Video Shows Libyans Whipping Migrants Rescued at Sea
Footage that appears to show Libyan coast guard officials beating rescued migrants has added to the controversy over European Union support for the force.
The video, filmed in September for an upcoming documentary by British actor Ross Kemp, was published by the Times. It shows men in military fatigues apprehending a boatload of migrants at sea and whipping them with plastic pipes.
E.U. leaders agreed last week to increase training and aid to the Libyan coast guard in a bid to halt migrant boats before they reach international waters.
Human-rights groups have expressed concern about the widespread abuse of migrants in Libya, where the U.N.-backed government has limited control. The coast guard has been accused of abuses previously: The German group Sea-Watch said the force attacked its ship during a rescue operation last October.
Libya has asked NATO to help train its armed forces and recently agreed a deal with Italy to reinforce its southern border to block the flow of migrants.
U.S. Holds a ‘Day Without Immigrants’
Many immigrants in the United States stayed at home from work or school on Thursday in a grassroots protest against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
The idea of a “Day Without Immigrants” spread via social media as a way to demonstrate the value to America of its foreign-born population.
Restaurants and other businesses closed in Washington D.C., California, New York and several other states. Some food outlets were shut at the Pentagon, and school attendance was down in parts of New York. Meanwhile, supporters held rallies in Chicago and Detroit, as well as in Raleigh, North Carolina and Austin, Texas.
Frontex Blames Rescue Efforts for Increase in Smugglers’ Boats
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, said rescue efforts were responsible for the growing number of boats and deaths on the Mediterranean passage between Libya and Italy.
“Dangerous crossings on unseaworthy and overloaded vessels were organized with the main purpose of being detected” by rescuers, Frontex said in its risk analysis for 2017.
“All parties involved in [search and rescue] operations in the central Mediterranean unintentionally help criminals achieve their objectives at minimum cost [and] strengthen their business model by increasing the chances of success,” the report said.
The border agency has previously accused charities operating rescue ships in the Mediterranean of colluding with people smugglers.
Recommended Reads:
- Migration Policy Institute: The Evolving and Diversifying Nature of Migration to the U.S.-Mexico Border
- Foreign Affairs: Europe’s Shifting Borders
- Time: How Private Citizens Could Help Refugees Come to the U.S.
- Reuters: Penniless and Alone, Migrant Children in Serbia Sell Sex to Survive
- The Guardian: Women of Nauru: Seeing My Sons in School Uniform Is My Only Dream