By Dominique Soguel (AFP) – 6 hours ago
African migrants and refugees ride in trucks on their way to be evacuated
BENGHAZI, Libya — African workers evacuated from Libya's third city of Misrata to the one refugee camp in the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi miss the jobs they have left behind and have little enthusiasm for returning home.
But the camp's administrator says the facility is suffering unsustainable pressure, as more and more refugees pour in and repatriations take their time.
"We cannot receive every day thousands of people without taking them out," said Ahmed Baitelmal, manager of a camp built on an empty construction site by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Libyan Red Crescent.
The city centre camp's original capacity was 1,500 people but a steady influx of refugees leaving Misrata on boats chartered by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has put the camp under increasing pressure as the intake exceeds the outflow.
"We are under a lot of pressure because of Misrata ... All of these tents came up just this week," Baitelmal told AFP gesturing to the newest section of the camp, which separates Libya's displaced from sub-Saharan African refugees.
Some 2,200 Africans -- mostly from Niger -- were living at the impromptu site as of Wednesday waiting to be repatriated, although many had come forward with requests to be relocated to Europe or the United States, he said.
The ICRC estimates that of the 600 passengers who docked Tuesday night, 500 are from Niger while the remainder are a mix of Syrians, Libyans, Iraqis and other Arab nationals, many without documents.
Another ship carrying some 1,000 people out of Misrata is due Thursday.
"We got out of a difficult situation yesterday and we arrived to another tough setting," said Abdulrahim Abbas who arrived in the latest boatload of evacuees.
"The international community has to fend for our rights because the government of Niger will give us none," said Brahim Samimusa, 29.
The majority of the new arrivals were economic migrants who had left Niger for the commercial port of Misrata, where many found jobs in a steel factory, at the docks and in mini-markets.
Some said they were earning as much as $175 (120 euros) a month and that a return to Niger, one of the poorest countries in Africa, held little attraction to men accustomed to a regular income.
"We were all working men but now we are orphans," said one as a crowd clamoured in anger that they lacked food, while an elder pointed out that they had received a loaf of bread and half a litre of water since landing.
"We ask the Niger government to give us compensation because we have lost everything, everything, and we are tired," said Mohammed Abu Baker.
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