Something to fight for? Atmosphere during Amazigh festival at the Green Square or Martyrs Square in Tripoli, Libya on September 27, 2011 – the first time the Libyan Amazigh could celebrate their identity and culture this way. Abd Rabbo Ammar / Press Association. All rights reserved.Libya is the launchpad for human smuggling into Europe. Even before its disintegration following the NATO intervention, the country served as a gateway for migrants seeking sanctuary in Europe. And while many profit from the trafficking in people, there is also active resistance in some communities to this practice. In the small coastal city of Zuwarah(120 KMs west of Tripoli), Amazigh communities (Natives of North Africa) are on the front line, leading the fight against profiteers trafficking in men, women and children.
Anti-smuggling operations have sprung up across the region. Many of them are led by youth, intent on protecting their communities and salvaging the reputation of their families. While still small scale, the impacts are far-reaching. The so-called Zuwarah-Lampedusa route, once the principle conduit for traffickers between Libya and Italy, was recently shut down. With little help from outsiders, local communities have taken matters into their own hands. While accused by some of applying rough justice, newly empowered residents are recovering their pride.
Zuwarah is fighting hard against smugglers
In Zuwarah, as elsewhere, geography is destiny. Local residents there started to mobilize against traffickers in 2015 after a ship sunk off the city’s coastline, taking 650 migrants to a watery grave. Horrified by the disaster, Zuwaran leaders rose up against the traffickers, claiming that “Zuwarah should not be in the hands of bloodsuckers”. This represented a break from the past. After all, Zuwarans, like so many other communities in Libya, were long dependent on illegal rents, including people smuggling.
