German industrial player Ferrostaal has successfully evacuated 700 international employees amid chaotic scenes in Libya.
The Essen-based plant constructor said it completed the evacuation of a group consisting of employees from several different sites in the Libyan desert yesterday.
The group of workers included 20 employees from Germany, other European citizens, and 450 nationals from the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Ferrostaal said they hd been working on the construction of plants for national as well as international operating oil companies in the Libyan desert.
The rescue effort was co-ordinated by a crisis management team in Essen who worked alongside employees, partner companies in Libya and a Germany’s network of embassies and its foreign ministry. The employees were evacuated by flights from Tripoli, by land to Algeria and Tunisia as well as by a ferry to Malta, especially chartered by Ferrostaal.
“We are very happy that we were able to evacuate all our teams from the different camps as well as from our sites in Tripoli and Brega, most of them under very difficult circumstances,” Jan Secher, Ferrostaal’s CEO said at the end of the evacuation.
“We particularly thank the teams, our customers and partners in Libya for their considerateness and their special efforts. Decisive for the success of the different activities was also the close contact to the Federal Foreign Office of Germany and the support of further administrations.”
Earlier this week CWonline reported that the UAE, itself a hub for workers returning to South East Asia, had the joined the rescue of migrant workers. However, despite global efforts, tens of thousands of construction workers still remain in the country or in limbo on its borders.
The Egyptian authorities have received 69,000 people into the country since 19 February, while Tunisia border patrols estimate there 75,000 people have crossed into its territory.
With border controls in both countries struggling to cope with the processing of the refugees, many of whom are travelling without passports or money, there is now real concern that the desertion of Libya could escalate into an humanitarian crisis.
The Tunisian border post of Ras Ajdir guards resorted to force to prevent migrants scaling the wall that lines the Libyan border. It is estimated that 10,000 migrant workers from China, Thailand, Morocco and Turkey are currently awaiting processing at the UN’s temporary centre at Ras Ajdir.
Almost two weeks since the crisis began, the stream of workers continues and the UN’s High Commission for Refugees is rushing more aid to the area, including expanding the Ras Ajdir camp so it can accommodate 20,000 people.
Valerie Amos, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) calls the situation “precarious” and has sent trauma and surgical kits, and other critical medical supplies to Libya via the Eastern port of Benghazi. She also added that the World Food Program (WFP) is dispatching teams to the Egyptian and Tunisian borders to: “assess needs and do contingency planning for delivering food assistance to people affected by the violence inside Libya if there is a need and once the security situation allows”.
“Libya depends on food imports, and could see a potential interruption in its food supply chain due to the unrest,” she said.
“We welcome the positive indications the UN has received from Tunisia and Egypt that they will maintain open borders for people fleeing violence in Libya,” she said. “There is no clear information on internal population movements inside Libya but there are concerns that Libyans deeper inside the country and in the capital are being prevented from leaving.”
