chicagotribune
GHAT Libya (Reuters) - Abdulkabir and five of his
friends, all from Niger, walked for hours over rocky hills and sandy
paths to cross into southern Libya, without meeting a single border
guard. Safely over the border, they now feel no need to hide.
Libya's southwestern tip in the
Sahara bordering Algeria and Niger has become an open door for illegal
migrants from sub-Saharan countries heading for Europe, with the chaotic
government in Tripoli appearing to have abandoned all control.
The revolt that overthrew Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
three years ago emptied Libya's arsenals, flooded the region with guns
and dismantled much of the state apparatus, giving well-organised
smuggler networks the run of the frontier.
"We
crossed by foot. There was no army or police," said Abdulkabir, waiting
with his friends for a smuggler to bring them to Ghat, the first town in
Libya. They camped near an unpaved road that leads straight to the
nearby Libyan passport control post, but no patrol disturbed them.
According to the Italian coast guard, at least 50,000
people have crossed from North Africa to Italy by boat so far this year,
already far exceeding the 40,000 who arrived in the whole of 2013. Most
came over land from Sub-Saharan Africa, via Libya.
It has been always a challenge to seal Libya's more than 2,000 km long
southern border, but since Gaddafi's fall it appears few are even
trying. Tripoli, some 1,300 km to the north, has reduced funding to
border troops as it grapples with a budget crisis due to protests that
shut down oil exports.
"The border is open day and
night. Anyone who wants can cross it. There is no control," said Mohamed
Abdel-Qadir, head of Ghat's town council. "Most (smugglers) are armed
people, some of them drug dealers, some trade in weapons, goods and
illegal migrants."
Border officials say up to 200
Africans cross the Ghat border strip every day, most headed north to the
Mediterranean coast for the onward trip to Europe by boat.
In Ghat, a detention center has been built to house migrants
caught trying to cross the frontier. But these days it stands empty and
derelict: the local authorities say they are being given no money to run
it.
Instead, African migrants walk around the town
unchallenged. They live in empty houses and queue every morning on the
main street seeking jobs. Police cars drive by without stopping.
"I came here to look for a job because there is nothing in
Niger," said a man from northern Niger who gave his name as Mussa. He
left behind his wife and three children.
The human
traffickers also don't bother to hide much. "Which police or army are
you talking about?" said a smuggler after putting six migrants from
Niger on his Toyota pickup.
"I don't have a job so I
have to make a living," said the smuggler, one of the Tuareg nomads who
dominate the region. He agreed to be filmed but asked not to be named.
Operating as part of a network, he drives the Nigeriens to
Obari, some 250 km away, where a colleague takes them to Sabha, the
next town as they head north toward the Mediterranean coast.
He is not worried about bumping into a patrol: "I have friends in the police and army," he said.
"THE BORDER IS OPEN"
Not only do smugglers guide migrants north into Libya,
they also ship goods such and petrol and wheat south into sub-Saharan
Africa or west into Algeria, profiting off the lavish state subsidies
that keep such goods cheap in Libya.
Weapons are
also shipped south, and Western diplomats worry southern Libya is
becoming a haven or transit point for fighters heading in all
directions, towards conflict zones in Egypt, Syria, Sudan or Mali.