TC 00 : 00 : 03 (Sub)
ost ABDUL RAZAG AL GERMANI (Male, 50 years)
Go and back your car over there!
TC 00 : 00 : 09 : 20
ost RAZAG ABDUL AL GERMANI (Male, 50 years)
Hello, this is the illegal immigration unit.
Are there foreign nationals on this bus?
TC : 00 : 00 : 16 : 00
ost DRIVER (Male, 40 years)
Yes, there is one.
TC : 00 : 00 : 17 : 08
ost ABDUL RAZAG
Come on!
Okay, I'm done.
VO
TC : 00.00.20.18
Another morning, another routine check on the main road into Tripoli; part of a strategic focus on illegal immigration. Abdul Rezag is heading up the team.
TC : 00 : 00 32 : 07 (sub)
ost ABDUL RAZAG
Stop bullshitting me!
I don't know who you think you're talking to!
You! End that call!
Hang up!
VO
TC : 00 : 00 : 39 : 00
Abdul is commanding one of the city's last remaining revolutionary brigades. All of his men are former rebels.
TC : 00 : 00 : 48 : 20 (sub)
ost ABDUL RAZAG
Ahmed, get your car!
TC : 00 : 00 : 51:50
ost ABDUL RAZAG (english)
Where is your resident visa?
TC : 00 : 00 54 : 00 (english)
ost MIGRANT (Male 35 years) (english)
This One
TC : 00 : 00 55 20
ost ABDUL RAZAG (english)
Do you work here in Tripoli?
TC : 00 : 00 57 : 0 9 (sub)
ost MIGRANT
Yes, for the Sharakandi group.
TC : 00 : 01 : 00 : 00
ost ITW ABDUL RAZAG
His visa is not good. It was made in Zaouia, 45 km from Tripoli. In the office there, there are a lot of malfunctions, many problems with papers. We know that many are fake visas.
TC : 00 : 01 : 20 : 00
ost ABDUL RAZAG (english)
If you lose your passport you must first make a statement to the police, the Libyan police, and then go to your embassy for your papers.
TC : 00 : 01 : 28 : 15 (english)
ost MIGRANT IN CAR (Male 40 years)
But there is no government here. I have asked a Libyan friend who told me that there was no government at the moment.
VO
TC : 00 : 01 : 34 : 00
More than two years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya remains on the verge of collapse. The country is in a state of political, economic and social chaos
Yet thousands of migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, are flooding back to Tripoli.
Attracted by the mirage of reconstruction, some migrants are looking for opportunities. Others simply hope to pass through, on their way to an illegal entry into Europe.
But a different reality awaits them in Libya.
TC : 00 : 02 : 05 : 07 (english)
ost ABDUL RAZAG
I'll smash your face in my office, go, get out!
VO
TC : 00 : 02 : 09 : 20
Tripoli turns into a dead end for these migrants.
Within hours, the militia men had stopped over a hundred from passing; some days they can catch up to 500.
Abdel Rezag was one of Gaddafi's intelligence chiefs before joining the rebellion. That makes him the perfect tour guide of the former district of the Supreme Leader.
TC : 00 : 02 35 : 00
ITW ABDUL RAZAG (English)
This was the home of Saad Gaddafi. I know every street here, every zone here. I know maybe half the people alive here in the capital, and they know me.
ITW ABDUL RAZAG (SUB)
We never went back on our commitment to national security. We will stop at nothing. We will continue to work and work..
We want to organise the new Libya, and if everyone does not have a place then Libya will never be fixed - especially the nation's security.
VO
TC : 00. 03 : 09 : 20
In an effort to take control of the situation, the transitional government has formally brought the various militias under its authority.
There is a problem though: Abdel Rezag has no intention of ceding power to a government he considers ineffective. Instead, he continues his work as if nothing has changed.
TC : 00 : 03 : 29 : 10
ITW ABDUL RAZAG
We will take no orders from anybody telling us how to act in Libya! We are doing a patriotic duty and this is the legacy we would leave for our children!
