More than two hundred people marched in an anti slavery protest in London on Saturday the 9th of December.
The protest which was organised by the African Lives Matter movement, was held in light of the news of the atrocious killing, torture and selling of Africans happening in Libya. One of their main missions is to work towards, ‘the total elimination of slavery of African people and those of African descent throughout the world’.
The protest was highly promoted through social media by various public figures such as Naomi Campbell & Cara Delevingne. Youtubers and other influencers also used their platforms to share their outrage on the issue and promote the peaceful protest.
“Libya shame on you, we will not be silent…say no to slavery…” The ardent crowd chanted outside the Libyan embassy.
In previous years, Libya has been flooded by migrants from sub saharan countries hoping to travel to Europe. The United Nations estimates there are now between 700,000 and a million migrants in the country. People who have crossed the Mediterranean have shared horror stories about beatings, kidnappings and enslavement.
There have been outcries and questions on why this is actually possible for a slave trade to happen in modern day 21st century.
“Modern-day slavery is widespread around the world and Libya is by no means unique … But what’s particularly shocking is that this is happening effectively in the open, where people can go to a farmhouse, place a bid and end up ‘owning’ a human being”.
Says Leonard Doyle of the International Organisation of Migration in an interview with Al Jazeera.
Though the news of the Libyan slave trade has been an ongoing coverage for years by media outlets. The news of the slave trade went viral on various social media platforms after a shocking video footage came from CNN, showing the auctioning of two black Africans.
Since then, an online petition with over 200,000 signatures was signed in order for the UK government to put pressure on Libya and to take action to stop enslavement of Black Africans. There will be a debate on the issue on the 18th of December in the UK parliament.
