5 preventable incidents that hit Africa hard in 2017

Migrant Crisis in Libya

Although the migrant crisis in Libya has been going on for several years, it seemingly hit its peak in 2017 going by the thousands of African migrants that died in the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea while trying to reach Europe.

Aside from the horrifying deaths, thousands of migrants, most of them from sub-Saharan Africa, are currently languishing in Libyan detention camps, where they are usually abused, tortured and sold as slaves. Sadly, a significant number of these migrants are refugees fleeing wars and persecution in their home countries. Some of them are children, underage girls, and pregnant women.

It’s a humanitarian crisis that has put to question the work of the international human rights organizations and the international community in general. While some observers blame African governments for failing to provide their citizens with better living conditions in their respective countries, others blame European authorities for not creating safer and legal means for African migrants to reach Europe.

As curtains come down on the year 2017, many Africans hope that these painful incidents will serve as a lesson and induce those in authority to find ways to avoid them in 2018. Have a safe 2018!