Another group of African hostages in Northern Sinai. In Libya, refugees face genocide 

Milan, February 28th, 2010. Yesterday EveryOne Group and Agenzia Habeshia heard that that a group of 30 African migrants in the northern Sinai (Egypt) had fallen into the hands of some Rashaida Bedouin traffickers who are asking their families a total of € 20,000 for their release. The migrants had hoped to take refuge in Israel. 

"We immediately established (together with Don Mussie Zerai of Habeshia Agency) direct contact with the hostages by phone. Yesterday one of them died from the torture and harassment carried out by the traffickers," say Roberto Malini, Matteo Pegoraro and Dario Picciau , co-presidents of EveryOne. "Today, at the other end of the phone we heard the migrants’ screams and moans as they were beaten by traffickers who ordered them to pay the ransom, or be killed.”

EveryOne Group and Agenzia Habeshia immediately contacted the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Procedures Branch of the United Nations. "Unfortunately, so far we have not had a satisfactory response from these organizations, or from the European Commission and EU Parliament, with rare exceptions, as the case of MEPs Tavares, Farage and Watson. However, it is essential to urge international politics to put an end to this carnage which, among totally impunity and indifference, has gone on for too long. To obtain more attention from local and international authorities we have asked the Arabic television stations Al-Jazeera and Al Arabya to convey our message directly to the Bedouin communities in North Sinai, asking them to take urgent action to ask Rashaida Bedouin, Sawarqa and al-Tarabin leaders to stop the inhumane trafficking of immigrants and the violence and torture against hundreds of innocent people who wish only to escape wars, famine and persecution". 

If the situation of African migrants in the Sinai takes our thoughts back to the times of the slave trade, on the Libyan front their condition is no better. After the alarm raised by EveryOne Group, Agenzia Habeshia and the Facebook Group "For the release of prisoners in the Sinai," numerous witnesses and reports from Tripoli have confirmed the persecution of African refugees residing in the country. Saad Jabbar, a professor of contemporary history of North Africa at the University of Cambridge says: "In Libya there is a risk that African refugees are facing genocide. Branded as 'mercenaries', all those with dark skin are falling victims of assault and lynchings. We need to take urgent action to prevent this tragedy taking place, a tragedy which may affect a million human beings". Dozens of workers in the oil extraction companies who are leaving Libya confirm that they have witnessed episodes of brutal violence against Africans. The only positive news we have is the Italian Government's decision to carry out the humanitarian transfer of 54 Eritreans, mainly women and children to Italy. They are at present camped out near Tripoli Airport and their lives are in danger because of the anti-African sentiments around them. "We hope," says the priest Don Mussie Zerai, "that other European countries will choose to implement this type of humanitarian intervention to prevent a terrible tragedy taking place."

 

roberto. malini@everyonegroup.com