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 03 41 : 09
Any illegal immigrants stopped are taken to the militia's makeshift detention centre
Here, one by one, passports are checked and migrants are reviewed - one from Nigeria, another from Bangladesh: the list just keeps growing.
OST : Name (sub)
TC : 00 : 03.57.10
All have 72 hours to prove they are in Libya legally. Otherwise, they are expelled.
But the country is almost helpless to prevent them from returning. Libya has over 4,000 km of borders with six different countries, and almost no control over this land.
Among the detainees is Patrick from the Ivory Coast. He has no resident's permit and no visa.
TC : 00 : 04 : 23 0 0
LIVE ABDEL RAZAG (english)
You came from your country to our country by what? By airport? You coming from the Desert?
TC : 00 : 04 : 27 : 10
PATRICK (Male 35 years) (english)
Yes, through the desert.
TC : 00 : 04 : 28 : 23
ABDUL RAZAG (english)
For Sure.
PATRICK (english)
Yes.
ABDUL Rezag (english)
Which date you coming here to Libya?
TC : 00 : 04 : 34 : 3 0
PATRICK (english)
Five years.
TC : 00 : 04 35 : 00
ABDUL RAZAG (english)
5 years, and you don't make anything for your passport or resident's visa? No contract with anybody?
TC : 00 : 04 41 : 00
PATRICK (english)
No.
TC : 00 : 04 43 0 0
ABDUL RAZAG (english)
You have family here ?
TC : 00 : 04 45 : 01
PATRICK (english)
I have my wife here.
TC : 00 : 04 : 46 : 07
ABDUL RAZAG (english)
Your wife only ?
TC : 00 : 04 : 47 : 00
PATRICK (english)
Yes my wife.
TC : 00 : 04 : 48 : 08
ABDUL RAZAG (english)
Two people ? No children ?
PATRICK (english)
TC : 00 : 04 50 : 10
My wife.
ABDUL RAZAG (english)
TC : 00 : 04 52 : 14
You have problems with your country ?
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 04 : 55.10
Patrick claims to have fled the unstable political regime in the Ivory Coast, seeking asylum in Libya.
TC : 00 : 05 : 02 : 22
ABDUL RAZAG (english)
Now you are under the immigration law, you know. You must leave our country with your wife.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 05 : 09 : 05
He may be deported as soon as the next day.
TC : 00 : 05 : 13 : 00
CAPTIONS
PATRICK
Words fail me. It's inhuman anyway. You get taken, it isn't explained to you exactly what is going on. It's so tough.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 05 : 24 0 0
On the other side of the room is Ishmael from Senegal.
He did not flee political persecution; only the poverty of his home.
After only two months in Libya it's over for him.
TC : 00 : 05: 39 : 10
ITW ISMAEL (MEN, 35 YEARS)
They win. I return to Senegal.
TC : 05 41 : 00
WOMAN REPORTER
Why ?
TC : 00 : 05 42 : 20
ISMAEL
I'm tired, I'm tired of it here.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 05 50 : 00
Ishmael is about to spend his third night on the floor of the detention centre alongside the rest of the detainees. He'll most likely be deported in the morning.
The detention centre's unusual appearance is down to it's former use: it was the city's zoo.
But it's not the first unusual use the zoo has been put to; before the revolution Gaddafi had an intelligence complex constructed beneath the animal cages.
TC : 00 : 06 : 23 : 08
ITW MILITIA COMMANDER IN CHIEF (MAN 60 YEARS)
Gaddafi had enemies everywhere. This is the reason that it was built here. He spent his whole life feeling paranoid!
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 06 : 31 : 1 0
These underground tunnels extend for tens of kilometres beneath the Zoo.
TC : 00 : 06 : 39 : February 2
ITW MILITIA COMMANDER IN CHIEF
These are military maps.
All of these offices were filled with listening devices.
Everything that happened in Libya, down to the slightest movement, was monitored and recorded here.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 06 54 : 23
This complex was eventually flooded by Gaddafi to prevent rebels accessing sensitive information.
That's why, instead of this bunker, the militia has occupied the Zoo's restaurant.
