Smuggling, Trafficking and Extortion: New Conceptual and Policy Challenges on the Libyan Route to Europe
- Date
- March 12, 2020
- Time
- 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. ET
- Location
- Balsillie School of International Affairs • Room 1-42m
- Contact
- International Migration Research Centre (IMRC), Laurier University imrc@wlu.ca
- Website
- https://www.balsillieschool.ca/event/smuggling-trafficking-and-extortion-new-conceptual-and-policy-challenges-on-the-libyan-route-to-europe/ (external link)
Anna Triandafyllidou’s talk will shed light on the relationship between human smuggling, trafficking and kidnapping and extortion in Libya. Prof. Triandafyllidou draws on joint research undertaken with Katie Kuschminder (Maastricht University, The Netherlands), which is based on qualitative data of interviews with Eritrean asylum seekers in Italy. Different tribal regimes control separate territories in Libya, which leads to different experiences for migrants depending on which territory they enter. Prof. Triandafyllidou puts forth that the kidnapping and extortion experienced by Eritreans in Libya is neither trafficking, nor smuggling, but a crime against humanity orchestrated by an organized criminal network. Her talk will also discuss implications for the Italian courts.