After nearly 18 months of waiting in a transit camp some seven
kilometers from the Tunisia-Libya border, 195 refugees will depart
on Monday (3/9) to start new lives in Germany.

IOM has arranged a charter flight from Djerba to Hannover on
behalf of the German government and will bus the refugees from the
Shousha transit camp to Djerba airport.

The Migration Agency has also provided pre-departure health
screening for the refugees. Although Germany has accepted 200
refugees, five, including two pregnant mothers, will postpone their
trip for medical reasons.

"The German government was outstanding with its speedy selection
and departure process. It is now my hope that the remaining
population in Shousha will not have so long to wait for a durable
solution," said UNHCR Tunisia Representative Schulze Aboubacar.

The refugees departing for Germany on Monday had initially fled
to Libya before being uprooted again last year because of the
Libyan civil war. Although benefiting from protection and
assistance in Tunisia, many refugees have been in a state of limbo
in Shousha for more than 18 months.

Most of those being resettled to Germany originate from Sudan,
Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia and are single males between the ages
of 18 and 35. But there are also over twenty families with children
and three unaccompanied minors.

In May 2012, the German Federal Office for Migration and
Refugees (BAMF) deployed a five-week selection mission to Zarzis to
interview refugees referred by UNHCR. Out of 246 applications, BAMF
ultimately accepted 200 refugees for resettlement.

To facilitate the move to Germany, the Danish Refugee Council
(DRC) organized German language training in the camp, while IOM
provided cultural orientation classes. On arrival the refugees will
receive another two weeks of orientation outside Hannover.

According to UNHCR, there are currently 2,211 refugees in
Shousha. Some 1,320 have already been conditionally accepted by a
resettlement country (including the 200 refugees being resettled to
Germany). Another 635 refugees are awaiting a decision by a
resettlement country.

Most of the refugees who fled to Shousha from Libya will be
resettled to the United States, which has agreed to take 2,000 of
the total.

For more information, please contact 

Elisa Van Der Valk

IOM Tunis

Tel. +21671860321

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