Ivan Camilleri, Brussels
EU abandoned Libya refugees – Amnesty
Amnesty International has lambasted EU member states for abandoning some 5,000 sub-Saharan refugees and asylum seekers on the Libyan borders with Egypt and Tunisia during the North African conflict.
“We have witnessed an abysmal response to the plight of displaced refugees on Europe’s doorstep,” Amnesty’s EU office director Nicolas Berger said yesterday, pointing out that the EU’s failure was particularly glaring given the participation of some European countries in the Nato operations in Libya.
“They have been party to the very conflict that has been one of the main causes of the involuntary movement of people,” he said.He was speaking ahead of an EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers meeting on Thursday which he intends to lobby for action on the matter.
The Amnesty report also pointes to the vigilante violence and revenge attacks carried out on sub-Saharan Africans by anti-Gaddafi rebels who suspected them of being mercenaries recruited by the regime.
“When the problems started, local people carried guns and accused us of being mercenaries”, Hafiz, a young man from Darfur, Sudan, told AI delegates in the Choucha camp on the Tunisian border.
“They came in cars and would take our belongings. They would fire their guns in the air. One night Gaddafi’s guards came to the house and searched us. That is when I realised there is no security and it is better to go to a safe place.”
Mahjoob Altaher, another Darfuri refugee, at the Saloum border post in Egypt, recounted similar experiences.
“When the conflict started I was living in Benghazi. I stayed home for a month because I saw on the news and heard from Sudanese friends that the ‘thuuwar’ – revolutionaries, as opposition fighters are commonly known – were targeting dark-skinned people.
“My Filipino neighbour did not face problems because he is white; he would buy us food. On 17 March 2011, before sunset, three or four armed rebels entered the house. They hit me in the face with the end of the gun, then took our money, passports and mobiles,” Mahjoob said.
Another asylum seeker from Ethiopia said that when opposition forces came to his home, he was beaten and taken to a court in Benghazi.
“There were 40 to 50 people in the court’s hall, mostly from Chad, Sudan and Nigeria. People would beat us all over the body with the end and the belt of their guns. They would take one person after another inside the rooms. I could hear the screaming of the people inside and I could see marks on their body after they came out; I believe they were being tortured.
“A Chadian national was shot in the shoulder; he was bleeding and had no medical help. The people around me would tell me to forget about my life, that we were dead. After six or seven hours my employer came to the court to confirm that I was not a mercenary. I was released,” he said.
According to Amnesty International, as the violence increased, thousands of refugees and asylum-seekers tried to leave Libya. Many of those who fled Libya to Egypt and Tunisia said they were stopped at check-points by armed men, robbed of their possessions, and in some cases beaten. Some witnessed other Sub-Saharan Africans being shot.
Lashing out at the lack of solidarity being shown, Amnesty accused the EU of abandoning these people without offering any resettlement.
Despite an appeal made by the EU Home Affairs Commissioner a few months ago, only eight EU member states offered to take some 700 refugees from these camps while another 250 are to be taken from Malta after reaching the island on boats following the eruption of violence in Libya.
Mr Berger said that EU Home Affairs Ministers must urgently address the resettlement issue, putting it prominently on the agenda of their meeting on Thursday and making sure to make the necessary resettlement pledges.
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Mr Carmel Farrugia
Sep 22nd 2011, 06:56
It seems they were better of under Gaddafi.
Colin Stanley
Sep 22nd 2011, 13:33
Hellooo, they come from Tunisia.
Mr Tony Camilleri
Sep 21st 2011, 22:46
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/272654/Nigerian-rapist-wins-right-to-stay-in-UK
NIGERIAN RAPIST WINS RIGHT TO STAY IN UK
http://news.yahoo.com/italian-police-migrants-clash-holding-center-112855306.html
Italian police, migrants clash at holding center
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15007277
Italian police battle Tunisian migrants on Lampedusa
http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/italian-riot-cops-clash-with-tunisian-migrants-1.1142226
Italian riot cops clash with Tunisian migrants
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/21/2417628/italian-police-migrants-clash.html
Italian police, migrants clash in asylum dispute
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/italian-police-migrants-clash-at-holding-centre/849756/
Italian police, migrants clash at holding centre
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/europe/tiny-italian-island-rocked-by-clashes-between-migrants-and-police/article2174177/
Tiny Italian island rocked by clashes between migrants and police
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/italian-police-asylum-seekers-clash-20110922-1klnn.html
Italian police, asylum seekers clash
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8779204/Italian-police-beat-migrants-in-Lampedusa-clashes.html
Italian police beat migrants in Lampedusa clashes
Colin Stanley
Sep 21st 2011, 21:49
Now that everything is back to normal in Libya the Africans can go back there and work, they don't have to come to Europe to find a job. and risk their lives crossing over.
Mr Tony Camilleri
Sep 21st 2011, 14:49
http://news.yahoo.com/italian-police-migrants-clash-holding-center-112855306.html
Italian police, migrants clash at holding center
Mr D Muscat
Sep 21st 2011, 13:11
The migrants are not on Europe's doorstep, they are on Africa's doorstep. Libya is in Africa.
