Abstract
By representing Libya as a country of transit more than as a country of destination, Muammar Qadhafi’s regime emphasized Libya’s key role in controlling global South–North migration. His main purpose was to obtain the lifting of international sanctions and then the Libyan readmission into the international community. On the contrary, data shows that Libya was mostly a country of destination. In spite of the framework change produced by the 2011 uprising and the following civil war, policies and practices related to the sub-Saharan migrants in Libya remained in close continuity with the past. The peak of the civil war in 2011 and then from mid-2014 up to now (November 2015) coincided with two large migratory crises in which thousands of refugees left the country. However, the new Libyan authorities and the Italian governments displayed a mutual interest in restoring the externalization and securitization policies that control the migrants. Migrants are still travelling to Libya for a wide range of reasons and mainly to seek a job. In broader terms, the case of migration in post-Qadhafi Libya thus reproduced the EurAfrican border regime, rather than putting it under discussion.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Group interview with African migrants conducted by the author, Tripoli, 17 October 2008.
- 2.
Interview with Mohamed, Tripoli, 4 October 2008.
- 3.
Interview with Ahmed, Tripoli, 20 November 2009.
- 4.
Interview with Blassy, Tripoli, 17 November 2009.
- 5.
Interview with Abubaker, Tripoli, 4 December 2009.
- 6.
Interview with Blassy, Tripoli, 17 November 2009.
- 7.
Interview with Ali, Tripoli, 23 November 2009.
- 8.
Recording, transcription, and translation by the author, Rome, 11 June 2009.
- 9.
Preamble of the Italy-Libya treaty approved by the Italian parliament with Law 7/09 of 6 February 2009, Gazzetta Ufficiale dell Repubblica, XL, 18 February 2009.
- 10.
Article 4, Security Council Resolution 1973, 17 March 2011.
- 11.
Anonymous interview, 20 April 2014. The officer was discussing Khums and Gasr Garabulli, two major departure sites on the eastern Tripolitanian coast.
- 12.
Nu’as al-Daraji, Bawaba al-Wasat, 13 May 2014. www.alwasat.ly/ar/news/libya/17716
- 13.
Interview with ‘Imad ‘Ali Seghar, Gharyan detention camp, 18 October 2012. ‘Imad ‘Ali Seghar was in charge of the camp.
- 14.
Interview with ‘Imad ‘Ali Seghar, as above.
- 15.
The statistical data were given to me directly by the heads of security at the camp, who were different people each time.
- 16.
Anonymous interview, Gharyan detention camp, 13 June 2013. The Ghanaian was born in Accra, the Nigerian in Lagos.
- 17.
Interview with Kaffa, Vercelli, 26 March 2014. Kaffa, together with other Eritreans and Somalis, had been rescued by the Italian navy off the Libyan shore three days earlier. After receiving first aid in Sicily, Kaffa and other Eritrean friends were being hosted in Vercelli, Piedmont. Four other Eritreans with Kaffa confirmed that they had been held in the Gharyan camp and had had to pay the same amount to be freed.
- 18.
Interview with Abdullahi, Gharyan detention camp, 13 June 2013. Abdullahi was born in Mogadishu and arrived in Libya in December 2012. Before being jailed in May 2013 in the Gharyan camp, he had been imprisoned in two other detention camps.
- 19.
Interview with Abdullahi, Gharyan, 13 June 2013.
References
Abdelfattah, D. (2011) Impact of Arab Revolts on Migration, CARIM Analytic and Synthetic Notes 68 [pdf]. Available at: http://www.carim.org/public/workarea/home/Website%20information/Literature/asn2011%20en%2068.pdf. Accessed 20 Nov 2015.
Ahmida, A.A. 2005. Forgotten voices: Power and agency in colonial and postcolonial Libya. New York: Routledge.
Amnesty International. 2013. Scapegoats of Fear: Rights of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants abused in Libya. [pdf] Amnesty International. Available at: http://www.amnesty.org/fr/library/info/MDE19/007/2013/en. Accessed 2 Nov 2015.
