The Northern African country of Tunisia is not only dealing with their own instability and temporary government, they are hosting thousands of Libyan refugees that have been streaming into the country since the beginning of the Libyan conflict.
Estimates vary, but government officials suggest at least 16,000 refugees have entered into Tunisia and this number is likely higher. Mounting pressure on the western mountains by Libyan government forces, lack of basic medical supplies and shortages of food had prompted many refugees to leave Libya. Tunisia, despite the country’s own issues, has been very welcoming to the visitors. Observers report that the response has been “epic.”
Abdel-Rahman Zouari, a 73-year-old man from Zouara, said he was “not surprised” that Tunisians had opened their homes to welcome him and his fellow Libyans. “We are the same people,” he said, smiling, alluding to the fact that many people from the southern governorates of Tunisia, including Medenine and Tataouine, were married to Libyans and vice versa.
Local communities in the villages around Tataouine and Medenine inTunisia “have offered considerable assistance by opening their homes to hundreds of Libyan families,” Abdel-Latif Haddad, a local activist, said. “Youth hostels are also being used to shelter families, and a school near Remada has offered to take Libyan students.”
Tunisians have bonded together to help the Libyan refugees. But, many experts question whether Tunisia can handle the waves of refugees after their own recent revolution. The refugees that have recently arrived in Tunisia are following the tens of thousands of Egyptians, Somalis, Bengalis and Sudanese who have already flocked to different cities in Tunisia over the past two months, hundreds of them still waiting to be transferred to their countries of origin.
Observers have been warning of a potential humanitarian catastrophe in Tunisia if the international community does not step in to help. Various organizations, among them the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), have already deployed staff in Remada and Dhiba and surrounding towns.
The UNHCR recently said that new arrivals in Remada and Dhiba had “very limited resources and significant humanitarian needs.” A UNHCR camp has been set up with 130 tents for the refugees, and electricity and water supplies connected. “The UNHCR is working with local partner Al-Taawon and the Tunisian Red Crescent to provide support,” a spokesman said.
Roberta Angelilli, vice president of the European parliament, has also called on the international community to help Tunisia with the refugee crisis. On a recent visit to Tunisia, the EU official promised “Europe’s support for the efforts of the Tunisian government and people to help refugees that have entered the country since the outbreak of the violence in Libya.”
On The Web
- Libyan Government Take Over Rebel Border Post (africanaonline.com)
- Tunisia a Good Neighbor to Libyan Refugees (patspapers.com)
- Tunisia Furious After Libya Battle Crosses Border (newser.com)
