Egyptiske og internationale hjælpeorganisationer har optrappet den frivillige humanitære hjælp til Libyen, skriver FN agenturet Irin tirsdag.
CAIRO, 1 March : “The Libyans are facing their toughest test in years,” said Shawki al-Haddad, a member of the Cairo-based Arab Medical Association (AMA).
AMA has sent medicines and medical equipment valued at one million Egyptian pounds (179.000 us dollar) into the eastern region of the crisis-torn north Africa country. Most of the medicines, al-Haddad told IRIN in Cairo, were for blood pressure, diabetes and heart problems.
It has also sent 30 Egyptian doctors to the eastern part of Libya, and has appealed for funds to do more. “We hope we can send yet more doctors in the future,” al-Haddad said. “A large number of our doctors expressed readiness to go and volunteer in Libya.”
Egyptian authorities at the border town of Salloum, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), have been facilitating the entry of humanitarian personnel and relief supplies into Libya. Without naming any, it said most humanitarian organizations entering eastern Libya were Egyptian.
About 1,5 million Egyptians work and live in Libya, and send an estimated 1,5 billion Egyptian pounds (254 million us dollar) in remittances back home every year, according to the Egyptian Labour Ministry. The current political crisis in Libya has, however, forced thousands to return home.
As of 28 February, another 22.000 were at a reception and processing centre at the Egypt-Libya border town of Salloum, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Some 7.000 were stranded in a compound in no-man’s land between the two countries without papers, food or water.
“We are working with the Egyptian government and the army to offer the necessary help to people coming back from Libya,” IOM development project manager Mathie Luciano told IRIN on the phone from Salloum.
“When these people come, we offer them food and medicine and then provide them with the necessary transportation to take them home.”
At least 110.000 people, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have crossed from Libya into Egypt and Tunisia, and thousands more are arriving every hour.
Most of these are Egyptian and Tunisian nationals, but there were also small numbers of Libyans and other nationalities.
“UNHCR is appealing to all neighbouring governments in north Africa and Europe to maintain open land, air and sea borders for people forced to flee from Libya,” UNHCR head António Guterres said.
“All people leaving Libya should be granted access to territory without discrimination, irrespective of their background.”
