Libya is a predominantly
Arab-Berber
Arab-Berbers ( ar, العرب والبربر ''al-ʿarab wa-l-barbar'') are a population of the Maghreb, a vast region of North Africa in the western part of the Arab world along the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Arab-Berbers are peop ...
country with many people of descent identifying as Arabs and Berbers.
The Arab and Berber population has traditionally held racist views towards black-skinned, sub-Saharan Africans (although Libya does have indigenous Black populations including the Black Arabs and Black Berbers) although it's not all of them it's still prevalent among the country. The ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' argues that Libya has a "long history of racist violence."
In the 21st century, significant numbers of sub-Saharan Africans came to Libya, primarily to work as unskilled labor. In recent years, a number of racist incidents targeting
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
migrants have been reported. According to
Peter Bouckaert of
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
, the incidents targeting migrants and refugees reflect "a deep-seated racism and anti-African sentiment in Libyan society."
The
clashes between
Misrata and the black-majority town of
Tawergha
Tawergha (Berber: ⵜⴰⵡⴻⵔⵖⴰ, ar, تاورغاء), also transliterated ''Tawargha'', ''Tawarga'', ''Tauorga'', ''Taworgha'', ''Tawurgha'' or ''Torghae'', is, as of May 2021,Murray, Rebecca"One Year Later, Still Suffering for Loyalty to ...
had some racist overtones, present before the start of the civil war. Rebel slogans like "the brigade for purging slaves, black skin" were scrawled on the road between Misrata and Tawregha.
See also
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Racism by country
*
Racism in the Middle East
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Slavery in Libya
Slavery in Libya has a long history and a lasting impact on the Libyan culture. It is closely connected with the wider context of slavery in North African and trans-Saharan slave trade.
History
Enslavement of Europeans
It is estimated that b ...
References
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
Anti-black racism in Africa
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