Fresh account from survivor of boat fleeing Libya
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Yesterday morning UNHCR staff met with three Oromo Ethiopian men who told us they were among only nine survivors from a boat carrying 72 people that set out from Tripoli on 25 March.
One of them told UNHCR staff that their 12 metre boat destined for Europe was packed to a point that there was barely standing room. The boat ran out of fuel, water and food and drifted for more than two weeks before reaching a beach in Libya.
The refugee said that military vessels twice passed their boat without stopping, and that a military helicopter dropped food and water onto the boat at some point during the journey. The first boat refused their request to board. The second only took photos, he said. The man was not able to identify where the vessels came from.
UNHCR staff met with the three in Shousha camp in Tunisia. One spoke Arabic, while the others spoke Oromo. UNHCR interviewed the Arabic speaker. He said that they paid smugglers US$800 to make the journey. The passengers were expected to operate the boat on their own.
According to the refugee, when water ran out people drank sea water and their own urine. They ate toothpaste. One by one people started to die. He said that they waited for a day or two before dropping the bodies into the sea. There were 20 women and two small children on board. A woman with a two-year-old boy died three days before he died. The refugee described the anguish of the boy after his mother's death.
After arrival on a beach near Zliten, between Tripoli and the Tunisian border, a woman died on the beach from exhaustion. The remaining 10 men walked to the town of Zliten where they were arrested by the Libyan police. They were taken to a hospital and then to a prison where they were given some water, milk and dates. After two days another survivor died.
After begging jail staff to take the remaining survivors back to hospital, they were taken to a hospital in al-Khums city. Doctors and nurses were said to have given the group water and told them to leave. They were returned to the prison and then taken to Twesha jail near Tripoli. Finally Ethiopian friends in Tripoli paid the prison US$900 to release the men. UNHCR is now providing them with assistance in Tunisia.
For further information on this topic, please contact:
- In Tunisia: Helene Caux on mobile: +216 928 27 423 or +41 79 217 31 93
- In Tunisia: Firas Kayal on mobile +216 508 561 99
- In Geneva: Sybella Wilkes on mobile +41 79 557 91 38
- In Geneva: Melissa Fleming on number +41 22 739 91 22
Related news and stories
AU, EU and UN push for urgent action to address the pressing needs of migrants and refugees in Libya
Insecurity and COVID-19 fuel refugee mental health concerns in Libya
First UNITY Cup shows the power of football to connect refugees and hosts
Repaired Benghazi home brings comfort after loss and displacement
Libya: Returning Home in Dignity
Scholarships in Italy allow refugees to dream again
Your search for « oromo » matched 98 results. Displaying page 5 of 11 pages.
-
Mixed Migration Task Force: Somalia Mixed Migration Through Somalia and Across the Gulf of Aden (Somali version)
1 Apr 2008 ... ... Waxayna u badan yihiin dadka isku-dayaya inay ka tahriibaan seddexdan goobood: Gobollada Oromo iyo Tigrinya ee Ethiopia; Maamul-goboleedka heer qaran ee Soomaalida Ethiopia; iyo Bartamaha iyo Koofurta ...... -
Organizational communication in refugee camp situations, Phyllis Bo-yuen Ngai and Peter H. Koehn
1 Dec 2002 ... ... One or more cultural groups can be receiving assistance within a single settlement; for instance, Qoriooley in Somalia “contained two ethnic groups, Oromo and Somali …” (Waldron and Hasci, 1995: ...... -
UNHCR Country Operations Plan 2008-2009: Somalia
1 Sep 2007 ... ... The majority of the Ethiopians are Oromos with a few Amharas and of late, also Tigreans—due to the ... of the President following a surge in asylum applications primarily from Ethiopian Oromos. ...... -
Assistance to refugees, returnees and displaced persons in Africa (covering the period 1 January 2007 to 15 June 2008)
22 Aug 2008 ... ... International organizations estimate that there are currently some 200,000 conflict-induced IDPs, living mainly in Somali, Oromiya, Gambella and Tigray regional States. 12. Ethiopia continued to host ...... -
Egypt UNHCR Operational update
4 Apr 2016 ... ... Interpreters are available in Somali (Sunday), Oromo (Monday), Tigrinya (Tuesday), Amharic (Wednesday), and French (Thursday). During January, calls related mainly to registration, RSD and community ...... -
UNHCR Global Appeal 2004 - Sudan
1 Dec 2003 ... ... refugees, the repatriation of most refugees, and the subsequent protection screening of some 65 Ethiopian families (154 individuals) of Oromo origin, the camp population stands at 715 refugees. ...... -
UNHCR Country Operations Plan 2005 - Yemen
1 Sep 2004 ... ... The Ethiopian refugees include 720 former naval personnel and their dependants and 663 ethnic Oromo refugees who live in the Kharaz camp. Yemen also hosts an estimated 100,000 Iraqi nationals, many of ...... -
Working towards Inclusion - Refugees within National Systems of Ethiopia
Feb 2017 ... ... At present, Ethiopia is administratively structured into nine geographical regions– Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Oromiya, Somali, Beneshangul-Gumuz, Southern Nations nationalities and Peoples, Gambella and ...... -
UNHCR activities financed by voluntary funds: Ethiopia
18 Jul 1995 ... ... local NGOs include the Ethiopian Relief Organization (ERO), Relief Society of Tigray (REST), Oromo Self-help Organization (OSHO), National Committee on Traditional Practices in Ethiopia (NCTPE), ......