In the night of last monday to tuesday a boat with 83 passengers was
rescued by the tunisian Marine outside the southern city of Zarzis. As
the newspapers report, between the migrants that had left from Libya in
order to reach Italy, there were 70 Erythreens, 4 Soudanees, 5 Somalis,
3 Pakistanais and one Syrien. Two bodies were found dead. One woman gave
birth on the boat.
The migrants were brought to an “accomodation centre” of the Garde
Nationale in Ben Guerdane, before further steps are to be decided.
Supposedly, four of the migrants had formerly been to Choucha Camp and
had payed their trip with the 1500 Dinars that were handed out to them
by the UNHCR. This money is said to cover the costs for renting a house
in southern Tunisia in order to join the local integration programme,
while it is just the amount that covers the fees for the boats. The fact
that recognized refugees risk their lives on clandestine boats with the
direct financiation of the UNHCR demonstrates clearly the failure of the
UNHCRs mission in Choucha Camp, Tunisia. If there is no solution found
for the remaining refugees, more and more will surely mount boats and
risk their lives!