Upon arrival, all migrants are screened for HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis and other diseases. There is zero tolerance for the sick.
TC : 00 : 07 : 21 : 10 (sub)
ITW AL ABDUL RAZAG GERMANI
Under Libyan immigration law, anyone who comes into Libya must be healthy. Anyone discovered to be sick during detention should be expelled.
TC : 00 : 07 37 : July 1
LIVE MILITIAMAN 1 (MEN, 55 YEARS)
There: Chadian, Egyptian, Pakistani.
They are all sick.
You remember the Sudanese that came with his father? They are both sick.
TC : 00 : 07 : 48 : 08
MILITIAMAN 2 (MEN, 35 YEARS)
Look at this, he is from Nigeria. He has both Hepatitis and AIDS.
TC : 00 : 07 54 : 20
ITW MILITIA COMMANDER IN CHIEF
Libyans do not even have the money to care for themselves. Sincere efforts are being made for these foreigners, but how can we care for them when we ourselves are forced to go to Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, or Europe to get treatment?
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 08 : 08 : 24
On average, 15% of migrants test positive for some form of illness.
For them, the penalty is immediate. They are expelled and barred from entry to Libya for five years.
For the militia, the mission is more profitable: each migrant must pay the equivalent of 10 euros for the test. The centre also recieves medical supplies from the hospitals in the region.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 08 : 53 : 00
This morning, due to a lack of space in the detention centre, Ishmael and a few other unfortunates are being transferred to another facility.
The only problem is that the militia doesn't have enough transport for the journey. The government hasn't got the resources to supply the militias with the support they need.
TC : 00 : 09 : 14 : 02 (sub)
ITW ABDEL RAZAG :
It's been two years since the revolution. But the government still can't supply us with what we need. Cars, equipment; they were contacted, we tried to get cars to transfer all these people. But no, no organisation has been able to support us.
And it's like that everywhere in Libya.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 09 36 : 23
Tossed from centre to centre, it's the migrants who pay the price for the lack of clear policy on immigration.
TC : 00 : 09 45 : 20 (sub)
WOMAN REPORTER
You don't know where you're going?
TC : 00 : 09 : 47 : 05
ITW MIGRANT
No, I do not know.
I told my boss to go get my passport from home. He left and did not come back. I called him, but he refused to come.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 09 57 : 17
After half an hours ride the detainees arrive in Abu Salim. It's one of the country's most feared political prisons.
Officially, it's now closed. But one annex is still in use.
From this moment on, the migrants are under the authority of Sergeant Ahmed...
TC : 00 : 10 : 18 : 24
LI VE SERGEANT AHMED (english_
What is your name ?
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 10 : 22 : 11
...formerly a member of Gaddafi's immigration services
It's in this unhealthy improvised detention centre that these migrants will spend the next 24 hours; with no ventilation, no heating, and a roof that's threatening to collapse.
The migrants want for everything.
TC : 00 : 10 43 : 14 (ENGLISH)
LIVE MIGRANT (MEN, 35 YEARS)
We have big problems. This morning we haven't eaten..
Sometimes they hit us. When we are noisy they beat us.
TC : 00 : 10 52 : 14
LIVE SERGEANT AHMED (sub)
Yes you are old, and you may have been in Libya 20 or 30 years. But that's your problem. If your passport isn't valid you will be expelled like everybody else.
TC : 00 : 11 : 01 : 06
TEXT ON THE WALL (sub)
"Let time do its work"
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 11 : 03 : 23
This group of Senegalese and Nigerians have been held in the shed for a week.
TC : 00 : 11 : 09: 0 2 (sub)
MIGRANT SENEGAL 1 (MEN, 20 YEARS )
Since the morning, no one has water, no food, Is that good ?
TC 00 : 11 : 16 : 00
WOMAN REPORTER
Do you have anything for hygiene?
TC : 00 : 11 : 18 : 15
MIGRANT 2 (MEN, 35 YEARS)
There are toilets.
TC : 00 : 11.22 : 23
WOMAN REPORTER
You drink toilet water?
