Correspondents for The Local Italy spoke to a people smuggler in southern Libya who said Italy's plans to pay people not to engage in human trafficking are working. A 28-year-old Libyan from the minority Toubou ethnic group, Essa smuggles desperate migrants fleeing violence and poverty from Niger to the southern Libyan city of Sabha. Essa, who says there are no other jobs in southern Libya, seems confident that the “slump” in business will not last. “My cousins, who are PhD holders, are now working in human smuggling because of the systemic racism against my people,” Essa said. Butera, of METE, said Italian authorities were investigating the possibility of some NGO rescue missions having direct contact with smugglers.

Source: The North Africa Journal September 13, 2017 11:37 UTC