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UNHCR Aids Western Libya

Over the past few weeks, what started as a confrontation between militias in Libya, has slowly escalated to a point that concerns various countries: that Libya will deteriorate and become a full-fledged failed state. As a result, for the first time, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has sent aid to those in Western Libya.

The UNHCR has estimated that their supplies will reach around 12,000 people who have been internally displaced since the conflict reignited a few weeks ago. Members of the UNHCR aid Western Libya with vital supplies like blankets, sleeping bags and various medical equipment. The majority of the aid has been dropped off at Zawiya, which is offering shelter to the refugees and is located about 45 kilometers to the east of Tripoli.

Saado Quol, the acting chief of mission in Libya for the UNHCR, said that “This weekend’s operation is crucial and, we hope, paves the way for other humanitarian aid to reach affected populations who are stranded and in dire need of assistance.”

The current conflict was recently reignited about a month ago, starting with small-scale fighting and combat between a couple militias over control of the Tripoli airport. Since then, fighting has increased exponentially to the surrounding areas, causing an international response and certain nations pulling their diplomats from the country. It has also caused disruption in the supplies of food, water and food to civilians. The Red Cross and Red Crescent have estimated that at least two million people are at risk of food shortages.

The flight of diplomats and foreign assistance has only worsened the situation. This recent batch of aid is a step in the right direction of helping, but other nations need to increase, not decrease, their presence if they desire a safe and lasting conclusion to the instability in the country.

– Andre Gobbo

Sources: UNHCR, The Borgen Project, Foreign Policy, NY Times
Photo: UNHCR

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UN Concerned About Refugees in Libya

As the security situation quickly deteriorates in Libya, the United Nations says it is very concerned about the safety of asylum-seekers and refugees in Libya who are stranded in areas under heavy fighting.

U.N. Refugee Agency spokesperson Ariane Rummery said UNHCR is receiving calls from the mostly Palestinian and Syrian refugees in Libya who need assistance. About 37,000 people are recorded with UNHCR in Tripoli and Benghazi, areas of heavy violence between the military and insurgents.

“In Tripoli alone, more than 150 people from Eritrea, Somalia and other countries have phoned our protection hotline seeking help with medicines or a safer place to stay.”

UNHCR is especially concerned about one Palestinian and three Syrians who are trapped in between Libya and Egypt. They are asking Egyptian authorities to give the group access to food and water.

Rummery also said refugees in Libya see leaving as their only option. Many Libyan refugees are trying to leave the country by sea. The airport in Tripoli has been unavailable for days. Tunisia and Egypt are inaccessible for refugees, so the sea is the only way out. Smugglers are making use of the situation as these desperate people risk their lives to leave Libya and take the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe.

“We recently heard of a group of 500 Syrians who left in about three boats toward Italy from Benghazi, and this is a new and much more dangerous journey because it takes longer to reach Italy. Over 1,000 people have died in the Mediterranean this year and the latest casualties drowned last week off Al-Khums, which is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Tripoli.”

UNHCR is advising Libyan authorities to lessen exit visa restrictions to let people leave Libya. They are also calling for Egypt and Tunisia to open their borders to the people trying to escape violence.

While the fighting continues in Libya, a newly elected parliament has met in hopes that they can bring peace. Libya has experience violent conflict since the 2011 uprising that overthrew Muammar al-Qadhafi.

– Colleen Moore

Sources: United Nations, UPI, Voice of America
Photo: United Nations

Fighting at Main Libyan Airport

After an attempted ceasefire recently failed, rival militias escalated clashes over the main Libyan airport in the capital city of Tripoli. This renewal of fighting has already caused at least five deaths since fighting resumed on July 20. There have been reports that at least two of these were civilian deaths, as fighting moved from the airport to the neighboring residential area. While only five deaths have been confirmed, the intensity of the fighting and the limited area have prevented government officials from accurately declaring the number of deaths that have occurred. There has not been any official count of casualties released by the government since the start of this conflict.

The fighting over the Tripoli airport started on July 11, causing the airport to shut down indefinitely. The most recent skirmishes have been the most intense since the conflict started, and there have already been reports of missiles, rockets and tanks being used. This is the first time fighting has moved outside the airport into surrounding residential areas. Even if the fighting were to end now, it would take months for the airport to become functional again.

