IOM Launches First Online Consular Service for Stranded Migrants in Libya Hoping to Return Home

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1 3 June 17 June 2017 MARITIME UPDATE As of 17 June, 9,111 migrants have been rescued off the Libyan coastal cities of Zlitan, Azzawya and Garaboli. On 5 June, 110 migrants were rescued off Zlitan. Four days later, on 9 June, 380 migrants were rescued off Azzawya and taken to Al Nasr detention centre. The next day, another 438 migrants were also rescued off Azzawya and referred to Al Nasr detention centre. IOM Launches First Online Consular Service for Stranded Migrants in Libya Hoping to Return Home IOM has launched an online consular service to make the consular process easier to access and navigate for vulnerable migrants hoping to return home. The first online consular session was conducted on 5 June via Skype in close cooperation with the Ghanaian embassy in Tripoli. The remote consular service connects the migrant to his embassy s representative online in order to receive the necessary information ahead of IOM s Voluntary Humanitarian Return assistance. Thanks to the service, one Ghanaian migrant in the Shahat Detention Center in the city of Shahat, 250 km from Benghazi, was able to receive travel documents. The session was organized by IOM in Benghazi and the consular staff of the Ghanaian embassy in Tripoli, who have shown support for IOM s new remote consular initiative. We thank the Ghanaian Embassy for their cooperation and flexibility. We hope that more Embassies will come on board this new innovative initiative, explained Ashraf Hassan, IOM Libya Project Manager. Recognizing the vast demand for the Voluntary Humanitarian Return assistance, IOM identified a need for a more functional approach, not only optimizing the processing of the duration of the travel documentation, but also targeting a larger amount of vulnerable migrants who wish to return home. On the same day, 8 bodies were retrieved in Garaboli. Between 12 and 13 June, seven more bodies were retrieved in Sabratah, Azzawya and Garaboli. As of 17 June, 251 bodies have been retrieved. MIGRATION NEWS Alleged human trafficker and 168 migrants caught in Zliten (Libya Herald) Germany to provide $3.9 million to Libya to improve migrants camps (Libyan Express) UN 'deeply concerned' at migrants allegedly held for ransom in Libya (The Guardian) U.N. migration body urges EU to work harder in Libya (Reuters) Niger army rescues 92 migrants in Sahara Desert (BBC) UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Libya calls for assistance to Libyan IDPs (Libyan Express) African migrants suffocated in van parked nearby Tripoli beach (Libyan Express)

2 This operational constraint has notably affected IOM s assistance to stranded migrants as up until now these visits have been crucial to the voluntary return operation. The longer they get delayed, and sometimes cancelled due to security or operational challenges facing the embassies, the longer migrants are detained in the detention centres or stranded in urban settings in Libya. This new online service will save both embassies and IOM time and resources that are required in coordinating and arranging the escorted field visits of embassy personnel to the detention centres, as well as ensure that they can reach migrants outside of Tripoli. Due to security issues and no means of transportation, migrants in remote areas have difficulty getting their papers processed. We hope this service will give many more stranded migrants an opportunity to return home, if they wish to do so, Ashraf Hassan added. For the latest Mediterranean Update data on arrivals and fatalities please visit: #MigrationEurope In the past two weeks, a total of 574 stranded migrants returned home to Nigeria, Senegal, the Gambia and other countries through voluntary commercial and charter flights. 451 of these migrants were allocated further reintegration assistance. A global database tracking data on deceased and missing migrants along migratory routes. Visit MissingMigrants.iom.int #MissingMigrants On 6 June, 166 stranded Senegalese migrants returned home So far in 2017, IOM Libya has helped 4,783 stranded migrants return to their countries of origin. Of those, 1,527 were considered eligible for reintegration assistance. Fumigation of Libyan Coast Guard rescue boat 982 migrants including 136 and ten unaccompanied minors were rescued off the coasts of Zlitan, Azzawya, Al Khums and Garaboli. IOM has coordinated with the Libyan Red Crescent as well as local partners in order to provide timely assistance to the rescued migrants. In addition, IOM coordinated with the Libyan Red Crescent in recovering the remains of ten men and women. Second Chances On 21 October 2016, IOM Libya assisted two migrants from Gambia, 27 year-old Sally and 22 year-old Shekou to return home from Tripoli, Libya. The two migrants who received IOM s voluntarily return services, departed from Al Mitiga airport in Tripoli on 21 October and IOM also conducted a fumigation of the Libyan Coast Guard boat Al