Anderson, L. 1984. Nineteenth-century reform in Ottoman Libya. International Journal of Middle East Studies 16(3): 325–348.
Andrijasevic, R. 2006. Lampedusa in focus: Migrants caught between the Libyan Desert and the deep sea. Feminist Review 82: 120–125.
ANSAmed, 2012. Immigrazione: Libia; Terzi, respingimenti non in agenda governo. ANSAmed [online] 20 June. Available at: www.ansa.it/ansamed/it/notizie/stati/libia/2012/06/20/Immigrazione-Libia-Terzi-respingimenti-in-agenda-governo_7068589.html. Accessed on 2 Nov 2015.
Arachi, A. 2011. Un’ondata di 300 mila arrivi. Il dopo-Gheddafi è un’incognita. Corriere della Sera, 23 February.
Baldinetti, A. 2009. Le istanze Amazigh in Libia: la nascita di una società civile? In Processi politici nel Mediterraneo: dinamiche e prospettive, ed. A. Baldinetti and A. Maneggia, 231–250. Morlacchi: Perugia.
Calchi Novati, G. 2008. L’azione internazionale di Gheddafi fra ideologia e geopolitica. Africa 63(2): 375–404.
Council of Europe. 2010. Report to the Italian Government on the visit to Italy Carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 27 to 31 July 2009 [pdf]. Strasbourg: Council of Europe. Available at: http://www.cpt.coe.int/documents/ita/2010-inf-14-eng.pdf. Accessed 2 Nov 2015.
Cuttitta, P. 2015. Mare Nostrum e la retorica umanitaria. Rivista di Storia delle Idee 4(1): 128–140.
Danish Refugee Council (DRC). 2014. ‘We risk our lives for our daily bread'. Finding of the Danish Refugee Council Study on mixed migration in Libya’ [pdf]. Copenhagen: DRC. Available at: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Danish%20Refugee%20Council%20Report%20_%20Risking%20our%20Lives_Mixed%20Migrants%20in%20Libya_Dec%202013.pdf. Accessed 2 Nov 2015.
Di Caro, P. 2008. Berlusconi, patto con Gheddafi: ora meno clandestini e più gas. Corriere della Sera [online]. 31 August. Available at: http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2008/agosto/31/Berlusconi_patto_con_Gheddafi_Ora_co_9_080831026.shtml?refresh_ce-cp. Accessed 28 Nov 2015.
Dunton, C. 1988. Black Africans in Libya and Libyan images of black Africa. In The green and the black: Qadhafi’s policies in Africa, ed. R. Lemarchand, 150–166. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
el-Sayed, M. 2007. Restricted borders: Reports on the mass exodus of Egyptian Labor from Libya. Al-Ahram Weekly [online]. 8–14 March. Available at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/835/eg2.htm. Accessed 3 Dec 2012.
European Court of Human Rights. 2012. Affaire Hisrsi Jamaa et Autres c. Italie, Requête no 27765/09, Strasbourg, 23 février [pdf]. Strasbourg: European Court of Human Rights. Available at: http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/app/conversion/pdf/?library=ECHR&id=001-109230&filename=001-109230.pdf&TID=xnmavdoyhv. Accessed 2 Nov 2015.
Garcìa Andrade, P. 2014. Member states in managing mixed flows in the Mediterranean and the EU distribution of competences. In The common European Asylum system and human rights: Enhancing protection in times of emergencies, ed. C. Matera and A. Taylor. [pdf]. The Hague: CLEER working papers 7. Available at: http://www.asser.nl/media/2485/cleer14-7_web.pdf. Accessed 2 Nov 2015.
Gouws, A. 2010. The feminisation of migration. Africa Insight 40(1): 169–179.
Hatton, T.J., and J.G. Williamson. 2003. Demographic and economic pressure on emigration out of Africa. Scandinavian Journal of Economics 105(3): 465–486.
