Thread by @BuzzFeedNews

In 2018, slavery is very much alive, with a cruel twist — people from sub-Saharan Africa are often selling themselves into slavery. Here’s the story of how one man ended up trapped. A thread:
buzzfeednews.com/article/monica…

.@nickswicks has been investigating a universe where tens of thousands are detained indefinitely, spend years working without pay, and are at constant risk of being kidnapped, sold, and auctioned from one militia to another.
buzzfeednews.com/article/monica…

Last year, a shocking video obtained by CNN went viral. In it, a group of sub-Saharan Africans were being auctioned as slaves somewhere in Libya. Offscreen, a slave trader emphasized the strength of the black men for sale. The men were sold for $400 each.
edition.cnn.com/2017/11/14/afr…

The viral video was just the tip of the iceberg of a forced labor market worth $150 billion worldwide. Soon after, videos emerged of Libyan coast guards whipping terrified black women and children at sea. So we followed this story.

Our reporter talked to Jude Ikuenobe, who left his home in Nigeria hoping to make that journey to Europe. Instead, he spent more than two years trying to survive in the underbelly of modern-day slavery. His story is harrowing.

Some experts have argued that in a country like Libya, where chaos reigns, such treatment doesn’t amount to slavery. Their argument overlooks the reality of who ends up being treated this way:

Ikuenobe wasn’t willing to risk everything to get to Europe — he just thought slavery was a thing confined to the history books. So when he gave up his savings of 800,000 naira ($2,200), the last thing on his mind was that he would be tortured, then sold.
buzzfeednews.com/article/monica…

What do we mean when we say victims “sell themselves into slavery?” Let’s unpack that. Thousands of desperate people arrive in Libya in hopes of making it across the Mediterranean, in search of a better life in Europe. Some give up the last of their savings for this.

But it’s much harder to make it to Europe now. As debates rage about the morality of the EU’s “stop the boats” policy, its darkest consequences were often erased from the narrative: the tens of thousands of black Africans entrapped in a growing slave market.

Fewer migrants are making it to Europe. More are dying, disappearing, or being abused — except since it’s no longer happening on the shores of Europe, it rarely appears on the news.

Meanwhile, in the US, President Donald Trump called reports of slaves in Libya “fake news.”

Ikuenobe’s journey into slavery was shaped not just by conflict or poverty in Africa, but also directly by Europe’s policies on migration. Yet, at a time when this practice of modern day slavery is at a crisis level, few know anything about it.
buzzfeednews.com/article/monica…

We are proud to follow stories like these. If you want to support more reporting like this, become a BuzzFeed News member today

support.buzzfeednews.com