3 Kifah in Tripoli following a rescue at sea operation on 26 May. The fumigation operation will prevent spread of for example scabies. reached Banjul, Gambia on Saturday, 22 October. One of them, Sally, used to work as a housemaid in Libya. But as she started considering leaving for better opportunities in Europe, she decided to end her contract. Then, on the way to a meeting with a new Libyan employer, she was in a car accident. Her aunt was killed and Sally was the only survivor. Injured, Sally was taken to Az Zawiyah hospital but because she needed urgent spinal fixation, she was transferred to Sbeaa hospital in Tripoli. Fumigation of LCG boat to prevent spread of scabies on 9 June. Furthermore, IOM s Search and Rescue team met with the technical working group members as well as IOM consultants to discuss the progress of the Standard Operational Procedure. All documents that entail the policies and regulations were shared with IOM consultants to be reflected in the SOPs. Rehabilitation of Gharyan al Hamra detention centre continues On 9 June, IOM worked on the maintenance of the water desalination machine in Gharyan Al Hamra detention centre. This will remove salts and minerals from the drinking water and enhance its quality. The water machines were installed in early 2017 and require regular maintenance. Paralyzed from the waist down, Sally stayed here for about five months while the medical staff, with the help of IOM, cared for her. IOM, which followed her case closely, contacted Sally s family and assisted with issuing her travel documents. Today, Sally is happily re-united with her family. Shekou who left Gambia in February 2016 also intended to go to Libya. I wanted to find work so I can take care of my daughter and my family that I left behind, he explained to IOM. I thought the journey would be easy, he added. But Shekou travelled from Gambia trough Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and then through Niger. From the Nigerien city of Agades, Shekou crossed through the desert. Back in May 2016, John and 24 other migrants had attempted the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea on a rubber boat. Four days into the crossing, their boat was rescued by what they first

4 thought was the Italian navy, however, to their disappointment they discovered that it was the Libyan navy and that they were still outside the Libyan coast. Many of my friends died in the desert because we ran out of food and water. I had to bury my friends but forced myself to continue the journey Shekou explained as he continued to describe how he moved within Libya, from Al Qatrun to Sabha and then continued to Bani Walid. We were caught on the way and thrown in prison for 4 or 5 months before we managed to escape. Maintenance of the water desalination machine in Gharyan Al Hamra detention centre. 275 displaced families and 280 migrants receive non-food aid Shekou then went to Tripoli hoping to find a job and finally manage to support his family. But from this point, things got worse by the day. I was attacked and beaten by a gang. I had a broken arm and they left me with a fractured knee. I needed help so badly. I managed to contact IOM and told them my story and then left them a number so they can contact me. They soon called saying that an IOM doctor was on his way. The doctor is a good man, he gave me medicine and took good care of me. Now I am feeling better, I am on my way home and I am very grateful and thankful. I can t thank IOM enough. I am still dreaming. I never thought that I had the chance to get out of Libya. Now, Shekou is back home with his family in Gambia. Second Chances Displaced families in Sidi Sayeh camp receive, on 6 June, non-food aid and hygiene kits. In the last two weeks, a total of 275 displaced families in Sidi Sayeh camp and in Tripoli received non-food aid that included mattresses, pillows, blankets and hygiene kits. Among the families receiving

