Abstract
<jats:p>Chapter 4 combines the analysis of what goes on at sea with what happens on land before people leave the Libyan shores, by weaving together the voices of migrants having made the crossing and humanitarians working around the issue of detention in Libya. It argues that the rendering of migrant bodies into economic and political currency through delegated migration control agreements has produced a detention economy in Libya. The mass introduction of European funding for the “bettering” of detention centers in Libya has also created a marketplace for international nongovernmental organizations and international organizations involved in humanitarian provisions once migrants are disembarked after interceptions by the Libyan Coast Guard. Humanitarianism contributes to the diffusion of responsibility by deflecting attention away from the outsourcing of migration control as a key political cause of suffering.</jats:p>