Foto's: Libië: Uit het oog, uit het hart
De wanhoop van vluchtelingen die in Libische detentiecentra te maken krijgen met ziekte, geweld en dood
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Beste,
Tussen 5.000 en 6.000 vluchtelingen en migranten worden vandaag in Libië willekeurig vastgehouden in erbarmelijke omstandigheden. Hieronder vindt u een reeks foto's die enkele weken geleden zijn genomen in het detentiecentrum van Zintan, ten zuidwesten van Tripoli, waar momenteel nog steeds ongeveer 585 mensen worden vastgehouden. Hun dagelijks leven bestaat uit ellende, ziekte, misbruik en wanhoop.
Deze foto's staan tot uwer beschikking. Ik ben uiteraard beschikbaar voor verdere informatie.
Met vriendelijke groet,
Raphaël Piret
(Ter info, de volgorde van de foto’s staat aangegeven in hun legendes.)
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6) People detained in Zintan are mostly fleeing persecution and violence from Eritrea and Somalia.
Some have been in Zintan detention centre since March 2017. The most recent arrivals were brought to the detention centre in May after being arrested at a checkpoint. But the majority were transferred to Zintan from various Tripoli detention centres in September 2018 after fighting broke out in the capital.
During recent episodes of fighting in Tripoli, some refugees and migrants reportedly refused to be transferred, rightly fearing they would be forgotten in Zintan, out of sight and with little access to medical care. © Jérôme Tubiana/MSF.JPG)
8) Rather than being given a way out and the protection to which they are entitled, these refugees are condemned to an indefinite cycle of violence and detention. © Jérôme Tubiana/MSF.JPG)
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2) South of Tripoli, in the Nafusa Mountains, people in need of international protection and registered with the UNHCR as asylum seekers or refugees have been left stranded in detention for months – and in some cases years – with virtually no assistance.
Between September 2018 and May 2019, at least 22 people died in detention, mostly from tuberculosis, in Zintan and Gharyan detention centres. Among the dead were young men, women and an eight-year-old child.
In Zintan detention centre, some 700 people were locked up in an overcrowded agricultural warehouse, while 200 others were confined in a series of smaller buildings. © Jérôme Tubiana/MSF.jpg)
9) The level of trauma and desperation, exacerbated by indefinite detention, is so overwhelming that several suicide attempts have been reported. Detainees frequently have to restrain cellmates in distress with several mental health issues to stop them from inflicting violence on themselves or others. © Jérôme Tubiana/MSF.jpg)
1) Between 5,000 and 6,000 refugees and migrants are being held arbitrarily in Libya’s detention centres, nominally under the authority of the Tripoli-based Ministry of Interior.
Their situation has become even more perilous in recent months with the conflict between the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA), which started in early April. But despite repeated calls for their protection and evacuation, the detained refugees and migrants have little prospect of reaching safety any time soon. Meanwhile, more people are being forcibly returned to the same cycle of violence and detention in Libya by the EU-supported Libyan coast guard.
Away from the battle area, hundreds remain locked up for an indefinite period in harmful conditions, exposed to abuses and deaths, and driven to desperation. © Jérôme Tubiana/MSF.JPG)
4) The main warehouse was emptied in June, and the remaining people distributed among the other buildings within the detention centre compound. Some are now sleeping in rooms of around 15m2 with up to 20 other people. © Jérôme Tubiana/MSF.JPG)
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10) Responding against the backdrop of such critical situation, MSF has been providing medical consultations and arranging referrals to hospital since late May. During the first week of July, MSF teams made four referrals and conducted over 120 consultations in Zintan detention centre. In total, we referred 17 patients from Zintan detention centre and 11 from Gharyan detention centre for hospital treatment.
What our medical teams can achieve to alleviate people’s suffering is inevitably limited when our patients remain in the same protracted detention situation, with their international protection needs unanswered. © Jérôme Tubiana/MSF.JPG)
5) Earlier this year, some 50 of the detainees in the poorest health were transferred from Zintan to Gharyan detention centre, which became a heavily militarised area when the LNA took control of it in the course of its offensive on Tripoli in April.
Detainees were provided by the detention centre management with a chain and padlock – reportedly to protect themselves against incursions by armed elements in the absence of guards.
On 26 June, 29 people were still in Gharyan detention centre when GNA forces recaptured the town after heavy fighting that included airstrikes. Detainees were in fear for their lives, with nowhere to go in the middle of the battle.
One week later, they were finally relocated to Tripoli: eight referred for hospital treatment by MSF and 21 referred to an NGO-run shelter programme. © Jérôme Tubiana/MSF