Modern Slavery in Libya: Echoes of an Unfinished Past

“O ye nominal Christians! Might not an African ask you, learned you this from your God, who says unto you, Do unto all men as you would men should do unto you?”
— Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

For most of his life he was known as Gustavus Vassa. He was originally from Essaka, a village in modern Nigeria. Enslaved as a child, he was shipped to the Carribean and sold to a Royal Navy officer, before being sold again twice over. He purchased his freedom in 1766. He later on penned his memoirs and reverted to his Ibo name, Olaudah Equiano.

More than two centuries after Olaudah Equiano, a former slave and abolitionist, penned the words above, his plea for humanity and justice still echos down to our age. The world may have formally abolished slavery, but its stain still lingers, manifesting in modern forms just as cruel and dehumanizing as the transatlantic trade that Equiano survived. Nowhere is this more evident than in Libya, where migrants fleeing poverty, war, and instability are being bought and sold in open slave markets.

The Slave Markets of Libya

In 2017, video footage captured by CNN exposed a horrifying reality: migrants being auctioned off like livestock in makeshift markets near Tripoli. Bidders, some wearing casual attire, offered prices as low as $400 for a “strong young man” who could work in fields or construction. This footage shocked the world, but for the thousands of migrants trapped in Libya’s detention centers or held by traffickers, it merely documented what they already knew.

Libya’s ongoing instability, fueled by the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, has created a lawless environment where militias, traffickers, and smugglers thrive. Migrants and refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean are particularly vulnerable. With little legal protection and no recourse, they fall prey to modern-day slavers who exploit their desperation.

A Personal Journey: Salif’s Story

Salif, a 24-year-old from Guinea, left his village with dreams of reaching Europe. His journey began with hope—a cousin in France had promised to help him find work once he arrived. But the route north was treacherous. By the time he reached Agadez in Niger, Salif had exhausted his savings. A smuggler offered him passage to Libya on credit, demanding repayment once Salif secured work.

“I thought it was my only chance,” Salif recalls. “But once we crossed into Libya, everything changed.”

The smugglers handed him over to armed men who operated what Salif described as a “prison camp.” There, he was forced to call relatives for ransom money. Those who couldn’t pay were beaten, starved, or sold into labor.

“I saw men being sold in front of me,” Salif says, his voice trembling. “They were lined up, and the buyers inspected their hands, their teeth—like cattle. When my family couldn’t send enough money, I was sold too.”

A Mirror of History

Salif’s harrowing account echoes Olaudah Equiano’s description of his own capture and sale into slavery. In his narrative, Equiano recounts being “handled and tossed up” by buyers inspecting his worth. The similarities between the 18th-century Atlantic slave trade and modern trafficking in Libya are chilling. Both systems dehumanize their victims, reducing them to commodities. Both rely on a network of profiteers willing to exploit human misery for financial gain.

Yet, the persistence of slavery in the 21st century reveals a failure not just of governance but of global accountability. Where Equiano’s world excused slavery through pseudo-scientific racism and imperialist greed, today’s slavery thrives under the guise of economic desperation, political instability, and global indifference.

The Economics of Modern Slavery

The International Labour Organization estimates that 49.6 million people live in modern slavery, including forced labor and forced marriage. In Libya, the problem is compounded by the country’s role as a transit point for African migrants trying to reach Europe. Traffickers exploit this flow, detaining migrants in private prisons where they are extorted, abused, and sold.

For many Libyans, struggling in a collapsed economy, human trafficking offers a lucrative income. Migrants are treated as currency, bartered among militias or sold to farms and factories where they toil under brutal conditions.

“Libya has become a black hole,” says Amina, a Libyan human rights activist. “Once people enter, they disappear—sometimes forever.”

Nadia’s Escape

One of the few to emerge from this nightmare is Nadia, a 19-year-old Eritrean woman who fled forced conscription in her home country. She was intercepted by traffickers after crossing the Sudanese border and taken to Libya.

“They told me I would work as a maid and earn money for my journey to Europe,” Nadia recalls. “But when I arrived, they locked me in a room with other women. Men came and took us away one by one.”

Nadia endured months of sexual exploitation before managing to escape during an airstrike near the detention center. She now lives in a refugee camp in Tunisia, haunted by memories of her captivity.

“I don’t know if I will ever feel safe again,” she says.

The Role of the International Community

Despite global outrage, efforts to address Libya’s slave markets have been slow and fragmented. The European Union has focused on curbing migration, funding Libyan coastguards to intercept boats headed for Europe. While this policy reduces crossings, it inadvertently traps migrants in Libya, exposing them to greater danger.

Humanitarian organizations have called for more robust action, including the establishment of legal migration pathways and increased funding for rescue operations. However, these measures face resistance from governments wary of domestic backlash against immigration.

A Call for Collective Action

Olaudah Equiano’s journey from enslavement to freedom was not just a personal triumph but a rallying cry for abolition. His writings stirred the conscience of a generation, contributing to the eventual end of the Atlantic slave trade. Today, the fight against modern slavery demands a similar awakening.

Governments must go beyond rhetoric, addressing the root causes of trafficking by investing in poverty alleviation, conflict resolution, and legal migration frameworks. Tech companies must crack down on online platforms used by traffickers to advertise their victims. And individuals, too, have a role to play—by pressuring policymakers, supporting anti-trafficking organizations, and rejecting complicity in exploitative industries.

A Future Worth Fighting For

In his narrative, Equiano envisioned a world where all people could live with dignity and freedom. “What makes any event important,” he wrote, “is not the actual occurrence itself, but the ideas and consequences it creates.”

The existence of slave markets in Libya is an indictment of our collective failure to uphold human rights. But it is also a call to action. By confronting this reality and working to dismantle the systems that enable it, we honor the legacy of Equiano and others who fought for a world free of chains—physical and metaphorical alike.

The question is not whether slavery can end, but whether we have the will to end it. And in that answer lies the future of our shared humanity.