5 assistance was a family from Sirte, in need of much assistance, after their house burned down in Tripoli. It will take two hours. Before leaving Libyan soil on a flimsy rubber dinghy, Moses was informed that in two hours they would be rescued and taken to Europe. But it didn t, he added. On 15 June, 141 migrants received non-food assistance including hygiene kits 280 migrants also received non-food aid including mattresses, pillows, blankets and hygiene kits. Unaccompanied migrant children receive assistance IOM has assisted 37 migrants with family tracing, medical support, clothing/direct assistance and case referral. Among those, 31 were unaccompanied migrant children who have received targeted assistance in terms of phone calls to their families and family tracing. Ten unaccompanied minors have also returned to their countries of origin. Moses, a father of seven, from an African country, stands in the courtyard of a detention centre in Tripoli, where he has ended up after more than a year in Libya. He left his wife with their four other children to earn money for the family and worked in southern Libya. But staying with the three boys was no longer an option, so when his employer asked if he had some money and wanted to go to Subratah and Europe, Moses saw no other option but to go ahead. It was never my intention to go to Europe, not when I arrived to Libya, he explains, but as his journey became more and more dangerous, Italy seemed to move closer and closer. Two hours away close. In the western coastal city of Subratah, Moses paid and ended up on a rubber boat with about 150 other passengers from different African countries. Moses demonstrates how he sat with his children around him, his arms around their shoulders. Packed like sardines, he says. But two hours turned into three, turned into four and five and six hours. IOM staff assists an unaccompanied minor before departure home. In addition various meetings have taken place with partner organizations within the mixed migration working group to improve the referral mechanisms between the organizations. A case management sub-working group is now established in Tripoli which feeds into the MMWG in Tunis. As the minutes ticked away the boat drifted, without a motor or a compass the passengers had little control over their fates. The pusher men take a speed boat or a scooter and leave the migrant boat at sea. Moses started to panic. He estimates that they stayed at sea

6 IOM s Protection Officer met with the detention centre managements of Mitiga and Trig Al Seka detention centres. The protection team made a tour in the centre and interviewed some of the vulnerable migrants. Immediate follow-up was also done on a few cases such as one woman who was pregnant and about to deliver. IOM arranged her admission to the hospital and IOM followed up with visits and provision of baby clothes and food to the family in the hospital. In addition, IOM managed to advocate for the release of the woman and her baby from the detention centre and arrange the accommodation for her in a host family in Tripoli. for around six hours until they saw a boat with a Libyan flag. I ask Moses, were you disappointed it was the Libyans and not the Italians? No, he says, at that time he was just glad they were still alive. We work for a better future for our children, that is what it is all about, says Moses who has now chosen to return home through IOM s return assistance programme. As we wait for the buses to begin to transfer those migrants that have signed up for the assistance through Mitiga airport, Moses speaks of the boys. With a little glimmer of hope lightening in his eyes he tells me about the characters of his three sons. He puts his hand on the youngest head, this one is a clever one, he asks a lot of questions, Moses says with a smile, he will become a lawyer, he concludes. The other two would like to become a soldier and police, they are strong, Moses says and bursts out in laughter. At the airport the five-year-old, Moses youngest son stands by the window and watches the plane that is about to bring him back to his mother and siblings. Protection colleague provides new born with baby clothes. IOM also met with the Ministry of Social Affairs to discuss cooperation opportunities. The Ministry of Social affairs stressed that they provide services to all vulnerable populations including migrants in need and are willing to work closer with IOM and other ministries on services targeting migrants. Another important meeting was also held with representatives and community leaders from the embassies of Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Gambia. Discussions were held on how to improve the referral mechanism of vulnerable cases to the protection unit and also how IOM can work closer to the migrant communities in finding community accommodation. But Moses leaves Libya with a bittersweet feeling, he is well aware that life back home will not be easy, they left for a reason and now they are in debt. But the most important is family, how you bring up your children will shape them, he says, shapes their future. *For safety reasons, Moses is not the migrant s real name Voluntary Humanitarian Return and Reintegration Support

7 IOM staff with one of the migrants in Trig al Shok detention centre DTM Displacement Event Tracker 132 migrants receive medical treatment including delivery assistance for pregnant women IOM has assisted 132 migrants in four detention centres (Zawia Shuhda Al Nassr, Zawia Abu Essa, Shahhat, Surman, Musrata) with medical treatment, through the help of IOM partner STACO. The most common diseases included upper respiratory tract infection, scabies and urinary tract infection, in addition, pregnancy care was also provided. Community Stabilization provides local communities with access to water in southern Libya Libya IDP & Returnee Report Based on needs identified by communities in both Sabha and Qatroun, community stabilization initiated the rehabilitation of 18 water wells in Sabha and 11 in Qatroun. The rehabilitation work which is still ongoing is expected to be completed the third week of June, and aims to provide the local communities with access to water for domestic purposes. Further medical equipment will be delivered to the primary health care units in both Sabha and Qatroun where IOM will provide work laptops, air conditioners as well as other basic equipment mainly for dentists and delivery rooms. The medical tools include examination tables, minor surgery kits, mammograms and cardiotocography machines Libya Migrant Report The community program has also called for bids for 14 lots in Qatroun and another 15 in Sabha for different quick impact