TC 00 : 11 : 23: 21
MIGRANT SENEGAL 1
Yes, yes!
TC : 00 : 11 25 : 00
MIGRANT 2
Yes, that's what we drink!
TC : 00 : 11 : 28 : 10
WOMAN REPORTER
The sick people, do they have the right to care?
TC : 00 : 11 30 : 24
MIGRANT 2
No! Nobody! They give nothing.
We're here, we suffer, we do not know how it will end.
We just want to return to our country!!
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 11 44 : 20
The detainees have no idea what their fate will be, or when it will come. The holding period is indefinite.
In 2013, 25,000 people were deported to neighbouring countries in the south, mainly Niger or Chad.
But in this Tripoli suburb, one migrant has managed to escape the clutches of the militia.
This is Patrick who had fled the Ivory Coast.
Abdel Rezag allowed him to return home.
TC : 00 : 12 : 20 : 01 (sub)
ITW PATRICK
This is my wife Stephanie, and my sister Manouna. We are a family here. We don't live a grand life. We only need the basics: eating, sleep, and in the morning to go look for work. It's not much, anyway. We're not looking for luxury. Just a little. Only to survive and make it work out. And if that is in Libya today this is not our fault anyway, it's out of our control. If there was no war in the Ivory Coast I would never have come to Libya.
COMMENT
TC : 00. 12 : 53 : 00
After the fall of Gaddafi, Patrick had hoped his status in Libya would be officially recognised. Instead, abuse and exploitation remain a fact of life for migrants.
This was certainly the experience of Maloula after accepting a job as a housekeeper. Upon arrival, she was forced to work without pay, held captive for nine months
TC : 00 : 13 : 14 : 12 (sub)
ITW Maloula
"We work 24 hours out of 24. And even working at night.
I did not see the sun, I did not even know there was sun here.
TC : 00 : 13 : 21 : 23
ITW Patrick :
After nine months of work, she was forced to flee. One day the home owner forgot to close the gate, so she ran into the street, without luggage! That's how she was able to escape.
We came here , we were led to believe that Libya was okay, that Libya is a paradise. But when you get here it's the opposite: what you find is suffering and here it is too often you pass someone in the street, and they through a stone at you! It's really because you're abroad. It means that there are many things that are happening. Here in Libya you often go to work and they do not pay you. And then you have nothing, there is no law to cover you, no law for foreigners here.
TC : 00 : 14 : 06 : 17
ITW Maloula :
They treat us as slaves, they do not like blacks, they are racist!
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 14 : 14: 00
Historically, migrants have always been essential to the economy of Libya.
Under Gaddafi, one worker in three came from abroad. He was happy to use migrants, depending on his economic and political needs.
The Libyans have suffered a penalty for trying to restart their economy. Oil, Gas, and Construction: today, all of these industries are suffering.
In the Ivory Coast, before the civil war, Patrick used to lead a comfortable life. But here he is ready to accept anything.
TC : 00 : 14 : 46 : 01 (sub)
ITW PATRICK
Almost all jobs, masonry, cleaning, all jobs. Currently everything is stopped, the companies are closed, everything is currently blocked.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 14 57 : 00
This morning he will try his luck finding work on the highway.
He is just one of hundreds of foreigners offering their skills along the side of the road.
If and when a Libyan stops and offers a job, and if they get to the front of the scrum, they stand to earn 8 euros a day.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 15 : 27 : 20
In this mostly Islamic country, one particularly vulnerable group of migrants are the Christians.
In the church of San Francisco, the Catholic charity organisation Caritas offers some necessities for the poor. Inma and Juanita are volunteer sisters.
TC : 00 : 15 50 : February 2 (sub)
Live SISTER INMA (WOMEN, 50 YEARS)
That's for breakfast. We will also take pasta.
We have to list each family with the date of birth of the baby or we make mistakes.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 16 : 02 : 02
The two sisters used to regularly go into detention centres to offer support. But their work is in jeopardy now that half of the centres have fallen out of government control.
