News
Global
12 August 2006

Lack of New Funds Could Jeopardize Evacuation of Stranded Migrants

More than 10,000 stranded migrants will have been evacuated from
Lebanon to Syria by IOM this weekend as the conflict in the country
deepens.

However, IOM’s operation to evacuate and return vulnerable
migrants to their respective countries, face significant challenges
in the coming days unless additional funds can be secured
quickly.

The European Commission and the US government donated 11 million
euros (US$13.8 million) and one million dollars respectively in
response to an IOM appeal last month to provide evacuation, food,
medical, shelter and return assistance to 10,000 migrants. Qatar
has made 10 charter flights available to the Sri Lankan government
to evacuate their nationals, which IOM, in coordination with the
Sri Lankan embassy in Beirut, has been able to use to return Sri
Lankan migrants home.

But, with little sign of a ceasefire being agreed in the
immediate future, an increasing number of people are turning to IOM
for assistance. Another US$15 million is needed if IOM is to assist
an additional 10,000 migrants in Lebanon who are without documents
or the financial means to escape the country.

In the past week, IOM has stepped up its efforts to evacuate
vulnerable migrants as security conditions worsened with continued
bombing of roads and other infrastructure. On average, more than
700 people a day are being evacuated by land to Syria from where
they are flown home with close to 5,000 migrants being evacuated
over a six-day period alone. However, funds will have virtually run
out by mid next week.

“We are being forced to readjust our evacuation routes on
a daily basis in response to the ever changing situation here. It
makes our work much harder. It also makes it imperative that we get
as many people as we can out of here as soon as we can. And for
that we need donors to respond swiftly,” said Vincent Houver,
IOM’s evacuation coordinator in Lebanon. “More and more
migrants, who don’t want to give up their jobs here, are
being driven to leave by this conflict - even though they have
little to go back home to.”

Today, 900 Ethiopians, Filipinos and Sri Lankans are being
evacuated to Syria. All of them will have been given pre-departure
medical assessments by IOM medical staff. IOM has also set up
offices at two transit centres in Syria with teams of five doctors
each to provide round-the-clock medical care.

Meanwhile, concern is growing at the continued lack of access to
internally displaced people in southern Lebanon who have been
without water and electricity for several weeks and who are in need
of urgent humanitarian assistance.

As part of its efforts to help them, IOM is transporting to
Lebanon on behalf of the Philippine government nearly 430 kilos of
medicines, bottled water and other supplies for internally
displaced people in addition to relief supplies donated by the
Bangladesh government. IOM has also agreed with Assistance
Pedagogique Internationale to distribute food and non-food items,
bottled water, medicines and recreational items for children
provided by the French non-governmental organization for villagers
in southern Lebanon.

As part of its overall appeal for Lebanon last month, IOM also
asked for US$2 million to provide humanitarian assistance to 10,000
internally displaced people, an appeal which is currently being
revised to reflect the growing humanitarian crisis in the country.
The Norwegian government responded with US$ 640,000 worth of mainly
relief items while Greece has pledged 120,000 euros.

For further information, please contact:

Jean Philippe Chauzy, in Beirut, Lebanon

Tel:+ 41 79 285 4366

Chris Lom

Tel: + 41 22 717 9361

Mobile: + 66 1927 5215

Email: "mailto:clom@iom.int">clom@iom.int

Related Information

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