Several sub-Saharan refugees in Tunis demand =evacuation to other countries
Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - Several refugees from sub-Saharan countries have been taking part in a sit-in in front of the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Tunis for several days to demand that they be evacuated to other countries, according to an informed source in the Tunisian capital.
The situation of these refugees and asylum seekers have continued to deteriorate since last February in Tunis and they blame the UNHCR it.
In a statement received by PANA, a Sudanese refugee accused the UNHCR on Tuesday of abandoning its responsibilities to refugees and asylum seekers in terms of social and economic services.
He said the UNHCR closed the reception centres without providing aid to refugees and asylum seekers, saying the UN agency did not consult or discuss with them before taking the decision to close the centres.
Another Sudanese refugee, Chahreddine Ismaël, who has been in Tunisia for four years, explained that their only demand is to be evacuated to other countries.
Tunisian NGO, the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, agreed, blaming the UNHCR for the increased humanitarian crisis faced by refugees and asylum seekers in Tunisia due to the lack of dialogue and discussion with them.
For the Forum, the treatment adopted by the UNHCR in the face of the situation has made the situation of women and children more difficult.
They are victims of the absence of aid for refugees and the slowness in examining the files of those concerned who also face the lack of basic services and health coverage, as well as financial, psychological and social support.
The participants in the sit-in, mostly survivors of attempts to migrate illegally to Europe, come from Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, Central African Republic, Nigeria and Chad.
-0- PANA YY/IN/JSG/BBA/MA 20April2022
