Οι ΓΧΣ έχουν ξεκινήσει ένα πρόγραμμα ψυχικής υγείας για την παροχή βοήθειας σε ευπαθείς μετανάστες που περιμένουν στα σύνορα Τυνησίας-Λιβύης.
Approximately 130,000 people have fled Libya through the border with Tunisia over recent days. Since March 3, the flow of people crossing the border has declined, from 8,000 to 14,000 people per day to around 2,500 people per day, on average.
Almost 130,000 people have crossed the Tunisian border with Libya over recent days. The vast majority are third-country nationals, and had migrated to Libya in order to work.Now, though many thousands have been successfully evacuated to their home countries, many others remain at the Ras Ajdir border area, waiting for a solution to their plight.
UNHCR has set up a transit camp near the Tunisia-Libya border at Ras Ajdir. As of 5 March 2011, approximately 13,000 people, most male migrant workers, were staying at the camp while they waited to be repatriated to their home countries.
Among them is Mohamed (not his real name). He is a refugee of Eritrean origin, and before arriving at Ras Ajdir, he had been living in Libya for eight years. Mohamed says that because he is a refugee, he does not know how long it will be before he is able to leave the border transit camp set up by UNHCR, or, in fact, where he can go to.
MSF then spoke to Khaled (not his real name), also of Eritrean origin. He spoke of his suffering in Libya prior to arriving in Tunisia, where he found a semblance of safety.
Khaled went on to say that life has been hard for Eritreans and Somalis for many years now.
Partly because of stories such as those shared by Mohamed and Khaled, MSFs team of psychologists detected the need for a mental health care programme on the Tunisian border with Libya almost as soon as we had arrived at the Ras Ajdir frontier area.
Here at the border, MSF psychologists Carmen MartÌnez and Ahlem Cheffi use a number of different methods to help alleviate the suffering of the people who have arrived in Tunisia from Libya.
For one, MSF provides private, confidential consultations.
Meanwhile, MSF has also identified the presence of psychiatrists at the border area, who are actively working to help people with clinical mental health problems. As such, MSF psychologists refer people who need psychiatric care to the appropriate organisations.
But as there is a general atmosphere of frustration, uncertainty, sadness and even anger at the border area among the people still waiting to be evacuated to their countries or to other countries where they can be safe, MSF is also working with groups.
On 6 March, Shakir from Bangladesh offered his voluntary help translating what Carmen and Ahlam had to say into Bangla, and a group therapy session was held in the heart of the transit camp for migrants. The session started off with people sharing their problems, and with Shakir translating into and from Bangla.
Then Shakir helped Carmen explain to the participants in the session that they then had to identify their reactions to these problems. Some spoke of feelings of anger, others of feeling blocked.
Finally, Carmen asked the group to consider how to try and improve their conditions. Though she did not at any point offer material solutions, she helped them start to think more creatively on how to cope with their current situation.
Many ideas came up, and although all is not by any means solved, the mood lifted somewhat, as what started off as problems and pain became a shared feeling, and solidarity was sparked. Carmen then informed the group that MSF is also available for individual consultations. At least one migrant called out and said,