The town is gone, virtually burned to the ground and with signs declaring New Misrata all over the place, and a large portion of the adult male population is gone with it, either dead or being held indefinitely in torture centers by Misrata militia forces. The people of Tawarga, however, haven’t entirely disappeared.
And their continued existence remains a major headache for the new Libyan regime, with some 1,500 civilians herded into an abandoned business complex near Tripoli airport and others scattered across the nation, still seething over their town’s destruction.
The Tawargans were descendants of slaves from further south in Africa, brought into Libya in the 18th and 19th century, and they settled in the farming town of Tawarga, just south of Misrata, for generations.
But when the Gadhafi regime fell, black people became persona non grata across Libya, amid claims that the dictator imported a number of African mercenaries to fight for him near the end. The Tawargans were not imported mercenaries, however, but were born in Libya. This made little difference and in the crushing of Gadhafi’s forces, the overwhelmingly black town was sacked and burned. The Tawargans were initially herded into a refugee camp in Tripoli, but then Misrata forces attacked that camp and forced them into a worse camp, which later closed.
For those still alive, the stories are all the same. Everyone has family members killed by the militias, and most still have relatives held in custody in Misrata, where international officials warn torture is rampant.
“This is Abu Ghraib, not Libya!” one Tawargan complained, while others warned that they would fight back if the situation continues. Misrata militia leaders continue to insist that the Tawargans got what they had coming to them, and one Misrata fighter insisted “it’s easier and better that they just go away.” With no place to go that doesn’t seem likely, but as crackdowns against them and other “suspiciously dark-skinned” Libyans continue, a backlash seems inevitable.
So this is the freedom Libya has "won" with the help of western imperialism. Poor people, utterly taken in by the ideas peddled to them. "Democracy" in most MIddle East countries leads to chaos, because the countries are all built on fragile tribal lines. The West is well aware of this as is the pariah state of Israel. it used to be called divide and rule. Isn't there an Israeli policy document somewhere about the need to destroy all the Arab/Muslim countries around them? It looks to me like the policy is well on track.
why the emphasis on slavery the facts are the original indigenous tribes of Libya where black pre -dating slavery by thousands of years and are the original inhabitants of these lands
The people of Misrata don't want the Tawargans back – not because they're black, but because they fought for Qaddafi, attacking Misrata, killing and raping… Throughout this conflict, when we saw film of rebels fighting, celebrating victories, etc., there were always black faces. This is not about being black. Watch this video of truckloads of Tawarag men laughing and talking about making war on Misrata:
Whatever, but either way what you've got is a chaotic country that is ripe for exploitation by the West. "Democracy" is the last thing on the list.
Ah, the joys of diversity. Coming soon to the US of A.