TC : 00 : 16 : 12 : 21 (sub)
ITW SISTER INMA :
Before the revolution, we could visit detainees without any problem, provided we had the authorization of the bishop. But today the situation has changed, there's no one responsible, no contact to let us enter.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 16 : 27 : 02
The sisters only have one solution: go directly into the homes of migrants. Today they are visiting Eritrean refugees in desperate need.
Escaping Eritrea, one of the most repressive dictatorships in the world, is a challenging feat.
Yet there are thousands who have risked their lives and crossed the boundary. Often young, and all of them desperate to escape the oppression of the dictatorship.
TC : 00 : 16 55 : 24
ITW MIGRANT Eritrean 1 (MEN, 28 YEARS): (english)
I started my journey to Asmara Kasala. I paid almost $ 1,000. Then Khartoum to Tripoli, I paid 1600 dollars. Everything I had, all my savings, I have spent. Some traffickers, smugglers who are in this business, killed people; they shot them in my eyes. But I had no choice, to improve my life, you had to go there.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 17 : 34 : 20
During the voyage, young women are often victims of rape. Injuries that they keep to themselves.
Inma and Juanita pay particular attention to single mothers such as Calché. She's just 19 years old, and is worried her child isn't feeding well enough.
TC : 00 : 17 55 : 20 (sub)
SISTER INMA (WOMEN, 50 YEARS)
You have to give this product 4 times a day and you'll see, it will get better.
TC : 00 : 18 : 03 : 18
SISTER INMA (WOMEN, 50 YEARS)
They are women and they are alone. And that makes them extremely vulnerable.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 18 : 10 : 22
Muze is 18. She says she was detained as soon as she arrived in Libya, but escaped. Today, 4 months pregnant, she is without any family or support.
TC : 00 : 18 : 23 : 23 (sub)
ITW INMA
She needs a passport. If they ask for a marriage certificate and she hasn't got one, we'll have to see how we can help her without the wedding papers. Because here it is forbidden, not married and pregnant, it is very frowned upon.
TC : 00 : 18 44 : 00
ITW MUSE (WOMEN 19 YEARS)
I cannot go back to Eritrea because I deserted the army during my classes. In my country I was not safe and it's the same here. I'm afraid. The people shooting. If someone wants to help me I will take the risk of going to Europe even if I'm pregnant.
TC : 00 : 19 : 06 : 04
ITW SISTER INMA
They say nothing, when they leave, because we will say no you do not go in the boat as it is dangerous. But they come here with this goal.
It is for them the most important thing, to go to Europe, Lampedusa. They would rather die than stay here in Libya.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 19 30 : 15
Eritreans can obtain the status of political refugee.
But on Libyan soil, their refugee papers are worthless. They are incarcerated and deported just like other migrants.
TC : 00 : 19 45 : 22
ITW MIGRANT Eritrean 2 (YOUNG MAN) (english)
If there is a checkpoint, and you show them this paper, they'll demand your residence permit. They do not care about this paper, the Libyan doesn't care about refugees.
Sometimes they tear and throw it in our face.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 20 : 04 : 18
The sisters will return in a week, uncertain of finding Muse and Calchée again.
It's in this UN office that refugee status is granted.
The transitional government had promised to conform to the Geneva Convention and recognize the right of asylum. However, according to Noman, one of the centre's managers, nothing has improved in the country.
TC : 00 : 20 : 31 : 2 0
ITW NOMAN UNHCR (MAN, 30 YEARS) (english)
The situation is difficult to share the incredible weakness of the current government, and due to the presence in the country of many unofficial actors who are armed and who have no knowledge of the structures, the legal system, or the standards of human rights.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 20 : 53.15
We find a community of Eritreans, imprisoned in their homes.
On the rooftop watchmen take turns at being on guard.
At night, they become easy targets for looters or the police.
TC : 00 : 21 : 08 : 20
ITW MIGRANT Eritrean 1 (MAN 35 YEARS) (english)
They come to extort us, or stop Eritreans and send them to jail. So to escape them, o n climbs the top, we walk by there on the roof and escapes like that to win the street.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 21 30 : 05
But once they leave their home these migrants are risking their lives.
Weapons looted during the revolution are all over the city.
