As of February 26, over 50,000 migrants have crossed the border between Egypt and Libya, the vast majority Egyptian. Between 5,000 and 7,000 Asian and African migrants are now stranded at the border, a significant increase from the 2,800 migrants stranded at the border as of February 25. Most are adult males, who were employed as migrant workers in Libya, and Bangladeshis now comprise the largest number. Not all are documented, though most undocumented migrants are now in contact with their respective consular officials, either in Cairo or at the border. An IOM team is now operational at the border, having set up a large office in the existing compound to register third country nationals (TCNs), support consular officials and provide onward repatriation assistance. An initial caseload – 45 Filipinos– will depart Cairo tomorrow afternoon, and larger groups, including over 450 Bangladeshis, will depart over the coming days. Indeed, over the past week, various origin countries, including Egypt, Bangladesh, Moldova, Montenegro, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam have requested IOM's assistance to evacuate and repatriate their nationals. In coordination with the Egyptian authorities, IOM is also providing stranded migrants with humanitarian assistance; at the border, limited shelter is available, but essential items and services remain scarce. IOM is now distributing blankets, food and water and is seeking international development partners' support to continue and expand such assistance to an estimated 5,000 beneficiaries. “The situation is becoming critical, especially in light of uncertain developments in Libya” says Pasquale Lupoli, IOM Regional Representative for the Middle East “We continue to work in close cooperation with the Egyptian authorities and other humanitarian actors to ensure that migrants receive assistance and that return to origin countries can take place with limited delays.” Based on IOM's initial findings on the Egyptian and Tunisian borders and official requests, IOM has launched an appeal to raise USD 11 million to support its evacuation and repatriation efforts, and provide humanitarian assistance to an initial 10,000 migrants, although official requests could soon total over 50,000 people. In addition to the above mentioned operations in Egypt, IOM's team in Tunisia (now also present and operational at the border) is preparing to provide evacuation and repatriation assistance to TCNs – including Egyptian migrants, complementary to the Government of Egypt's own significant efforts. While accurate statistics are not available, Libya is estimated to host over one million migrants. In addition to at least 335,000 Egyptians working in Libya according to Egypt's Center for Public Mobilization and Statistics, embassy sources in Cairo confirmed that Libya also hosts around 80,000 Pakistanis, 59,000 Sudanese, 50,000 Bangladeshis, 26,000 Filipinos, and 2,000 Nepalese, alongside other African and Asian migrant workers. Meanwhile, in Egypt, the IOM also continues to provide humanitarian aid to vulnerable migrant communities in Greater Cairo, including the Eritrean, the Sudanese, the Somali and the Egyptian communities. Six hundred food bags out of a total number of more than one thousand have already been distributed to vulnerable families thanks to support provided by USAID (through the Central Fund for Influenza Action) and the Government of Switzerland. A forthcoming IOM rapid assessment shows that 60 percent of migrants in Egypt have experienced problems with their personal security during the past month and 40 percent would be willing to leave if they had the means to do so. BM
