TUNISIA: Food is thrown to desperately hungry crowds gathered at Tunisia-Libya border

Record ID: 346143

  • Title: TUNISIA: Food is thrown to desperately hungry crowds gathered at Tunisia-Libya border
  • Date: 2nd March 2011
  • Summary: RAS JDIR, TUNISIA-LIBYAN BORDER, TUNISIA (MARCH 1, 2011) (REUTERS) WIDE OF THE TUNISIAN LIBYAN BORDER - TUNISIAN FLAG ATOP OF BUILDING EVACUEES WITH BAGS ATTEMPTING TO GET IN MAN THROWING BREAD AT MASSES OF PEOPLE GATHERED ON LIBYAN SIDE WAITING TO BE ALLOWED TO CROSS CROWDS WAITING TO CROSS / RECEIVE FOOD MAN THROWING MORE BREAD MAN IN CROWD POINTING AT HIMSELF, ASKING FOR MAN TO DIRECT BREAD TOWARDS HIM / BREAD GOING OVER HIS HEAD (SOUNDBITE) (English) AYMAN GHARAYBEH, TEAM LEADER FOR UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES (UNHCR), SAYING "This is what the civil defence people tried to do just out of the goodness of their heart. I don't think it will change anything, frankly, unless there is an organised (method). I mean, there are two ways - either you go in there, try to organise it or expand your transit facility and draw them in. I think we trying to do both. The figures are so daunting, they are not giving us a break to try to put an effective system to do that kind of shuttle service." BANNER READING: 'HELP HELP HELP' PAN ACROSS CROWD MAN IN UNIFORM WEARING FACE MASK, STANDING AT CLOSED GATE WITH CROWDS BEHIND IT MAN WAITING IN CROWD MEDICS CARRYING AWAY ON STRETCHER MAN WHO FAINTED VARIOUS OF MAN BEING ATTENDED TO BY MEDICS AT BORDER MAN BEING CARRIED AWAY ON STRETCHER RAS JDIR, TUNISIA (MARCH 1, 2011) (REUTERS) SOLDIERS OUTSIDE MILITARY HOSPITAL TENT PREPARING MEDICATION (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) COLONEL MAJOR MOHAMAD ESSOUSI, SURGEON AT MILITARY HOSPITAL, SAYING "The problem is we are trying to process as many evacuees as possible in the shortest time and to treat them as fast as possible. Why as fast as possible? Because their condition gets worse if they have to wait and if they get angry. It is very normal that they want to go home and to go home as soon as possible." VARIOUS OF INJURED EVACUEES BEING TREATED BY MILITARY DOCTORS (SOUNDBITE) (French) COLONEL MAJOR MOHAMAD ESSOUSI, SURGEON AT MILITARY HOSPITAL, SAYING "I call for the evacuation, as fast as possible, of these people. Secondly, to bring the others (those who are yet to cross) to the camp and we are ready to take them in so we can process them in less than three days maximum. We call on all the people that are interested in this and the international committee to help, and this is of great importance. After a long journey and a lot of hardship now they are relaxing and in a few days they need to move on so we can make room for more refugees that will come."
  • Embargoed: 17th March 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Tunisia, Tunisia
  • Country: Tunisia
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA8E9SCZ3DITQY2YJGU4S9QTHVJ
  • Story Text: Tunisian civil defence members tossed food on Tuesday (March 1) to crowds of people clamouring to get through a border crossing to escape the violence in neighbouring Libya.
    "I don't think it will change anything, frankly, unless there is an organised (method). I mean, there are two ways - either you go in there, try to organise it or expand your transit facility and draw them in. I think we trying to do both. The figures are so daunting, they are not giving us a break to try to put an effective system to do that kind of shuttle service," said Ayman Gharaybeh, team leader for the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR) onsite.
    Border guards were letting people, mostly foreigners who had been working in Libya, through the crossing at Ras Jdir but could not process them through immigration fast enough to keep up with the numbers arriving.
    The crowd was pressed up against a concrete wall dividing the no man's land between the Libyan and Tunisian border posts.
    At intervals, Tunisian border guards would open a blue metal gate to let a small group through.
    A Reuters reporter saw at least three people being taken out of the crowd by medical teams from the Red Crescent after fainting in the crush of bodies, and volunteers threw bottles of water over the wall into the crowd.
    The UNHCR extended its camp near the border overnight, erecting tents with a capacity to accommodate 10,000 people. The organisation was preparing to put in more tents to increase the camp's capacity to 20,000.
    A Tunisian army colonel said his forces were managing the flow of refugees through the border, but needed foreign governments to do more to transport their citizens home.
    "We call on all the people that are interested in this and the international committee to help, and this is of great importance. After a long journey and a lot of hardship now they are relaxing and in a few days they need to move on so we can make room for more refugees," said Colonel Essousi.
    Tens of thousands of people, mostly migrant workers, have fled Libya since an uprising against the four-decade rule of Muammar Gaddafi led to a violent crackdown by his security forces.
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