Although many of us believe that slavery is in the past, slavery is still very prominent in other parts of the world. This is evident through current events. Recently a video was posted of enslaved people being auctioned off in Libya. Many people were shocked and disturbed by the video, as the news swiftly spread on many social media websites.
In the video, men were being treated like animals and were being sold for $400. While researching this current event I began to think about consent and how this current event relates to this course. I immediately linked this event to Fortune’s Bones.
While reading Fortune’s Bones, we talked about the idea of a person not having control over themselves or rather a lack of consent. In the novel, Fortune, an enslaved man, died. Despite him having no control of the matter, he was not properly buried. Instead his skeleton was preserved in order to study human anatomy. Without his consent, Fortune’s master, Dr. Porter, “stripped him of his name, his story, and his flesh”. In other words, his body was used as a tool rather than a human being.
Like Fortune, these human beings in Libya are being taken and forced against their own will to be used as a tool. Although Slavery isn’t prominent in the United States, it shouldn’t be overlooked. Many countries have bonded together in order to address this major problem. This article on Time states; “the leaders of Libya, France, Germany, Chad and Niger and four other countries agreed on a plan to evacuate thousands of migrants stuck in Libyan detention camps”. Despite the content of the video being disturbing, it is vital that it continues to be spread, in order to inform people of events like this.