Sold for $3,000, Work Like Slaves Without Food: 4 Youths Who Returned from Libya Narrate Ordeal

Four youths stranded in Libya for the last two months claimed on Tuesday that they were sold by their agents for $3,000 each.

Lakhwinder Singh of Lang Majri, Gurpreet Singh of Kapurthala, Joginder Singh of Moga and Sanoj Kumar of Bihar were stranded in Libya for two months and returned to their homes on Sunday.

The Indian Express reported that the youths claimed that they were sold, held hostage inside a company and made to work like slaves.

He also thanked India’s Ministry of External Affairs, who he said intervened and helped bring him back to his country.

He had gone to work as a laborer at the LCC Cement Company in Benghazi, Libya. However, once there, he was told that he had been sold to the company by his agent and was forced to work for more than 18 hours a day, sometimes without food or water.

Gurpreet Singh said that he had gone to Dubai in December last year in connection with a job as a driver, but was sent to Libya along with other youths.

“After reaching Libya, I was stunned. There was no place for us to stay. We didn’t have anything to eat. We were forced to survive on stale food for several days and the company we worked for did not give us any money,” Gurpreet reportedly said.

“When we said we wanted to go back to India, we were told by company officials that we had been sold to them for $3,000 each. We required them to pay $3,000 each for their freedom,” he said.

Lakhwinder Singh of Long Mazari said he had got a tourist visa for Dubai and an agent had promised him a job there.

When he got there, the agent sent him to Libya, where he claimed he had to work with a private contractor. He said that he used to get food irregularly and was beaten up along with other people.

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