More than 80 African and European leaders met in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire on Wednesday and Thursday last week for the fifth annual African Union – European Union summit.
Top of the agenda was the issue of slavery.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) – a UN body – first reported in April that African migrants – now numbering a reported 700,000 - travelling north through Niger and Libya were being kidnapped by people traffickers and sold into forced labour for as little as £400.
A _CNN_ report last month brought slavery in Libya to wider prominence with grainy video footage confirming the first visual evidence.
But it was not until Manchester United’s Paul Pogba celebrated a goal in his comeback match against Newcastle at Old Trafford a couple of weeks ago that slavery in Libya forced its way into the general consciousness.
Pogba crossed his hands, held them aloft and mimicked a man in chains. Many inside Old Trafford and indeed watching around the world were probably wondering what it signified. Thanks to Pogba’s follow-up post on Instagram following the game, they wondered no more.
“There has been a 100-fold increase in interest in this after the simple gesture Pogba made,” said Itayi Viriri, head of the IOM’s online communications told #goal
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