The United States has already struck ISIS targets in Libya, and Tunisia expects an even larger, coordinated intervention by western states – last week’s attack on the southern city of Ben Gardane by ISIS forces showed just how close extremists in Libya are and how swiftly they can cross the border into Tunisia.

The United States has already struck ISIS targets in Libya, and Tunisia expects an even larger, coordinated intervention by western states – last week’s attack on the southern city of Ben Gardane by ISIS forces showed just how close extremists in Libya are and how swiftly they can cross the border into Tunisia.

In anticipation of Libyan refugees who would flee a potential intervention, Correspondents spoke to Secretary General of Tunisia’s Red Crescent Taher Al-Shneti about the ramifications of such a military intervention, and how his organization is preparing for a potential exodus of Libyans.

Mr. Al-Shneti, how accurate are observers’ speculations about two million Libyan refugees crossing the border into Tunisia in the event of a coordinated military intervention?

This figure is incorrect. The situation in Libya now is different from what it was in 2011. In 2011, nearly two million foreign workers in Libya tried to go back to their countries through Tunisia. However, these days, there are no foreign workers in Libya.    

Moreover, the expected numbers of refugees is relative to the type of military operation. If the bombardment targeted specific areas like the last attacks in Subrata, it would not generate a large influx of refugees. Anyway, we expect 20,000 Libyans to cross the border in the coming days and weeks.

Do you have an estimation on the numbers of Libyans who came to Tunisia after the last attacks on Subrata?

Three thousand Libyans cross the Ras Jdeer border point every day, and that figure was not affected by the last military operation in Subrata. However, it must be said that the around the same number of Tunisians also cross the border into the Libyan side. Therefore, the movement is seen as normal border traffic.

The estimated numbers of Libyan citizens in Tunisia are contradictory, is there any accurate information to this effect?

The numbers declared by the Minister of Social Affairs are accurate. Both the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Social Affairs estimate the number of Libyans residing in Tunisia for more than three months to be around 350,000.

How is the Tunisian Red Crescent preparing to accommodate the refugees in the event of thousands of them crossing the border?

We have a mission to supply the humanitarian needs of the refugees; however, we do not have solutions that are guaranteed to work at any given time and place. The humanitarian needs of armed combat survivors differ from the needs of displaced people returning home. We are now discussing the potential of receiving wounded people in Tunisia. However, once again, we must stress that the situation today is different from what it was in 2011.

What is the main difference?

In 2011, there were no borders and there was no security apparatus controlling the borders. Today, the border control apparatus is well equipped with scanning technologies to control passports and vehicles. Nevertheless, unlike in year 2011, today we face the threat of terrorism and arms smuggling.

Will there be refugee camps?

The Al-Shusha refugee camp that we erected in cooperation with UNHCR in 2011 is no longer fit for use. In addition, its location does not fit the standards of combat related refugee camps, as it is too close to the border.

Where then would the refugees be placed in the case of a large influx of people?

At the beginning, we thought about caring for potential refugees in urban areas, but after studying all the aspects of this plan, we readapted to the idea of erecting a camp. The Tunisian government welcomed the idea and is now studying possible locations with the security and military apparatuses since it is in the army’s jurisdiction to place camps.  

What did the Tunisian Red Crescent learn about managing refugee camps from the experience of 2011?

After the 2011 experience we acquired a team of volunteers trained on quick humanitarian intervention. Meanwhile, we ran numerous training courses, and developed a national team that can respond to a disaster – we have paramedics and first responders who are capable of safely reaching the victims and the needy.

The Tunisian Red Crescent is an organization supportive of governmental efforts; do you find enough response from the government in the field of coordinating relief efforts?

In response to the current crisis, the Tunisian government created a crisis cell in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Tunisian Red Crescent is a member of this cell, along with other relevant ministries. Therefore, we are in full coordination with the government about this crisis. We have seen the government’s trust in us grow, especially in areas related to the ethics of neutral humanitarian intervention, distant from political shifts.

What about cooperation with other humanitarian organizations active in Tunisia?

We have good relationships with these organizations, and many of them have large resources. Therefore, we asked them to consider the country’s fragile economy and the government’s inability to provide enough food and medication.

In 2011, the Tunisian people provided large sums of relief aid, in solidarity with the Libyan people after the revolution. Today, however, we are in different times, therefore, we’re trying to cooperate with other humanitarian organizations to manage the crisis as best as we can.

You pointed out the unfortunate situation in Tunisia; how will this influx of refugees affect the deteriorating economic and security situation?

Any large influx towards the country will definitely carry negative effects, but Tunisia cannot abandon its humanitarian duties. However, what is available is not enough and we depend on the international community, which must take responsibility in this crisis. The countries that provide the military material for these operations should also help those affected by them, especially in neighboring countries with limited resources.

Apart from the current situation, how do you see the future of refugees in Tunisia in general?

Frankly, Tunisia is not a suitable country of refuge, and even the refugees who are here do not have the desire to stay. When we try to help them return to their countries or help them with their residence permit process, they say that Tunisia is only a station on the way and they do not want to settle here. However, this does not prevent us from working on asylum laws, and we now have asylum legislation that we wrote in cooperation with the Ministry of Human Rights and it is ready to be voted on in the Parliament.

Two weeks ago, the country organized a forum about human trafficking and it was attended by the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Women Affairs along with other international organizations and the European Union – now we have a law about human trafficking awaiting parliamentary voting.

Having these laws is essential to managing the issues of migrants and refugees in Tunisia.

How do you grade the international response in facing the refugee crises, both on the regional and international scale?

Unfortunately, the focus now is on developing security policies to resolve crises.

We have three sorts of migrants. First, there are economic immigrants, in whose cases we argue to stop the security policies preventing them from trying to reach Europe. On the other hand, we encourage policies to help the migrant exporting countries socially and economically, in order to eliminate the reasons that drive young people to leave their countries looking for work and a decent living.

Second, we have refugees and asylum seekers who fled their countries because their lives were in danger. According to international law, Syrian people seeking asylum in Europe face life- threatening danger in their country, hence they are refugees. Therefore, from this platform, we call on western countries to understand the situation and respect the international pacts and provide more humanitarian space for these refugees.

We humanitarian workers have a mission to heal wounds and reduce suffering; however, the solution is political. Therefore, it is on the international community to solve the political crises –as that would end the humanitarian ones.