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Yin and Yang is a Chinese concept, where Yang represents the brighter aspects of a situation and Yin is just opposite of it. However, in the case of black people, yang is still a dream. On one hand, people are chanting "Black Lives Matter" at the protests, and on other black people are being sold from one merchant to another.
Slave Trade in Libya
Libya, a country situated in North Africa acts as a middle man between the Black Africans and their dreams to live freely in Europe through the Mediterranean Sea. The people flee from Sub-Saharan Countries to Europe in search of better opportunities; rather they are dehumanized by jamming them into warehouses full of refugees, rape, torture, and slavery.
The people cross various difficult terrains such as Sahara and pay a hefty amount to smugglers before landing in Libya. When they think that they are only a few miles away from their dreams, that's when they grasp the reality of the situation.
In December 2017, CNN revealed the network of smuggling businesses in Libya, where they sell refugees for as low as $400. A 17-year-old teenager (undisclosed identity) interviewed by The Irish Times flew from Nigeria in December 2016 and landed in Libya as was forced into a cargo box to spend the night.
He realized that there are more than 13,000 people like him trapped, tortured, and treated like animals. He told that ‘we were allowed to drink from the toilet and wash from the toilet; we were kept in extremely hot weather without any food for days’.
Both boys and girls, men and women were raped brutally in front of everybody, he also added. The torture is not limited to beating and inhumane torment; people were sold from one smuggler to another. He also added that smugglers made them call their families to ask for money and were beaten viciously during the call.
In 2017, between 700,000 to 1 million refugees died at the sea only. Then the question arises as to why people are risking everything to migrate? They are fleeing from socio-economic disturbances, armed conflicts, and severe economic hardships in Sub-Saharan Africa.
If the person is dealing with such hardships to reach there, then the international community should treat them with compassion. But the discrimination and slavery do not end in Libya albeit, reaching Europe.
As claimed by a woman of 23 years old, Joe, she was detained by a rival group who was paid by the E.U. to stop refugees from migrating into their country.
It was said by many people that E.U even pays these militants to torture refugees. In Italy, there is a 33 years old system known as Caporolato, where the workers are paid meagrely and are abused physically. The worst thing is that the migrants didn’t even know that they were being exploited.
When Joe, finally landed in Italy with a daughter of a few weeks, she sought to seek asylum in the lady’s house who offered her job before. But it was a matter of time that the demeanour of that lady changed.
She told Joe that Joe owes her $17,200 for the trip and she will have to pay the amount by being a prostitute. Joe didn’t have any choice but to agree with the terms and conditions.
The slave trade points out to a loophole in the policies of the African Union and the leaders of Africa. The slave trade began 350 years ago in Libya and now it has transitioned to modern-day slavery. At that time, it was impossible to stop slavery but the government could have stopped it now.
The government could have made the route much safer with their state links when the refugees landed in Libya. But the lethargic action of AU and subsequent hostility towards the refugees in Europe, led to the crisis of the slave trade to expand its arms. It also seems that postmodern society has forgotten the requisite of principles and moral behaviours.
How to help:
Click on this link to learn how to help and share the same with as many people as you can - https://www.bustle.com/p/how-to-help-stop-libyas-slave-trade-fight-slavery-around-the-world-5554300
Anti-BLM (Black Lives Matter protestors) and the EDL( English Defence League)
After the death of George Floyd, the USA and other countries of the world are coming together to protest against police brutality and to stand against racism, which has its roots within the structure of the society from the very beginning.
The protest in various countries for Black Lives Matter has taken a surge because black people in western countries are oppressed for 400 years. As protests are spreading and more people are joining hands for the Black Lives Matter Movement, so are the people coming forward in resistance to this movement.
One such peaceful protest was going to be held in a small town of Bethel, Ohio. Around 70 people gathered in the town for a peaceful protest for BLM. Until 700 people arrived with arms and began beating BLM protestors and cussing at them.
There were chants of the USA USA everywhere, they were members of a motorcycle gang, “back of the blue” and proponents of the second amendment act said the locals. The police also said that these people carried guns, baseball bats, and clubs.
A video went viral- during which a white man was complaining to the police that he had gotten punched in the head. But the police just stood there, did nothing, and told him to go protest somewhere else. Along with it, Anti-BLM people were cursing him from behind.
When the police were questioned as to why they didn’t do anything, the police told the media that those protestors were outnumbering them in terms of strength and arms; he also added that it's their right to do that and it's also very scary for us.
According to Business Insider, the counter-movement activist was there to scare off the people from the anti-fascist movement ANTIFA. After this, a local man from Bethel shared a video on Facebook claiming that buses filled with ANTIFA members were arriving in the town for protest.
Due to a surge in violence between the left and right members, Mayor Jay Noble applied curfew in the town and called the behaviour of the protestors as “appalling and disgusting”. However, the FBI released a report that their intelligence does not trace any movement from ANTIFA.
But soon President Donald Trump announced that they will list ANTIFA under the terrorist organization. The hatred of anti-protestors is not narrowed to the USA; it was seen during the protest of Brighton. There were members of EDL present there against the statue of Old Steine.
When an EDL member was asked about that why they were standing near the statue then he said that ‘these statues mean so much to me, I can't tolerate what they did to the statue of Edward Colston and other leaders’.
The EDL member further added that he didn’t even know what the fuss was about- nonetheless he was protecting Brighton’s legacy and that he would rather replace those statues rather than breaking them down.
One protestor told the Sussex Tab that EDL members were standing there with the police drinking alcohol, laughing, doing hand gestures, and smirking at them at the Old Steine.
The protestors who are working towards a fairer society have come a long way after battling for 400 years against racism, their work should not be destroyed to the ground by supporting racism.
Written By - Chavi Goel
Edited By - Ivanova
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