Refugees in Libya is an organization that includes refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants, regardless of their ‘official’ status. We were born out of a need to voice the grave concerns of a large heterogenous group of people residing in Libya who are being subjected to violence and made vulnerable through innumerable means.
On the 1st of October 2021 our homes, lives and properties were destroyed in an illegal and violent raids by the Libyan authorities and militias affiliated with the ministry of interior. Thousands of people, children, women, men, the disabled and the sick were not spared but were rounded up in an inhumane manner, crammed into buses and military vehicles and were driven to concentration camps. The day after, we; those who survived said never again, we defied death, pain, hunger and innumerable sufferings in exchange for our human dignity, rights and justice and thus we mobilised ourselves and became Refugees in Libya and we demand that refugees are evacuated to safe countries, that refugees are fairly treated by UNHCR, that the EU abolishes the funding of the Libyan coast guard and migrant detention centers, that justice is delivered to those who have been murdered, tortured and arbitrarily detained, and to lobby with Libya to sign the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Today; not all of us the founding members are in Libya but our main focus is on Libya and our movement has been growing across other northern African countries, namely Tunisia, Algeria, Niger , Morocco, Egypt, and Sudan where similar problems are faced by refugees, and across Europe where demonstrations and presentations have taken place in France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Among other things, we are operating a support/hot line for refugees via WhatsApp. The support/hot line is free and operates multilingually. It includes live support in emergency cases, for example, suicide threats, severe deprivation of liberty, desert dumps, housing, food, medical assistance or coordination during attacks by militias.
Today Refugees in Libya is not just a word or a name but a reality which after several years of struggles of its members managed to arrive to Europe and aimed to consolidate ourselves once again.
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On July 1st 2024 we founded Refugees in Libya as an organization and on the 19th of July 2024, Refugees in Libya become a legal registered entity in Italy with the Tax Code: IT 91466600375
Our statute can be found here in English: Statute