Pressure on EU to resettle Libyan refugees

NGOs working with Libyan refugees are calling for more solidarity from European Union states.

They say only a handful of countries have agreed to resettle 148 people who fled the conflict in Libya.

Euronews visited the Shusha refugee camp along the Tunisia-Libya border, where about 3,700 people are still sheltering.

Nazir Fernandes, a Senior Emergency Coordinator with the UNHCR, said: “We really call upon Europe, which is our traditional partner in helping find solutions for refugees. Resettlement is a worthy solution for refugees. We call upon them to please help us and in solidarity with Tunisia, which was going through a very delicate process and, despite that, opened its door.”

The Shusha camp was one of the ports of call for a delegation of the President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek. He is promising to push for more resettlement in EU states.

One refugee from Sudan told euronews: “My mum was working (in Libya) for our education. Because being educated is very important to my family; me and my brother and sisters study. If all this had not happened, I would be at university.”

Our reporter Valérie Gauriat said: “The fall of Gaddafi allowed most Libyan refugees in Tunisia to go home. But it’s double punishment for those originally from Sub-Saharan countries; they had to leave not only their home countries but also Libya, where they went for refuge, and where their life was unenviable, with or without Gaddafi.”

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