This young man was shot in the hip over a laptop.
TC : 00 : 21 43 : 1 0
MIGRANT ERYHTREEN 1 (english)
He was shot!
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 21 : 47 : 00
The injury causes permanent suffering. The traumatised young man collapses into seizures.
TC : 00 : 21 56 : 20
ITW MIGRANT Eritrean 1 (english)
The situation in Libya forces us to sail. Although this is a matter of life or death, we have no choice but to try our luck.
COMMENT
TC 00 : 22 : 13 : 15
For some of these migrants, Libya is just a stop off. They expect to find freedom on the other side of the Mediterranean in Europe.
They know that leaving the country without papers is illegal.
But this last chance crossing, with the promise of 1700 km of under-policed coastlines, often proves too tempting to resist.
These migrants were found crammed in tiny boats braving the winter storms.
They were caught at sea by the Libyan coastguard and transferred to the zoo. They're now under the authority of the militia leader Abdel Rezag.
TC : 00 : 22 56 : 24
ITW SENEGAL BIG BROTHER.
We were at sea, our engine broke down and we had no engineer to help us. Bandits found us, took our engine, and left us adrift. We spent two days like that. We tried to save ourselves, rowing with our arms.
TC : 00 : 23 : 17 : 16
WOMAN REPORTER
How old are you?
TC : 00 : 23 : 18: 11
ITW SMALL
14.
TC : 00 : 23 : 20 : 16
WOMAN REPORTER
Where did you want to go?
TC : 00 : 23 : 10:03 p.m.
ITW SMALL
In Italy.
TC : 23 : 23 : 03
WOMAN REPORTER
Why Italy ?
TC : 00 : 23 : 25:00
ITW SMALL
For work.
TC : 00 : 23 : 27 : 14
ITW SENEGAL BIG BROTHER
Because once you've arrived in Italy, if you cannot stay there, you can go to France, Switzerland or another country, but you cannot stay here!
TC : 00 : 23 36 : 15
LIVE MILITIA COMMANDER IN CHIEF (MAN 60 YEARS)
Bring your car quickly!
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 23 42 : 07
The Galley Brothers, as they call themselves, paid about 1000 euros per head for their place. For the unscrupulous smugglers controlling it, the racket can be extremely lucrative.
TC : 00 : 23 52 : 05
ITW MIGRANT 3 (MAN 30 YEARS)
My father sold my cows, ten or eleven, and he sent me money.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 23 59 : 00
Among the 300 passengers there are three young girls travelling alone.
Yvette dreamed of reaching Italy. She is still in shock at her arrest.
TC : 00 : 2 4 : 11: 03
ITW YVETTE (WOMEN, 16 YEARS) (english)
Since yesterday, I am afraid because I do not know what they will do to us, where they're going to take us, it really scares me.
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 24 : 22 : 00
The most likely heading for these detainees will be the Abu Salim prison and then deportation.
TC : 00 : 24 : 26 : 13 (sub)
WOMAN REPORTER :
Why do you put the mask on ?
TC : 00 : 24 : 29 : 08
ITW ABDU L RAZA G
You know, I have fear of getting on the bus and be contaminated, I do not know what illnesses they have in there ! I've already caught a minor illness.
TC : 00 : 24 41 : 01
ITW OLD MILITIAMAN (sub)
All these people are tired, sick. It is like the plague, they will destroy everything! And contaminate us! We must return them!
COMMENT
TC : 00 : 24 : 48 : 00
In 2013, about 15,000 migrants attempted to reach Italy from the Libyan coast. 3000 died before reaching their destination.
TC : 00 : 25: 00 : 03
ITW ABDUL G RAZA (sub)
Everyone suffers from this problem, Libya and the European Union. In my experience, it will never end, it will get worse because of the indifference and carelessness of the Libyan authorities but also the lack of coordination with Europe.
COMMENT
TC : 00 25 : 23 : 22
The human cost of this illegal industry is enormous. But with millions of dollars at stake it continues with impunity. In Libya, to date, no ferryman or border smuggler has been arrested.
END