Exploitation and Violence in the Experiences of Refugees Traveling from Sub-Saharan Africa to Italy.

This article examines the experiences of unaccompanied minor refugees from sub-Saharan Africa during their transit through Libya en route to Italy, highlighting the increasing dangers they face, including false imprisonment, torture, and modern slavery. Based on ethnographic research conducted in refugee centers in Sicily, it reveals that many minors are detained in Libyan prisons where local farmers pay their "bail" to release them, only to force them into labor on farms before coercing them onto boats bound for Europe. The study situates these abuses within broader forms of violence—direct, structural, and symbolic—linked to Libya's political instability and the involvement of armed militias and criminal networks in human trafficking. It also notes that while refugees continue to face exploitation after arrival in Italy, the severity of violence in Libya is distinct, underscoring the need for further research on the geopolitical and humanitarian conditions affecting refugees in transit.