Impact Days Catalogue
fifdh
By Yuri Maldavsky and Sara Creta

Libya, no escape from hell

Les centres de détention libyens, la honte de l'Europe
IMPACT DAYS

This documentary centers on Libya’s detention centers, where refugees endure dire conditions, waiting for their fate to be decided by militias, Europe, or the UN. Officially under government control, these centers are actually run by militias profiting from migrants. The film examines the detention system, militia control, and the associated trafficking. It criticizes the EU for funding the system yet avoiding responsibility, questioning the need for change and potential solutions. The Libyan civil war has diminished Western influence, revealing EU divisions and enabling non-Western powers to step in. Europe’s flawed policy empowers Libyan Coast Guards to forcibly return migrants to a fragmented Libya, plagued by political factions and militias.

Sections : Impact Days, Impact Days
Country : Libya
Original languages : English, Arabic
Directors
Yuri Maldavsky
Sara Creta (Italy)
Producers
Barbara Conforti
Marc Berdugo (France)
Barbara Conforti (France)
Magneto Presse
Completion
June 2021
Impact Statement
This documentary highlights the human stories behind Mediterranean migration, transcending mere statistics and images. It's aimed at EU policymakers, to spark awareness and action. The strategy includes petitions, social media campaigns endorsed by public figures, and extensive film sharing. NGOs play a crucial role, using their networks to enhance the film's impact and organizing screenings at influential institutions like the UN and European Parliament. This ensures decision makers are exposed to migrant testimonials, preventing them from claiming ignorance and enabling informed policy decisions. This effort is vital for bringing tangible change to migration policies.
This documentary wants to honour and amplify the refuges’ endless struggle while denouncing the European Union responsibilities which provides finance and support to strengthen the capacity of Libyan authorities to control the country’s borders.
Impact Goals
  1. To push for wider protections for all migrants and refugees who pass through Libya, including those who are victims of crimes against humanity.
  2. To expand safe and legal pathways for people to seek asylum in Libya, look for employment and be reunited with relatives (humanitarian corridors).
  3. To make available all data sources, mapping, testimonies and names of the persecutors to international NGOs and lawyers to enable them to bring those responsible to justice.
  4. To raise public awareness of the real situation of people trapped in Libya.
  5. To create an interactive archive (Facebook page) where victims of human rights violations can tell their story, and the public can have direct contact with them and support them in many different ways.
Impact Strategy
  • We would like to use the film as a means to exert political pressure on EU institutions and governments (to end their support for agencies such as the Libyan Coast Guard; to take in people who need to be evacuated from Libya) and to raise public awareness around the issue.
  • We would like to organise actions such as petitions and open letter to send to government/EU officials and, with the help of concerned public figures, digital campaigns on social medias which would consist in sharing the film and massively calling out policy makers.
  • We would like to create an online archive for past, present and future with information about the history of EU/Libya cooperation, the court cases that have been launched and all the actions of the campaign. NGOs can play an important part, using their influence and network, they can increase the impact of the film.
  • We would like to organize mobile projections and screen this film or parts of it outside government buildings e.g. parliament offices in member states, Commission delegations, the UN; involving refugees-led organizations. So that decision makers hear the testimonials of the migrants and so that they can no longer say: “I didn’t know” and walk away.
Contact
Primary contact
Barbara Conforti (France): bconforti@magnetotv.com
Participants present at the Impact Days
Sara Creta (Italy)
Barbara Conforti (France)
Marc Berdugo (France)

NGOs / Organisations
Association for Juridical Studies on
Immigration (ASGI)
Doctors Without Borders
Statewatch
Sea-Watch
Amnesty International
Refugees in Libya
Support for Refugees in Libya
Migration Control Project

Broadcasters
ARTE
RTS
RAI
NRK
RTBF
SVT
DR

NGOs / Organisations
Association for Juridical Studies on
Immigration (ASGI)
Doctors Without Borders
Statewatch
Sea-Watch
Amnesty International
Refugees in Libya
Support for Refugees in Libya
Migration Control Project

Broadcasters
ARTE
RTS
RAI
NRK
RTBF
SVT
DR