8 maintenance and rehabilitation of common infrastructure for essential services delivery that include drilling of new water wells, construction of sports fields, the rehabilitation of schools and primary health care units. DTM Round 9 Key Findings One of the water wells currently under rehabilitation. IOM Libya DTM launches Detention Centre Profiles Maritime Incidents Report In the latest expansion to its activities, Libya s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) launched a Detention Centre Profile component on 14 June. IOM Libya s Monthly Update The first round of assessments profiled 13 detention centres across the East, West and South of Libya, and more centres will be added in future data collection rounds.

9 Three of the thirteen centres held over 500 migrants present at the day of assessment: Trig al Shook, Gharyan Al Hamra and Trig al Seka. Seven had health services available and nearly all of them had referral services to hospital for ill migrants. In nine centres, three was either no ventilation system or it was working irregularly. In another 9 of the thirteen centres migrants had access to outdoor spaces for less than half a day. Migrants were also reported to have irregular access to drinking water in three centres: Benghazi al Wafiah, Salah Aldin and Tobruk. IOM s DTM programme is a suite of tools that constantly seek new and innovative ways to share information for the benefit of all humanitarian actors, explained DTM Program Coordinator Daniel Salmon. Libya s latest initiative is drawn from similar exercises rolled out in countries such as South Sudan to provide better and more routine data on IDP sites. Libya s Detention Center profiles is a new initiative that aims to deliver routine and reliable data on Libya s DCIM detention centers. The full reports can be found here. Confrontation between Coast Guard and smugglers lead to one death In Sabratha, clashes between the Libyan Coast Guard and migrant smugglers were reported on 11 June, which led to the death of one migrant and the injury of two others. Conflict between two families in Azzawya on 3 June led to the death of 8 people and the injury of another 17. Several households were reported as displaced within baladiya but returned to their homes once the armed conflict ended. A migrant was also reported to have died after having fallen off a truck in Shouhada Mdaken, in Azzawya. HAVE YOUR SAY I was naive. I had a job in Morocco but got tempted by the stories of my friends in Italy. The journey I took was too hard to continue. I have to admit, now that I am back home I want to warn other young migrants about the dangers that lie ahead. Forty-three-year-old migrant who returned home to Senegal with the assistance of IOM DTM s latest Displacement Event Tracker

10 IOM LIBYA IN THE NEWS PRESS RELEASES Number of Displaced Libyans Declining: UN Migration Agency Facebook Video Circulates Showing 260 Somali and Ethiopian Migrants and Refugees Abused, Held Against Their Will by Gangs in Libya IOM Launches First Online Consular Service for Stranded Migrants in Libya Hoping to Return Home UN Migration Agency Briefs UN s Libya Country Team on Migrants Held by Smugglers for Ransom MEDIA COVERAGE Reuters: Africa: Dreams of Europe Dashed, Senegalese Migrants Fly Home From Libya 'Hell' Vanguard: 1,296 Nigerians repatriated from Libya from Jan to May IOM Libyan Express: IOM: Over Libyan IDPs returned to Sirte after IS defeat Libya Herald: IOM says 200 migrants being held for ransom and tortured in Libyan detention centre Libyan Express: Libyan coastguards rescue 900 immigrants off Sabratha shores on Friday Libyan Express: 1296 Nigerians repatriated from Libya this year so far, IOM IOM LIBYA OPERATIONS ARE SUPPORTED BY: CONTACTS For more information please don t hesitate to contact: IOM Libya Chief Of Mission Mr. Othman Belbeisi, Tel: , obelbeisi@iom.int IOM Libya Public Information Officer Christine Petré, Tel: , flickr.com/photos/iommigration/ iom.int Facebook/ iommigration youtube.com/user/ iommigration