logo
Listen: A place ‘worse than hell' (Libya, Part 2)

Listen: A place ‘worse than hell' (Libya, Part 2)

Daily Maverick17 hours ago

Part Two of the harrowing story of Aliou Candé — a 28-year-old farmer and father from Guinea-Bissau — whose dream of a better life ended in one of Libya's brutal migrant prisons.
The Libyan Coast Guard is doing the European Union's dirty work, capturing migrants as they attempt to cross the Mediterranean into Europe and throwing them in secret prisons.
There, they are extorted, abused and sometimes killed. An investigation into the death of Aliou Candé, a young farmer and father from Guinea-Bissau, puts the Outlaw Ocean team in the cross-hairs of Libya's violent and repressive regime.
advertisement
Don't want to see this? Remove ads
In this three-part series, we take you inside the walls of one of the most dangerous prisons in a lawless regime where the world's forgotten migrants languish.
Listen to part one here
Episode 2 highlights
The EU has claimed it plays no role in this migrant crisis, even as it provides boats, buses, petrol — even the tablets the Libyans use to count their captives.
Once captured and counted, those migrants are often held in a network of secretive prisons run by competing militias, where exploitation, abuse and death are common. They are also routinely 'rented' as everything from farm labour to soldiers in battle.
Aliou Candé was sent to a prison where he died at the hands of prison guards while trying to protect himself in a melee. 'I'm not going to fight. I'm the hope of my entire family,' he said. DM

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Spain economy minister urges fair, balanced EU-US tariff deal
Spain economy minister urges fair, balanced EU-US tariff deal

eNCA

time13 hours ago

  • eNCA

Spain economy minister urges fair, balanced EU-US tariff deal

Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said a tariff pact between the EU and Washington should be "fair and balanced," although both sides remain far from a deal as a July deadline approaches. "There is still a long way to go to reach an agreement, but there remains the will to do so," Cuerpo told AFP in an interview on Thursday. His comments came on the sidelines of a trip to Houston, Texas, as he sought to reassure Spanish businesses rattled by US President Donald Trump's wide-ranging tariffs. Trump has slapped a 10 percent tariff on almost all trading partners including the European Union since returning to the presidency in January. He also threatened to impose heftier duties of 50 percent on the bloc, although pausing the higher rate until July 9. For now, Trump's existing tariffs, including 25 percent US duties on imported automobiles and 50 percent levies on steel and aluminum, are affecting European companies, Cuerpo said. Pressure is mounting as July approaches. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC this week that an EU deal will likely be among the last that Washington completes, even as he remained optimistic that both sides would reach this goal. Arriving at a deal by July 9 would be ideal as it signals "certainty and confidence," Cuerpo said. He maintained that things are "progressing," stressing that "there is unanimity among the 27 member states to reach a fair and balanced agreement." - No 'overreaction' - He added that while Europe has prepared a response package to Trump's tariffs, Brussels is holding off implementation so that it cannot be "interpreted as an escalation in this tariff conflict." It is critical that the EU gives a "very clear signal" that it wants to strike a deal with the Trump administration, he said. "The fundamental thing is to avoid any element of overreaction," he added. Besides the EU, higher US tariffs on goods from dozens of economies including Japan and India are also due to take effect in July. Trump has taken an especially harsh stance on China as Beijing pushed back on US levies, with both sides engaging in an escalating tariffs war that has only been temporarily rolled back. The Spanish minister expects Trump's tariffs to have limited effect on his country's economic growth this year, given its smaller exposure to the US market. But he warned that certain sectors like olive oil and wine are at higher risk as more of such exports head to the United States. In the interim, Cuerpo noted the importance too of the Mercosur agreement, a trade deal between the European Union and four South American nations including Brazil. Asked if a new global trade order is emerging, Cuerpo said: "This feeling is widely shared." "We are witnessing a rebalancing of these trade relations at the international level and what nobody knows is what's the new point we will reach," he added. By Moisés Ávila

Listen: A place ‘worse than hell' (Libya, Part 2)
Listen: A place ‘worse than hell' (Libya, Part 2)

Daily Maverick

time17 hours ago

  • Daily Maverick

Listen: A place ‘worse than hell' (Libya, Part 2)

Part Two of the harrowing story of Aliou Candé — a 28-year-old farmer and father from Guinea-Bissau — whose dream of a better life ended in one of Libya's brutal migrant prisons. The Libyan Coast Guard is doing the European Union's dirty work, capturing migrants as they attempt to cross the Mediterranean into Europe and throwing them in secret prisons. There, they are extorted, abused and sometimes killed. An investigation into the death of Aliou Candé, a young farmer and father from Guinea-Bissau, puts the Outlaw Ocean team in the cross-hairs of Libya's violent and repressive regime. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads In this three-part series, we take you inside the walls of one of the most dangerous prisons in a lawless regime where the world's forgotten migrants languish. Listen to part one here Episode 2 highlights The EU has claimed it plays no role in this migrant crisis, even as it provides boats, buses, petrol — even the tablets the Libyans use to count their captives. Once captured and counted, those migrants are often held in a network of secretive prisons run by competing militias, where exploitation, abuse and death are common. They are also routinely 'rented' as everything from farm labour to soldiers in battle. Aliou Candé was sent to a prison where he died at the hands of prison guards while trying to protect himself in a melee. 'I'm not going to fight. I'm the hope of my entire family,' he said. DM

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store