- Title: TUNISIA: U.N. prepares for escalation of Libya refugee emergency
- Date: 4th March 2011
- Summary: RAS J'DIR TUNISIAN LIBYAN BORDER, TUNISIA (MARCH 3, 2011) (REUTERS) WIDE VIEW OF BULLDOZERS PREPARING NEW LAND TO SET UP TENTS MORE OF BULLDOZERS UNHCR CAMP AND MIGRANT WORKERS QUEUING TO GET FOOD VARIOUS OF CAMP TUNISIAN SOLDIERS AT CAMP VARIOUS OF VIETNAMESE REFUGEES PREPARING FOOD REFUGEE FROM MALI TALKING ON PHONE (SOUNDBITE) (French) SAEED JIMMY, MIGRANT WORKER FROM MALI SAYING: "We are here since two days and now we want help here and we want to return back to my country Mali, this is what we want from the international community, the help to go back to our countries." VARIOUS OF MIGRANT WORKERS FROM AFRICA SLEEPING IN TENT U.N. OFFICIALS STANDING (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOHN GING, DIRECTOR OF RESPONSE AND COORDINATION DIVISION IN UN, SAYING: "The situation in the camp at the moment is as you can see, UNHCR is doing an excellent job here, they are coping with 18 thousand here right now, and of course the objective now is to see them quickly transiting from here to their home destination." U.N. OFFICIALS (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOHN GING, DIRECTOR OF RESPONSE AND COORDINATION DIVISION IN UN, SAYING: "We have to be ready. It's impossible to predict what's going to happen but our job here as the United Nations is to be ready for whatever can happen in a way that meets the immediate needs of the people." VARIOUS OF REFUGEES QUEUING TO GET FOOD MORE OF REFUGEES GETTING FOOD (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MOHAMMED SADEQ, MIGRANT WORKER FROM BANGLADESH SAYING: "Everything is good, but we don't know when we will go, maybe in three days."
- Embargoed: 19th March 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Tunisia, Tunisia
- Country: Tunisia
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA4YL2FJMAREK8G1BLSN6AUTGVX
- Story Text: A United Nations camp in Tunisia for people fleeing the violence in Libya is now hosting 18,000 people, and getting ready to receive more, a senior U.N. official said on Thursday (March 3).
U.N. Director of Response and Coordination Division John Ging spoke to reporters after reviewing the expanding tent city set up by the Tunisian army and the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR near the Tunisian-Libyan border crossing at Ras J'Dir.
"The situation in the camp at the moment is, as you can see, UNHCR is doing an excellent job here. They are coping with 18,000 here right now, and of course the objective now is to see them quickly transiting from here to their home destination," said Ging.
Tens of thousands of refugees have crossed the Ras J'Dir border since the violence began in Libya, prompting warnings of a humanitarian crisis.
"We have to be ready," added Ging. "It's impossible to predict what's going to happen but our job here as the United Nations is to be ready for whatever can happen in a way that meets the immediate needs of the people."
Once those immediate needs have been met, the priority for most of those fleeing Libya is to secure passage home.
"We are here since two days and now we want help here and we want to return back to my country Mali, this is what we want from the international community, the help to go back to our countries," said Saeed Jimmy, a migrant worker from Mali.
The EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs Kristalina Georgieva, who toured the border crossing with Libya on Thursday, and said the EU was working hard to assist the situation in the region.
"We, the European Union is doing everything we can to pressure Gaddafi to reduce, to let people go and to stop torturing his own people. That is of course something that comes from the hearts of Europeans. Europe is very excited like the people here are excited with this drive for freedom and democracy, inclusiveness of society, but we know that the most urgent need now is to help with the humanitarian crisis that exploded over the last days," said Georgieva.
She acknowledged to the need to help the migrant workers get home.
"We will do as much as it is necessary to commensurate with the needs that are faced here. Of course it is important to help people get home because otherwise we cannot get more people to come here and on the other side of the border it is much more difficult than it is on this side," said the EU commissioner.
France and Britain said on Wednesday they would respond to a call from the UNHCR by assisting with the evacuation of thousands of Egyptian workers stranded on Tunisia's border. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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