharan Africa, die crossing the Mediterranean.
Many more see their European dream turn into a nightmare long before they’re corralled on to flimsy rubber dinghies on Libya’s beaches. They’re the victims of a silent massacre in the Sahara desert – a journey more deadly than the crossing from the coast, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
Come the spring, thousands of migrants and refugees fleeing poverty and violence will die in Libya, but I doubt you’ll hear much about it. Compassion fatigue has set in. The numbers have become too big to comprehend. It’s an old story; we feel numbed by the now familiar news images of men huddled together on boats. Maybe it’s because they’re African and have been written off as “undeserving economic migrants”. These are the people some of our political leaders have in mind when they talk of swarms, plagues and marauders. The understandable focus on Syrian refugees has taken the spotlight away from the more dangerous route to Europe through the Mediterranean
Or maybe it’s because, with three rival governments presiding over anarchy in Libya, and the real power lying in the hands of armed militias, getting inside the country to tell the story is just too difficult and dangerous. One thing is becoming clear – many people have come to see this tragic situation as though it were more a problem for us than for the migrants. We have stopped caring about them. Doyle of New agency made this statement
The slave trade affects women, too. A young woman from Nigeria told me: “As a female, you can’t walk alone in the street. Even if they don’t shoot you, [if] you’re black, they’ll just take you and sell you.” One man, also from Guinea, said that women are more expensive to buy than men.
"In one centre for women in the coastal town of Surman I met Aisha, a young Nigerian. She was bleeding to death after giving birth to her baby girl on the toilet floor. The child died three days later. Since coming home we have tried but been unable to find out what has happened to Aisha. I fear the worst.Even in the worst refugee camps in the world there is often food, medical facilities and aid workers to offer support. In the Libyan detention centres, migrants are locked up and left to rot. It’s a humanitarian disaster with barely any humanitarian organisations there to help."
Women face shocking levels of sexual abuse. According to a United Nations official, of the migrants and asylum seekers in Libya, “almost every woman” has been sexually abused.
I basically had to scribble this online because the social media is taking a vast turn and one of the ways to effectively eradicate most of the negative norms in our Society is through the social media platform.
Our roles as young people on the social media is to voice against the ills in the society and not to trend irrelevant issues. You might want to ask what is your business with slave trade but hey, you have a role to play.
Let's speak up against this
Thousands sink in the Mediterranean
Hundreds are sold as slaves
Countless are murdered
What's the hope for the average African youth seeking a better life.
#SayNoToModernDaySlavery
#StopTrafficking_of_Migrants
#EndSlaveTrade_in_Libya
#When_will_the_Government_Act
Robert Derek Ukeseya
( The man in the making)
•Pacesetters and Trailblazers Organization
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