Hewitt, G. 2011. Italy is rocky shore for Europe’s boat people. BBC News [online]. 11 July. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14103752. Accessed 22 Apr 2013.
Human Rights Watch. 2006. Libya: Words to deeds: The urgent need for human rights reform [pdf]. Human Rights Watch. Available at: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/libya0106webwcover.pdf. Accessed 3 Dec 2012.
Hunwick, J. 2002. The same but different: Africans in slavery in the Mediterranean Muslim world. In The African diaspora in the Mediterranean lands of Islam, ed. J. Hunwick and E.M. Troutt Powell, ix–xxiv. Princeton: Markus Wiener.
Hyndman, J., and A. Mountz. 2008. Another brick in the wall? Neo-refoulement and the externalization of asylum by Australia and Europe. Government and Opposition 43(2): 249–269.
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). 2012. Libya: The hounding of migrants must stop [online]. Available at: http://www.fidh.org/en/north-africa-middle-east/libya/Libya-The-hounding-of-migrants-12255. Accessed 2 Nov 2015.
Labanca, N. 2011. La guerra di Libia nelle pubblicazioni e negli studi italiani degli ultimi venticinque anni. I Sentieri della Ricerca 13: 19–54.
Livewire, 2013. ‘If an African dies here, no one cares’—Abuses of migrants and refugees in detention in Libya [online]. Amnesty’s Global Human Rights Blog. Available at: http://livewire.amnesty.org/2013/12/18/if-an-african-dies-here-no-one-cares-abuses-of-migrants-and-refugees-in-detention-in-libya. Accessed 2 Nov 2015.
Migration Policy Centre (MPC). 2013. Migration profile: Libya [pdf]. Florence: MPC. Available at: http://www.migrationpolicycentre.eu/docs/migration_profiles/Libya.pdf. Accessed 2 Nov 2015.
Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale. 2011. Focus-Libia: l’Italia lavora al riconoscimento internazionale del CNT. [online] Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale. Available at: http://www.esteri.it/MAE/IT/Sala_Stampa/ArchivioNotizie/Approfondimenti/2011/04/20110419_Italia_CNT.htm. Accessed 3 Dec 2012.
Ministero dell’Interno. 2013. News: Emergenza Nord Africa terminata [online]. Minstero dell’ Interno. Available at: www.interno.gov.it/mininterno/export/sites/default/it/sezioni/sala_stampa/notizie/immigrazione/2012_12_28_Fine_fase_emergenza_nord_Africa.html. Accessed 2 Nov 2015.
Ministero dell’Interno. n.d. Iniziative dell’Italia: sicurezza, immigrazione e asilo [pdf]. Ministero dell’ Interno. Available at: http://www.interno.it/mininterno/export/sites/default/it/assets/files/19/0843_Opuscolo_ITA.pdf. Accessed 3 Dec 2012.
Naguib, N. 2011. Basic ethnography at the barricades. International Journal of Middle East Studies 18: 383–390.
Obeidi, A. 2004. Libyan security policy between existence and feasibility: An exploratory study [pdf]. Geneva: Centre for Security Policy. Available at: http://www.gcsp.ch/E/meetings/ResearchSeminars/Security-Med/2004/Libya.pdf. Accessed 14 Nov 2004.
Paoletti, E. 2009. A critical analysis of migration policies in the Mediterranean: The case of Italy, Libya, and the EU. RAMSES Working Papers 12(9) [online]. Available at: http://www.sant.ox.ac.uk/esc/ramses/ramsespaperPaoletti.pdf. Accessed 3 Dec 2012.
Paoletti, E. 2011. The migration of power and North–south inequalities: The case of Italy and Libya. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Paoletti, E., and F. Pastore. 2010. Sharing the dirty job on the southern front? Italian-Libyan relations on migration and their impact on the European Union. IMI Working Papers Series 29 [online]. Available at: http://www.imi.ox.ac.uk/pdfs/imi-working-papers/wp-10-29-sharing-the-dirty-job. Accessed 3 Dec 2012.
