Father Mussie Extremely Worried About Fate of 3,000 Eritreans in Libya Today
2015-03-09 18:12:35 Written by EPDP Information Office Published in EPDP News Read 3702 times-
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EPDP Information Office
The Eritrean priest, Father Mussie Zerai, who remains in a 24-hour contact with distressed Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees in North Africa, says that at this very moment that no less than 3,000 Eritreans are in war-torn Libya and the daily dangers they face are extremely worrisome.
Talking to a stringer of this website on 8 March 2015 in Neuchatel, Switzerland, Father Mussie revealed that about 2,500 Eritreans and a few Ethiopians are in the Libyan city of Tripoli, 350 in Misrata, some 60 in Ajdabiya and 10 in Benghazi. Those in Misrata, who are new comers, are being asked to pay US$1,600 each for their trip from Sudan to Libya. The traffickers take everyone from Sudan and tell them they can pay it when they reach Libya.
Eritrean youth fleeing home are scattered, stranded everywhere. Some call to Father Mussie
These stranded persons are kept in so-called “mazra’as” or farms in the outskirts of the above mentioned urban centers and that they have no adequate shelter, food and medical care. He said almost all diplomatic personnel, humanitarian organizations including religious institutions have abandoned the region and that the refugees have nowhere to look for help except surrendering to the orders of the cruel human traffickers. Among the refugees are people like 19-year old girl, Selam, who was totally disabled following an incident in the Libyan desert in 2014 and could not find support from anywhere.
He said many more Eritreans are still arriving in Libya “to see their chances” because they continue to hear news of some lucky ones who cross the Mediterranean Sea and reach Italy “safely”. The human traffickers and their accomplices in the Sudan are spread the false information that is “now safer” to travel to Libya and on to Italy.
Father Mussie Zerai, an Eritrean Catholic priest who provides church services by constantly travelling to 13 Swiss urban centers, has been known for his close follow up what happens to Eritrean and Ethiopian asylum seekers in North Africa and Italy. Some media outlets have of late mentioned his name of being a potential candidate for Nobel Prize for his contribution in helping to save many endangered lives in the Mediterranean Sea. When asked about this issue, Father Mussie responded with a smile and a Tigrinia proverb, “ab semai zelo demean” (a cloud in the sky).
