Missionary Cleric in Libya Appeals for Evacuation of Refugees amid Humanitarian Crisis

The North African nation is also dealing with those fleeing other African countries attempting to reach Europe from its shores by boat amid COVID-19 challenges.

Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers continue to attempt to cross the Mediterranean, risking their lives.

In the August 28 message, Fr. Zerai also expressed concerns about the humanitarian crisis in the North African country saying, “The situation in Libya is no longer tolerable; many refugees try to escape from these camps: they are often killed, if taken alive they suffer unspeakable violence.” 

He described the situation as “untenable” and highlighted the cry for help from refugees “trapped in detention centres, often transformed into real camps in the various Libyan localities such as Kums, Zawiya, Tripoli, Zelatien, Misurata, Sebha, Kuffra.”

The Eritrean Cleric went on to highlight “desperation of these refugees: people from Sub-Saharan Africa, Eritreans, Ethiopians, Sudanese, Somalis, victims of abuse, abuse by the managers of the facilities where they are held deprived of their personal freedom, often reduced to hunger, blackmail and violence.”

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He described the health conditions of migrants and refugees in Libya as “very precarious” and that access to medical care “hangs only on the sporadic visits by NGOs of doctors who do not always have automatic access.”

“Every time there is a change of guard, the new owners of the centre dictate their laws and demands and violence,” Fr. Zerai said, lamenting that “often the managers of the detention centres are in close collaboration with the smugglers who mediate with the real human traffickers, who negotiate the price for the sale of the group of refugees detained in the centres.”

He indicated that “the people involved in this negotiation have no say on their sale to groups often of real criminals, who do not hesitate to torture them in order to obtain exorbitant amounts as payment.”

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.