TUNISIA: Egyptian workers flee Libya violence across the land border

Record ID: 343521

  • Title: TUNISIA: Egyptian workers flee Libya violence across the land border
  • Date: 25th February 2011
  • Summary: RAS AL JDIR, TUNISIA (FEBRUARY 24, 2011) (REUTERS) EGYPTIAN WORKERS ENTERING TUNISIA FROM LIBYA (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNIDENTIFIED MAN SAYING: "The television is making it seem really bad, but we are inside and have no problems. The television inflames the situation" VARIOUS OF EGYPTIANS CROSSING BORDER INTO TUNISIA WOMAN CARRYING BABY CROSSING BORDER TUNISIAN FLAGS
  • Embargoed: 12th March 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Tunisia, Tunisia
  • Country: Tunisia
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA2WD6ZF8O5G0JSGXNSU6KH1CX1
  • Story Text: Egyptian workers continued to arrive at the Tunisian side of the border with Libya at Ras al-Jdir on Wednesday (February 24) where the Red Crescent set up a camp but as of yet received no casualties.
    Many said they had fled because of television reports about the severity of the bad situation in Libya but had not seen any violence themselves.
    "The television is making it seem really bad, but we are inside and have no problems. The television inflames the situation," an unidentified man said after crossing the border from Libya.
    But some did report a sense of lawlessness on the road to the border.
    Some of the Egyptian workers said they had been treated badly by Libyan border guards who had demanded money before letting them cross.
    One of the Egyptians fleeing Libya said they had been robbed at night by bandits.
    "Getting here was not a problem but at night sometimes there were trouble makers, thieves and people with weapons, who attacked us and took out money They took all our money, we have left all that we own over there," Mohamad, an Egyptian, said.
    Another worker who complained about the Libyans and their lack of help and support said he did not know what was happening.
    "The situation here is good, but in Tripoli there are some problems. The problem is there is destruction and deaths according to the television, some say 600 others say 10,000 are dead we really have no clue, so we decided to leave," Mohamad from Egypt, said.
    Some 1 to 1.5 million Egyptians are believed to live in Libya.
    Egypt, where about 40 percent of the population live on 2 US dollars or less a day, relies heavily on remittances from its nationals working abroad, particularly those working in Arab oil producing countries such as Libya and the Gulf states, has sent military and civilian planes to help evacuate its citizens.
    The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees called on Wednesday (February 23) for Tunisia and Egypt to maintain open borders for people fleeing the Libyan violence.
    Nationals from France, Germany, the UK, China and the Netherlands were being repatriated via chartered or military planes from Tripoli and thousands of Turkish nationals were moved out by boat on Wednesday night.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register