If it is so dangerous in Libya, Why was the UNHCR complaining a few months back, that thousands of migrants were crossing from Tunisia to Libya to catch a boat to Europe? Can't be that dangerous can it if they were returning back to Libya.. It's not about safety, it's about crossing over to Europe and living the rest of their lives on benefits, at the expense of some gullible UK or Swedish taxpayer.
victor bonello
Sep 21st 2011, 13:00
so the cat is out of the bag.. just like he Nazi concentration camps, when everyone played deaf and dumb, we are now starting to read about the arocities commited by the rebels and which the Media has covered or ignored.
Thousands of sub sahararan have been sacrificed for the quest by the super powers for Libyan oil.. but we only hear what a monster Gaddahfi was.. and the atrocities his soldiers performed..
I wish to stress once more, that I am no fan of Gaddahfi but I hae to be brain washed in order to excuse the greed for oil and power.
This " Arab Spring" is truly an "Arab dull Winter" incited by the Western powers for one simple reason,,just like the Sadam story.. As Westerners, we should really be ashamed to have been part of all this genocide.
If Gaddahfi had to be removed, it could have easily been done in a more civilised manner and with much less blood shed.. but then who cares as long as we get the oil!!!
Joan Nelson
Sep 22nd 2011, 05:33
That's right! Snipers could easily have killed Gaddafi and his sons a long time ago, and finding them should not be this hard given today's sophisticated equipment.
Carmel Cilia
Sep 21st 2011, 11:58
Why should we have our share of this burden and never ever one of you NGO ever questioned our right for Oil in our sea. So please f--k up and leave us alone we have enough problems of our own.
Mr Joe Morana
Sep 21st 2011, 11:58
Sub-Saharans were 'encouraged' to go to Libya by the former Libyan regime! In a sense, they were indeed mercenaries! They were a source of cheap labour for the grandiose projects of the Colone! As a reward for services rendered, they were then shipped to Malta and other points north, for a fee, of course! The Colonel did say that he did not need to declare a 'crusade' against Europe, but rather that he would throw open his borders to 'my brothers' and turn the make-up of Europe black!
AN and the UNHCR should arrange to return these 'refugees' to their countries of origin. If these people are unhappy with the governments in their respetive countries, they should take a page out of the history of Libya and bring down their regimes.
Over the years, bleeding heart liberals in Europe have trumpeted the fact that Europe needs manpower due to declining birthrates. Well, Europe is on the verge of economic collapse, and additional manpower is definitely not needed, nor will it be in the foreseeable future. All illegal immigrants should be repatriated without further ado!
Stephen Koludrovic
Sep 21st 2011, 11:33
Only 5000 partly on the Tunisian boarder and the rest on the Egyptian one? earlier reports claimed that there were over 100,000 just on the Tunisian side.
So if 95,000 were already resettled than 5000 is just chicken feed, that Amnesty easily reship back to their country of origin.
Mr Tony Camilleri
Sep 21st 2011, 12:29
People have also been fed a lot of rubbish about Somalia.
When the Libyan conflict broke out, the IOM sent back hundreds of Somalis to Somalia.
So if the IOM itself sent them back it means that they are in no danger.
So why should AI feed all this rubbish to the gullible?
Why should they be kept here and not sent back?
As Mr Morana has said, "If these people are unhappy with the governments in their respetive countries, they should take a page out of the history of Libya and bring down their regimes."
Mr Patrick Zammit
Sep 21st 2011, 11:03
Mr Berger, are you aware that war is (almost) over in Libya? Refugees from Libya should be helped to return to Libya and integrate there in their country which last time I checked, is quite rich in oil.
Moving masses of people to Europe is irresponsible. Don't these useless institutions have any common sense left?
Mr carlos ellul
Sep 21st 2011, 10:22
I wonder why so many immigrants want to come to Europe since whenever fit hits fan its always Europe that gets the blame. Maybe they should look somewhere else. Etiopia, Somalia or Zimbabwe for example or the Muslim version of the Vatican......Saudi Arabia. Oh wait, these UN can always try and sort problems once in a while rather then pointing the finger and those who actually do their very best to work for a tolerant society. That's why the UN was created for in the first place
Ms Emma Xerri
Sep 21st 2011, 11:29
The UN is dominated by the OIC - the Organisation of Islamic Countries, who vote enblock and are a powerful lobby group in the UN. So if these guys wish to settle their co-religionists into Europe and our leaders, for whatever reason agree with them, then Europe it is that is going to get stuck with them, no matter how deep in depth the Eurozone is.
Edward Zammit
Sep 21st 2011, 09:41
If he wants to resettle the people, Mr.Berger can house them at his own house. They are not wanted and definitely not needed.
Phil Humphries
Sep 21st 2011, 09:41
In other words, Europe should throw-open its doors to anyone from a less prosperous country.
I hadn't realised that Amnesty International is a Communist organisation. Perhaps it should call upon its 'brothers' in China for help ?
Better still, rather than blaming everyone else for the consequences of dictatorial regimes, AI should try to address the reasons why Africans won't live peacefully in their HUGE, RESOURCE-RICH continent.
Ms Louise Vella
Sep 21st 2011, 08:09
"Mr Berger said that EU Home Affairs Ministers must urgently address the resettlement issue, putting it prominently on the agenda of their meeting on Thursday and making sure to make the necessary resettlement pledges."
In other words EU Home Affairs Ministers should start taking their orders from Amnesty International which knows better than them what is good for the EU.