The combatants include a militia from the town Misirata and an Islamist led militia group known as the Libyan Revolutionaries Operations Room. Prior to this conflict, the airport was under the control of a militia from Zintan, a city in the western mountains of Libya.

The recent escalation of fighting indicates an entrenched conflict, and some have called this the worst fighting to take place in Libya since the Arab Spring Revolution in 2011. As Tarek Mitri, head of the U.N. Security Council mission in Libya, said, “As the number of military actors mobilizing and consolidating their presence within the capital continues to grow, there is a mounting sense of a probable imminent and significant escalation in the conflict. The stakes are high for all sides.”

Since Muammar Qaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011, Libya has struggled to maintain control of warring factions and militias. This one battle for control of the Tripoli airport is only one of many, albeit smaller, conflicts taking place all over the lawless country. Multiple governments that have been in power have struggled to keep these militias in check. Tensions are high across the country, considering the serious potential for both sides further entrenching their position and escalating attacks. For now, many inside and outside the country are nervously waiting to see how the conflict will continue to unfold.

– Andre Gobbo

Sources: BBC, Al Jazeera, CNN
Photo: BBC

Libyan Detention Centers Accused of Torture

Flagellation, beating and electric shock are among the injustices migrants and refugees have allegedly suffered in several Libyan detention centers, according to testimonies gathered in a Human Rights Watch investigation carried out in April. These detention centers, which are operated by the Libyan government, are home to as many as 6,000 people, most of whom are captured either while trying to flee to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea or attempting to illegally enter Libya.

Though the government has been unsuccessful in catching the majority of those illegally entering or exiting the country–approximately three million illegal immigrants reside in Libya, while over half a million individuals are estimated to have their sights set on Europe–these detention centers remain extremely overcrowded and those detained are subject to poor sanitation conditions. In addition, the detainees are denied not only proper medical care, but also legal representation and trial prior to entering the detention facilities.

A representative from HRW who reported accounts of male guards inappropriately strip-searching women and girls noted that the unstable political situation in Libya is no excuse for the “torture and other deplorable violence” occurring in detention centers run by the government. Other testimonies detailed incidents in which guards violently attacked men and boys, digitally raped women and girls, and hung individuals from trees in order to beat them.

HRW has instructed Italy and the countries comprising the European Union to withhold international aid to the detention centers until the abuses cease. In the next four years, those countries were to invest a combined 12 million euros (roughly $16.4 million) into rehabilitating these centers. Now, most of that money will be invested into Libyan NGOs. A small amount will be still committed to rehabilitating several of the detention centers violating Libya’s international obligation to protect all on its soil, including those in detention centers.

Should the abuses stop, Italy and the EU are to convene with the Libyan Interior Ministry on how to best use aid to bring all detention centers up to international human rights standards.

These reports of torture come at a crucial time, as the numbers of migrants and refugees in Libya is not only at a record high but expected to continue to grow within the next few years, especially if the political uncertainty currently plaguing Libya persists. Those who have already experienced torture in these detention centers are at increased of risk of poverty upon their release, as the psychological and physical stress they have endured may prevent them from seeking or sustaining employment.

Ending torture, wherever it occurs in the world, should be at the forefront of international aid agendas not just because it endangers those who currently suffer from it  but also because it will affect their lives negatively thereafter as well.

– Elise L. Riley

Sources: The Guardian, IRCT, Human Rights Watch
Photo: The Guardian

Remembering Salwa Bugaighis

Armed gunmen murdered Libyan human rights activist, Salwa Bugaighis, in her home this past Wednesday. Her executors stabbed and shot the 48-year-old mother of three before likely abducting her husband, Essam al-Ghariani, who has since vanished. The couple had arrived home from voting in the Libyan parliamentary elections just before the surprise attack. Both the United Nations and European Union have condemned the violence.A lawyer from a prominent Benghazi family, Salwa advocated against the Muammar Gaddafi regime and most recently took the role of mediator between the many factions of Libya in the nation’s movement toward democracy. Believing her progressive views on the role of women in Libya angered extremists groups, she refused to bow to political pressure even in the wake of death threats. The couple did leave Libya after a previous incident in which a gunman threatened her son, yet despite warnings from friends and family, they returned to continue their fight.Following the revolution, Salwa worked on the National Transitional Council before resigning out of frustration due to alleged sexism. She then promoted minimum quotas for women in the Libyan parliament — a policy later adopted — and spoke against the proposal to obligate Libyan women to wear the hijab.