Pargeter, A. 2006. Libya: Reforming the impossible? Review of African Political Economy 33(108): 219–235.
Pastore, F. 2008. Migrazioni e relazioni italo-libiche: Come uscire da questa impasse. CESPI Policy Brief [pdf]. 25. Available at: http://www.cespi.it/PDF/Pastore-Tripoli%2018-6-08_.pdf. Accessed 3 Dec 2012.
Pastore, F., and L. Trinchieri. 2008. La Libia nel sistema migratorio mediterraneo: dinamiche di mobilità e risposte politiche. Mondi Migranti 2: 21–53.
Pelosi, G. 2011. Lo stop al Trattato del 2008 diventa un rebus. Il Sole 24 ore, 1 March.
Perrin, D. 2011. Fin de régime et migrations en Libye. Les enseignements juridiques d’un pays en feu. L’Année du Maghreb 7: 285–301.
Pliez, O. 2004. La nouvelle Libye: Sociétés, espaces et géopolitique au lendemain de l’embargo. Paris: Karthala-Iremam.
Remotti, F. 2010. L’ossessione identitaria. Roma/Bari: Laterza.
Rome Declaration. 2014. Declaration of the Ministerial Conference of the Khartoum Process. EU-Horn of Africa Migration Route Initiative [pdf]. Available at: http://italia2014.eu/media/3785/declaration-of-the-ministerial-conference-of-the-khartoum-process.pdf. Accessed 30 Nov 2015.
Ronzitti, N. 2009. Il trattato Italia-Libia di amicizia, partenariato e cooperazione. Senato della Repubblica, Servizio studi, 108 [pdf]. Available at: http://www.iai.it/pdf/Oss_Transatlantico/108.pdf. Accessed 3 Dec 2012.
Sheean, O., ed. 2012. Migrants caught in crisis: The IOM experience in Libya [pdf]. Geneva: International Organization for Migration. Available at: http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/free/MigrationCaughtinCrisis_forweb.pdf. Accessed 2 Nov 2015.
Sofrani, O., and H. Jwan. 2008. International migration to Libya [pdf]. Geneva: International Organization for Migration. Available at: http://mawgeng.a.m.f.unblog.fr/files/2010/03/libyasurveyreportelectronicversionedited.pdf. Accessed 2 Nov 2015.
United Nations. 2010. International migrant stock: The 2008 revision [online]. Available at: http://esa.un.org/migration/index.asp?panel=1. Accessed 3 Dec 2012.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 2011a. Protection considerations with regard to people fleeing from Libya [online]. UNHCR. Available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4d959bf62.html. Accessed 3 Dec 2012.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 2011b. Humanitarian Situation in Libya and the Neighbouring Countries’, UNHCR Update, 24. 10 May. [online] Available at: http://www.unhcr.org/4dca43ff9.html. Accessed 3 Dec 2012.
United Nations Security Council. 2012. Report of the assessment mission on the impact of the Libyan crisis on the Sahel region. Official Records, S/2012/42, 18 January. [pdf] Available at: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/N1220863.pdf. Accessed 3 Dec 2012.
Vandewalle, D. 2006. A history of modern Libya. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Varvelli, A. 2010. Libia: vere riforme oltre la retorica?, ISPI Analysis, 17, July. [pdf] Available at: http://www.ispionline.it/it/documents/Analysis_17_2010.pdf. Accessed 3 Dec 2012.
Viviano, F. 2009. Migranti, nuovo respingimento. Riportati in Libia 70 eritrei e somali’, La Repubblica, 31 August.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Morone, A.M. (2017). Policies, Practices, and Representations Regarding Sub-Saharan Migrants in Libya: From the Partnership with Italy to the Post-Qadhafi Era. In: Gaibazzi, P., Dünnwald, S., Bellagamba, A. (eds) EurAfrican Borders and Migration Management. Palgrave Series in African Borderlands Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94972-4_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94972-4_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-94971-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-94972-4
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)