Eleven Somali migrants have arrived home after being held captive in Libya for years.
The North African nation has been criticised for its treatment of African migrants in recent month.
CGTN’s Abdulaziz Billow shares the story of a family that has returned from captive.
Please be advised this report contains graphic footage.
Its home at last for these eleven Somali nationals evacuated from Libya. They include this family of six – a father, mother and four children.
The eleven migrants are the first batch to be freed from Libyan captors. More than 5000 Somali migrants are believed to be in various detention facilities across the strife torn North African nation – the returnees speak of harrowing experience at the hands of their captors in Libya.
“Libya is a terrible place – hundreds of migrants are being held up in various detention centers. Many of my friends have died there – my close friend died from internal bleeding -because he couldn’t handle the beating.” One of the returnees said.
“My family spent $15,000 to secure my release. It was torture all along, the smugglers raped young girls – some were forced into marriage…” One of the returnees said.
Mariam Yasin, who is Somalia’s special envoy for migrants and children’s rights led a government delegation to Tripoli – and it’s there that she met hundreds of young Somalis – her team was unable to convince all of them to return – but she tells me that they won’t give up
“Those we managed to bring back were initially in detention camps south of Libya. Especially from Kufra and Bin Walid. Some paid smugglers, others ran away without being known – they came to our embassy in Tripoli having suffered all sorts of atrocities”, Yasin said.
For years, criminal gangs continue to use social media sites such as Facebook, posting videos and images online of young men and women being tortured and later sent to their families back home -with a ransom demand, with some ranging from $8,000 – $10,000.
It’s such videos that continue to create concerns among many African families – this video posted on Facebook reveals emaciated children as young as 15 mainly from Ethiopia and Somalia in a concrete room in an undisclosed location in Libya.
The African Union recently decried reports on the auctioning of African migrants in Libya as slaves – something these former migrants also acknowledge.
The government in Mogadishu has begun programs aimed at providing employment opportunities to thousands of young people – but that’s hasn’t addressed the immediate needs on the ground.
75% of the country’s population is made up of youth – who plan to migrate one way or another – hoping that life has to be better somewhere else.
