Somali Mothers’ Cries for Their Lost Children in the hands of Human Traffickers. Back in Mandera, where I grew up 20 years ago, the sound of crying mothers was something we all knew too well. It wasn’t unusual to see a woman breaking down in the neighborhood . Their tears told the same heartbreaking story—sons and daughters trapped in Libya by the Magafe traffickers, beaten and starved while ransom demands drained their families. These mothers begged, borrowed, and sold everything they owned, desperate to save their children. As a child, I remember feeling terrified whenever I overheard these stories. The thought of someone being tortured, held in a dark room, and forced to cry for help to their parents haunted me. Now, two decades later, nothing has changed. If anything, it has gotten worse. Back then, the Magafe made their money by exploiting those traveling through Libya to Europe. But as the conflicts in Sudan and Libya escalated, and the stories of horror spread, many Somali...