U.S. Supports International Efforts To Assist People Fleeing the Crisis in Libya
The US wades in to assist through USAID. Let’s hope that the crisis is short and that Ghadhafi departs soon. What the world really doesn’t need is a new semi permanent refugee camp in the Mid East - once refugee camps progress to permanence they become perennial sources of instability and conflict whether it’s Bhutan, Burma, or the Libyan border.
The United States is currently providing USAID humanitarian aid supplies to Djerba, Tunisia. Yesterday, March 4, 2011, two C-130 aircraft from Ramstein Air Base based in Germany delivered a total of 2,000 blankets, 40 rolls of plastic sheeting, and 9,600 10-liter water containers. The humanitarian relief supplies, sufficient for up to 2,000 beneficiaries, will be given to the Tunisia Red Crescent for distribution and benefit people fleeing the violence in Libya.
Today, in support of international efforts to provide critical humanitarian aid to people fleeing the crisis in Libya, the United States announced a $3 million contribution to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as part of a joint U.S.-IOM partnership to strengthen efforts to return home thousands of Egyptians and other nationals from Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia who fled Libya and are now in Tunisia. Earlier today, U.S. government officials worked with IOM to identify Egyptian nationals who have subsequently been transported by two U.S. Marine KC-130 aircraft which departed Djerba, Tunisia carrying a total of 132 Egyptians (65 and 67 passengers each). Two additional U.S. Air Force C-130s en route to Tunisia will evacuate another group of Egyptian nationals in need of transportation. All four planes are expected to arrive in Cairo later this evening.
You can read more about these efforts here on www.defense.gov.