Deportees from Libya: Our first crime was having black skin

Another batch of Nigerians came out of Libya alive last week. Libya has become a country, where sub-Saharan legal and illegal migrants are attacked, killed or sent to detention because of their origin, skin colour or religious affiliation.

According to a 2017 report by Amnesty International, as well as the deportees themselves, Sub-Saharan black migrants in Libya face severe discrimination and abuse by Arab militias and Muslim extremists.

Interestingly, possessing a Libyan passport is no guarantee that you will not be abused, said Efeh, one of the Nigerian returnees from Libya.

“When they came to our house to arrest us, a friend, Michael, had identity papers. But when he brought them out, they just tore his passport and papers in front of us. They took all our money, and anyone trying to flee was gunned down,” he said.

This was not the case during the reign of Muammar Gaddafi, who opened wide Libyan doors to guest workers from all over Africa, who were attracted by its booming oil economy. After his death, however, a political crisis erupted with different government and Muslim extremists, all fighting to gain control of the centre.

Some Arab militias also took advantage of the crisis to launch a deadly racial war against dark-skinned people, also called Abid, which literally means slave in Arabic.

Since then, armed Libyans have reportedly gone from door-to-door in search of Africans. Currently, sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees are targets of this stigmatisation, discrimination and violence, according to Amnesty International. Those not killed are taken to detention camps, harassed or abducted for ransom.

The Nigerian returnees told The Guardian that virtually all in the prison were blacks.

“There were hundreds of us packed inside the detention camp like sardine. They beat us on a daily basis, while the women were raped,” said Efeh.

The returnees were lucky to have been repatriated back to Nigeria through the help of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Nigerian Embassy in Libya.

According to IOM, more Nigerians are still being held in detention camps, which are described as hell-holes, where human rights are non-existent and blacks are treated like mere garbage.

“The guards treated us so cruelly. Sometimes we were beaten with chain for no reason. Everyday, people died like chicken, which made the guards happy, because our numbers thereby reduced,” narrated Efeh. “We were given only a tiny morsel of bread once a day. We slept in an overcrowded place, with about 100 inmates sharing one toilet. We lived under constant threat and beatings by the guards. Our first crime was being blacks. They said they don’t need blacks in their country.”

Recalling their ordeal in the hands of the militia, Christiana, a female returnee, said: “The first time they came to our area, mainly populated by blacks, they killed many people and arrested some. But somehow, I escaped that day.”

But the second time they came to the area, Christiana was not so lucky.

“They started shooting at our house,” she recalled. “I was about seven months pregnant and was inside the house. They kept shooting at the door, and when it wouldn’t collapse, they brought a bulldozer and started bringing down the house. That was when we rushed out. If anyone tried to run, they simply gunned him/her down.

“They took us to an isolated place in the forest, called Metiga, where we slept outside under the rain. They beat us mercilessly, broke some people’s heads and stole our money. Finally, they took us to the detention camp.”

Cuddling her two-week old baby girl, Christiana told The Guardian she was in detention, when she went into labour.

“There was no special consideration for pregnant or nursing mothers. Survival was by the grace of God. When I went into labour, a Nigerian nurse in detention tried to deliver the baby, but she couldn’t. Finally, I was taken to a hospital, where I had my baby through Caesarian session. After delivery, I was returned to the camp,” she said.

Before her release, Christiana said she had been in detention for two months and three weeks.

“In all that time, we only had our bath like four times. The United Nations Agencies would bring soap for us, but the guards would not allow us to go outside to use the bathroom. They would harass and threaten to shoot us. If we wanted to urinate, we had to use water bottles or cans, which we threw away in the morning,” she said.

Another female returnee, Favour from Edo State, told The Guardian their captors hated them with passion

“Before, they used to collect balamishi, which means money for bailing, after arresting anyone. But now, they are no longer doing balamishi. They said they don’t want blacks in their country,” she explained.

Like many other young girls, she was deceived by human traffickers, who promised her a better life in Italy.

“I went to Libya in March last year. The person, who took me there, sold me to someone else. I was forced into prostitution,” she narrated. “My madam would make me work, and then collect the money afterwards. One day, armed people came and burst the place. They shot at anyone who tried to escape. They collected all our money and property, then took us to detention.” At the detention camp, she said they were sexually harassed.

Last year, IOM estimated that about 770, 000 migrants and asylum seekers resided in Libya. Of these, between 4, 000 and 7, 000 are held in detention facilities. The fate of thousands is still hanging, as their deportation remains indefinite.

They are held in squalid conditions and subjected to all manner of torture and ill-treatment, including beatings, shootings, exploitation and sexual violence.

Amnesty international reports that armed groups from rival government forces and militias commit serious violations of international law and abuses of human rights with impunity.

All sides of the conflict carried out indiscriminate and direct attacks on civilians, using improvised weapons, such as mortars and artillery shells, killing and injuring scores of people.

This has forced thousands to become internally displaced. Thousands of people are still being detained without trial in the absence of a functioning justice system.

Armed groups, including Islamic State (IS) abducted, detained and killed civilians, while severely curtailing the rights to freedom of expression and assembly. Women face discrimination and are subjected to sexual and other forms of violence, particularly by the IS.

Refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants face serious abuses, including indefinite detention and torture and such other ill-treatment by the authorities, armed groups and human traffickers. And though death penalty remains in force, no executions were reported.

According to the report, Libyan law continues to criminalise foreign nationals, who enter illegally. Many of the returnees said they were caught during a house or brothel raid.

While receiving the fresh batch of 171 Nigerian returnees in Lagos, Muhammad Sidi, the Director General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said about 643 Nigerians had voluntarily returned from Libya between December 15, 2016 and March 7, 2017.

Sidi, represented by Onimode Bandele, the Deputy Director, Search and Rescue, said of the total returnees within that period, 251 were male and 392 females, including 23 children and infants.

He said: “What you are witnessing today is the effort of IOM, which got in touch with the people over there. The returnees you are seeing today are Nigerians who have shown interest to return voluntarily. The new set of returnees is made up of 73 males, 83 females, 12 children and three infants.”

He advised Nigerians to shun irregular migration, stressing that opportunities abound in the country for them to earn a decent living.

“We have interviewed some of the returnees and discovered that some of them already had training in hair dressing and laundry before embarking on the ill-fated journey.

“Our advice to them is that they can put this to good use and contribute positively to the country’s development. We are also happy that some state governments have started showing interest in how to rehabilitate and reintegrate the returnees from their states.”