Financial help and medical support programme for refugees in Egypt
Briefing Notes, 11 February 2011
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 11 February 2011, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Yesterday UNHCR's partner, Caritas, began distributing financial help and offering medical support to refugees in Cairo who are particularly vulnerable at this time. Their offices are situated close to Tahrir square so another NGO, Refuge Egypt, has offered their premises in an easier to access area.
During this period in which all UN offices closed for security reasons, many of our staff continue to work from home. UNHCR has established a hotline for refugees, which has been in regular use. The numbers have been circulated via social media and through NGO and community networks. We have met partner NGOs to coordinate the resumption of our protection and assistance programmes as of this week. We are also in regular contact with 16 refugee leaders and their networks to find ways to support refugees who are facing problems.
We have received a number of calls since we opened the hotline at the end of January. Examples of calls we received include a handicapped Somali refugee who fled to the airport. Working with community leaders, we arranged for her to be cared for by a Somali family. We have heard many accounts from refugees of the kindness of their Egyptian neighbours. Several families are living with their Egyptian neighbours after their homes were looted.
We are communicating with refugees via NGO partners, refugee representatives, our hotline, community leaders and psycho-social workers. This communication includes information on where they can receive medical support and what to do in an emergency.
On the Border: Stuck in Sallum
After violence erupted in Libya in February last year, tens of thousands of people began streaming into Egypt at the Sallum border crossing. Most were Egyptian workers, but almost 40,000 third country nationals also turned up at the border and had to wait until they could be repatriated. Today, with the spotlight long gone, a group of more than 2,000 people remain, mainly single young male refugees from the Sudan. But there are also women, children and the sick and elderly waiting for a solution to their situation. Most are likely to be resettled in third countries, but those who arrived after October are not being considered for resettlement, while some others have been rejected for refugee status. They live in tough conditions at the Egyptian end of the border crossing. A site for a new camp in no man's land has been identified. UNHCR, working closely with the border authorities, plays the major role in providing protection and assistance.
On the Border: Stuck in Sallum
Stuck at the Egyptian border
Some three weeks after the Libyan displacement crisis erupted in mid-February, thousands of people were still stuck at the border between Libya and Egypt waiting for onward travel to their home countries. Many have arrived exhausted at the Sallum crossing after travelling for days without adequate food or water. Some told harrowing tales of armed men going door to door at night, forcing people from sub-Saharan Africa to leave after destroying their identity papers and taking their money.
More long-haul flights to Bangladesh and other Asian destinations are needed to decongest the border, although people from countries like Eritrea and Somalia cannot go home. As a result, many people have been stuck at the border for days, sleeping outside in the cold. UNHCR has provided blankets, plastic mats, food and water for those waiting to be repatriated.
More than 100,000 people have arrived at the Sallum border since the start of the Libyan uprising. The majority have been migrant workers from Egypt who were allowed through immigration and customs quickly, but many nationalities have also turned up at the border and having to wait.
Stuck at the Egyptian border
Crisis in Libya
UNHCR is working with the Tunisian and Egyptian authorities and aid groups to manage the dramatic influx of tens of thousands of people fleeing Libya. By the beginning of March, two weeks after the violence erupted in Libya, more than 140,000 people had fled to the neighbouring countries, while thousands more were waiting to cross. Most are Egyptian and Tunisian nationals, though small numbers of Libyans and other nationalities are managing to escape. UNHCR is particularly concerned about thousands of refugees and other foreigners trapped inside Libya, especially people from sub-Saharan Africa. The following photo essay gives a glimpse into what is happening at the borders.
Crisis in Libya
Egypt: Seeking Safety
Amid the ebb and flow of fighting in eastern Libya, a steady stream of people continues to seek shelter in Egypt and other neighbouring countries. They tell their stories.
Egypt: Stranded at the Border
Thousands of people are stranded at Egypt's Sallum border crossing with Libya. Many of them are migrant workers, like these exhausted Bangladeshi men.
Egypt: Egyptians Cross Back Home
A steady stream of people have been crossing into Egypt from Libya. These migrant workers were elated to return home.
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