Although Salwa wished to change the stereotypes of women in her country, she did not find this to conflict with her Islamic faith, saying in a 2012 interview with The Global Observatory, “…we are Muslims, we are proud that we are Muslims but we want moderate Islamist. We want Libya like that.” She later added, “My main concern is the role of the women in the future. We want equal opportunity in all sectors. We want to ensure that our rights in the constitution will be there.”

Rebuilding a country has been no easy task for the new government, which struggles to enforce its borders against terrorists and the trade of illegal goods. Libyan illegal arms have made their way to militants in Mali and the Palestinian territories. The revolution left the infrastructure in ruins, and many Libyans seek health care in neighboring countries.

The day after the murder, chaos persisted as the Supreme Court closed for security concerns, militias patrolled the streets and a bomb outside the assembly writing the new constitution injured two. The violence hampers economic growth largely dependent on the oil sector, and threatens to further destabilize the region.

Western powers that toppled the dictatorship have refocused efforts to other worldly crises, leaving the new government largely to its own devices. After decades of oppression, the Libyan people must now confront the challenges of organizing a state from scratch. But if Salwa left her people with any legacy, it is one of hope: “We have to be patient, we have to give us some time to moving to a democratic country and I’m really optimistic about our people.”

— Erica Lignell

Sources: The Chicago Tribune, The Global Observatory, The Guardian, The New Yorker, Le Monde
Photo: New Yorker

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5 Guinness World Records in Developing Countries

Guinness World Records in Developing Countries
Established in 1951, Guinness World Records has documented more than 40,000 records from around the world, ranging from the longest DJ marathon to the oldest person in the world. Guinness World Records is the international authority on record-breaking activity. The organization’s mission is to inspire ordinary people to do extraordinary things and to celebrate the world’s best. Record-breaking happens all over the world, even in developing countries.

1. Syria: World’s Largest Mural Made of Recycled Materials.
A group of Syrian artists in Damascus creates the world’s biggest mural made from recycled materials. The mural stretches 720 square meters and is constructed of aluminum cans, broken mirrors, bicycles wheels and other scrap objects. The lead artist, Moaffak Mahoul, had the idea for the mural because he wanted to give ordinary people a chance to experience art and relieve some of the daily stresses of living in a conflicted area. Syria’s civil war has killed more than 140,000 people and forced millions to leave their homes. Many Syrians, including artists, have left the country but a group of artists who remained wanted to give Syrian citizens something to smile about. The mural took six months to complete; it was finished in January.

2. India: World’s Largest App Development Marathon
A total of 2,567 participated in a marathon to develop the new Windows operating system, Windows 8. The 18-hour marathon was held in Bangalore, India in September 2013. The large group was organized into groups of four, each building and developing apps to harness the power of Windows 8. App ideas were accepted into 20 categories including business, education, finance, games and productivity.

3. South Korea: World’s Fastest Internet Connection
South Korea grew from war ravaged into a major tech hub. With an average download throughput of 33.5 megabits per second, South Korea has the world’s best broadband service.

4. South Africa – Most People Washing Clothes Simultaneously
In Johannesburg, South Africa, 1,009 participants took part in a hand-washing gathering as part of Procter & Gamble’s flagship laundry brand, Ariel™, being launched in South Africa. Participants had to beat a benchmark of 496 people washing clothes simultaneously, set in Mumbai, India, in 2011. The clothes used during the record-breaking attempt were donated to the Red Cross.

5. Libya – World’s Largest Irrigation Project
In 1983, the Great Man-Made River Project was created to supply water to Libya’s people and to expand agricultural production through irrigation. The project now extracts 2.5 million cubic meters of water per day from 1,100 wells and 4,000 kilometers of pipelines. Muammar Gaddafi dreamed of providing fresh water to all Libyans and making Libya self-sufficient in food production.

World records happen all over the globe but all Guinness World Records must fulfill four main criteria. The record must be measurable, based on a single variable, verifiable and breakable. Guinness World Records publishes a book of records each year and it is the best-selling copyrighted title of all time.

–Haley Sklut

Sources: Reuters,  The Next Web, The Marketing Site, Global Research, Property and Environment Research Center, Guinness World Records
Photo: The World Post