Ending the long walk in the desert; A story of modern day slavery
I asked him why he decided to leave for Europe through the desert. He responded in the local Nigerian pidgin parlance: "I learn carpenter work for here, no body gree help me start up my own place, my oga pursue me, my people no gree help. My friend tell me say make I come make we commot this country, I no even know were we dey go until we reach desert and I no fit turn back again. Na only ghost I dey see for road. The thing wey I suffer for Libya nko? Two whole years! From one prison to another, from one slave master to another. My mouth no fit talk am." Since February 2017, more than five thousand Nigerian migrants have been repatriated from Libya. These are our brothers and sisters who left the country mostly by road, hoping to get to Libya, and cross over to Europe through the Mediterranean. However, they got stuck. Several of them faced exploitation and abuse, some were sold into slavery, some were kept in prison for months, living on water and little or no food. ...