A few days ago five Somalian underaged Refugees left to Libya. As they are not allowed to the resettlement programme, although they are accepted as refugees, they don’t see any chance of a future in Tunisia.
This is why they decided to leave to Libya and take boats to reach Europe. The programme of local integration is partly responsible for the risk of these young lives. If UNHCR and the countries of the EU don’t resume their responsibility for the group of refugees that is left behind in Tunisia, more people will try to reach a safe country by boat.
In the same time, the UNHCR is concretizing it’s idea of the local integration programm. Completely ignoring the hungerstrike, which is lasting for almost a month already, and which is weakening the protesters more and more. Instead UNHCR is spreading information on leaflets, stating that they keep on planning to locally „integrate“ the Protesters in southern towns like Medenine. The same places in which parts of the protesters already experienced harsh discrimination and exploitation. On the leaflets they are explaining all the services, that they are planning to offer to the refugees. Leaving important issues open, as the question of a legal status in Tunisia or the possibilty to reunite families.
UNHCR and EU governments need to focus on the demand of Ressettlement for the remaining Refugees from Choucha, otherwise a humanitarian catastrophy is about to take place in northern Africa, as the hungerstrike and the news of individuals leaving by boat to Italy indicate.
