Libya is committing crimes against humanity, while the African Union, our Black presidents and the UN are watching as black people are raped, tortured, auctioned, killed, and enslaved on the African soil!

Black people have always been victims of Arab slave trade, which continued long after it was abolished in Europe and the Americas. This shameful repeat of the trade of hell must be stopped at all costs and now.

It breaks the heart to see children and mothers called animals, while others are tortured and killed. It goes against conscience to see black bodies with ropes on their necks and legs—just as they in the 17and 1800s. This gloomy picture brings hard memories of precolonial slave trade. Babies had their heads dashed against stones, while mothers were raped at will. Men who resisted were brutally killed.

Behind this evil trade was the color of the skin. Since then, we black Africans have been taken advantage of — we exist at the mercy of White or light skinned people. To some white skinned people, we are animals. We are commodities to be sold at will—our life has no sanctity; we are simply too black to be seen, or heard. In fact, we are treated less than animals—dogs and cats have much respect than we do—just as Donald Trump and his cronies.

The world would have responded differently if white people were enslaved in Libya; the world would have responded differently if a white kid was enslaved; the world would have responded inversely if white bodies floated in the waters of the Mediterranean. But these are black animals–so who cares?

There is no reason to pretend we are not seeing it–our fellow blacks are animals, forced to work without pay, enslaved and killed. Their blood continues to cry for help, but our African leaders are too deaf to these cries. I am so disappointed that black African presidents are unmoved by this evil just as they did on Sudan. The plight of black people in Libya needs immediate attention. It must be addressed by us, black Africans. We may wait for America or Europe to stop this mess—but it will only be at their own time. We have seen it before in Rwanda, Congo, Sudan and South Africa.

There is nothing to be lost by addressing how Arabs have historically treated us, the Black people. The Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir committed genocide on Black people. Yet our useless African Union dominated by Black presidents has protected him from being held responsible. Black presidents even love him at the AU—the truth is, he sees them as animals too!

Let us face it—Libya is degrading us all. Unless we all stand up against Libya, Black lives will continue to be commodities to benefit the economy of Libya just they did for Europe and the Americas. We cannot continue to hide by the claim of African Unity—it is the unity of the skin! We, black people must stand up against Libya now – future generations will judge us if we do not stand up against this evil. Unless we act to avoid the repeat of this trade of Hell, we are accomplices to this vice and posterity will judge us.

It is shameful that Africans presidents are turning the blind eye to slavery in our time. We did not know then how many Africans died during this trade of hell, but that was then. Today, we know. We have pictures and living faces of those slaves! Africa should vow to hold Libya responsible for these crimes.

There is what is minimal decency, but Libya has none. There is no need to defend Libya’s rogue state—the fact is that we are slaves in Libya. Neither is it helpful to blame the economic status of black Africa countries of origin—the refugee status does not make one a slave. Slavery is a crime, period!

I fully agree that our ancestors watched as Arabs took our own as slaves. They did not have the power to stop it–but we do. We must realize that the auctioning of another black person is an insult and attack on all black people—I mean all including our presidents. This barbaric trend needs to be stopped at any cost—if it will take military force, let it be. I believe the AU can address this crisis on its own — Libya is not on planet Mars–it is in Africa. African presidents should declare war against slavery.