Libya: Situation of members of black ethnic groups

According to a report entitled The Arabized Black of Libya available on the Website of The Unreached Peoples Prayer Profiles,

The Arabized Black live mostly in the southern provinces of Fazzan, a series of oases in the southwestern desert of Libya. These oases, which are essentially groundwater that rises to the surface, provide enough water for the Arabized Black to engage in agriculture. Others live in the populated cities farther north, near the Mediterranean Coast. The Arabized Black speak Fazzani, one of the many dialects of Arabic, the official language of Libya.

Most of the Arabized Black are rural families who rely on agriculture and livestock herding. Corn, wheat, and citrus fruits are among the crops grown. Cattle, sheep, and chickens are raised and provide meat, eggs, milk, butter, and cheese. The men do most of the agricultural work, while the women remain in their homes, cooking meals and caring for the children and small animals. There are some rural families who lead a nomadic existence, migrating seasonally with their herds in search of better land and water. In addition, some young Arabized Black have moved to the cities where they have taken jobs in construction, textiles, food processing, and the oil industry. The Arabized Black have a history of artistic work and hand crafts, which still persists today. Some of the crafts made include carpets, baskets, leather goods, and elaborately designed jewelry. These are sold in local markets and small shops. Large, ornamented mosques reflect the importance of art as decoration in the Muslim religion. The Arabized Black dress in a fashion similar to that of other Arabs. Long- sleeved cotton tunics, or djellabas, are worn with sandals and cotton turbans or caps.  Life for the Arabized Black centers around important ceremonies, such as birth, marriage, death, and for boys, the first haircut and circumcision. The most elaborate of all ceremonies is the wedding. Most men have more than one wife, but under Islamic law they cannot have more than four. After marriage, a couple generally lives near the husband's parents; however, in some first marriages, a young couple lives with the wife's family until after the birth of their first child.

The birth of children, especially boys, is cause for celebration among the Arabized Black. The first word a baby hears is the word "Allah" whispered in its ear. Boys help their fathers and older brothers in the fields and are taught to obey and respect older males. Girls help their mothers cook and help care for younger children.

Education in Libya is free, and all young people must attend school through the high school level. Schools are even located in rural villages, enabling children of farmers and nomads to acquire an education. Today, females have an opportunity to learn to read, a benefit which was discouraged in the past.

The Arabized Black of Libya are entirely Muslim, much like the rest of the country. They follow the teachings of Mohammed, as written in the Koran. They pray five times daily at the local mosques and follow Islamic ceremonies and laws. 

The Arabized Black have some Christian resources available to them, but their strong devotion and historical connection to Islam have created barriers to their acceptance of the Gospel. Currently, there are no missions agencies working among them, and the great majority of them have not had an opportunity to respond to the Gospel. Fervent intercession is essential if the hold that Islam has on their lives is to be broken.

According to the chapter entitled Black Africans available on the Website Libya: A Country Study (1988),

In southernmost Libya live about 2,600 Tebu, part of a larger grouping of around 215,000 Tebu in northern Chad, Niger, and Sudan. Their ethnic identity and cohesion are defined by language, not social organization or geography, although all Tebu share many cultural traits. Their language, Tebu, is a member of the NiloSaharan language family, not all dialects being mutually intelligible. The basic social unit is the nuclear family, organized into patrilineal clans. The Tebu economy is a combination of pastoralism, farming, and date cultivation. The Tebu are Muslim, their Islam being strongly molded by Sanusi proselytizing in the nineteenth century (see The Sanusis , this ch.). Neighboring peoples view them as tough, solitary, desert and mountain people.

A significant number of sub-Saharan Africans live in desert and coastal communities, mixed with Arabs and Berbers. Most of them are descended from former slaves--the last slave caravan is said to have reached Fezzan in 1929--but some immigrated to Tripoli during World War II. In recent years, waves of migrant workers from Mali, Niger, Sudan, and other Sahelian countries have arrived. A majority work as farmers or sharecroppers in Fezzan, but some have migrated to urban centers, where they are occupied in a variety of jobs considered menial. 

Another distinct but numerically small group of blacks, the harathin (plowers, cultivators) have been in the Saharan oases for millennia. Their origins are obscure, but they appear to have been subservient to the Tuareg or other Libyan overlords for at least the last millennium. As with other blacks, their status has traditionally been quite low. In Libya as a whole, dark-skinned people are looked down upon, the degree of discrimination increasing with the darkness of the skin.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Libya: Acountry Study. 1988. Librairy of Congress. [Internet]<http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/lytoc.html >[Accessed on 23 Sept. 1998]

The Unreached Peoples Prayer Profiles. The Arabized Black of Libya. Website. [Internet]< http://www.bethany-wpc.org/profiles/p_code5/1222.html >[Accessed on 23 Sept. 1998]