[SatNews] Once again Télécoms Sans Frontière (TSF) attempts to offer comfort despite cries...

TSF has been deployed on the border between Tunisia and Libya since February 24th, at the Ras Jedir border post and in the transit camp of Choucha. Since February 25th TSF has been conducting humanitarian calling operations at the entrance to the transit camp in collaboration with the Tunisian Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The displaced are in urgent need of means of telecommunications: according to reports, their mobile phones are being confiscated at the border.

The camp is an obligatory stop for all the migrants coming from Libya before a longer term solution is given to them. It is essential for TSF to respond to their most urgent needs. The team is also preparing to offer free communications in the coming days to the refugees staying in the military camps in Ben Guerdane and the temporary camps at the border post.

Those priority calls enable them to reassure their loved ones who have been left without any news, and above all to receive personalized assistance. Masi and Mohamed are from Bamako in Mali; they arrived on 25 February evening at the border post. Thanks to TSF, they were able to call the Malian Embassy in Tunis who reassured them that they would receive official assistance.

From February 25th to the 28th, more than 1,600 calls were offered to the displaced populations, mainly for Egypt, but also for Mali, Ghana and the Philippines. In one day on 28 February, 640 calls were provided to those people in great distress. On other days, the need is just as great. There are long lines of people waiting for a free call.

Meanwhile, TSF has opened an Internet satellite connection in the Red Crescent settlement at the Ras Jedir border post. Several organizations have been able to benefit from the connection since 26 February: the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Tunisian Red Crescent, the ICRC and the IOM (International Organization for Migration), as well as Tunisian doctors helping the victims.

Humanitarian agencies on site, working alongside Tunisian authorities to organize the refugee reception and support, have been overwhelmed by a massive and continuous inflow of refugees from Libya and native from Egypt, Tunisia, Somalia, Vietnam, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Korea, Morocco and Libya… They are fully alerted of the growing number of migrants still waiting to cross the border. On Saturday, over 10,000 people crossed that main border point. To ensure better coordination, TSF has also established a Wi-fi connection in the transit camp for all emergency workers.