'Basic needs are huge' in Libya: IFRC is calling for 'long-term support to invest in infrastructure'
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Transcript
00:00 on the line for us now is May El-Sayeh. She works for the International Federation of
00:05 the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies and she joins us now from Beirut, Lebanon.
00:10 Thank you very much indeed for finding the time to speak to us today.
00:14 Thank you for you and for having us today. Now it was your colleagues from the Red Cross
00:20 in Geneva that gave that devastating figure earlier on today that 10,000 people are missing
00:26 in Libya. Do we know how that figure was reached? Is there an updated toll yet?
00:33 So far this is a preliminary figure due to the scale of the disaster. So we are not being
00:39 able to provide the latest figures. So this process of rescue and search is ongoing and
00:47 these figures will be updated accordingly. But due to the scale of the disaster there,
00:53 so the assumptions it was more than 10,000 people missing and even the dead and injured
01:02 are not yet confirmed. So the picture is not very clear and we will be receiving updates
01:12 in the coming hours. I know though the Red Cross and the Red Crescent
01:16 does already have teams on the ground in Eastern Libya. Tell us about what areas they've been
01:23 able to reach. Have they reached Derna, for example, apparently the worst affected city
01:27 from what we know? Yes. From the very first moment, the Libyan
01:31 Red Crescent teams and volunteers have been on the ground responding and evacuating families,
01:37 providing first aid and water, food and all the assistance needed for the affected families.
01:45 Unfortunately and sadly, three of the volunteers of the Libyan Red Crescent have lost their
01:50 lives while trying to save the lives of others. One route, for instance, in Derna, one route
01:58 out of five is accessible. So we have a lot of challenges to access these areas due to
02:05 the scope of the crisis and people, our teams on the ground are doing their best to access.
02:13 They have urgent needs to meet so that the rescue and search operation goes on. But they
02:19 are sparing no effort to save lives in a timely manner.
02:24 Clearly there are challenges on the ground, but I wonder if there are also challenges
02:28 at a political level now for the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, because the floods that
02:33 we're talking about occurred in the east of Libya, a part of the country which most governments
02:38 around the world don't, well, they don't recognise the government there. The internationally
02:42 recognised government of Libya operates in a different part of the country in the west.
02:47 Is that likely to complicate the rescue efforts now?
02:52 As you know, we as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, we
02:56 are a neutral organisation. We are perceived by all factions in Libya. So we are considered
03:04 the neutral partner on the ground. We help the Libyan National Society to respond to
03:09 the urgent needs. So we are on standby to support and in the coming hours we are discussing
03:18 with the National Society, the Libyan Red Crescent, to launch, to allocate money through
03:24 the DRAF, the Disaster Response Emergency Fund, and at the same time maybe we'll scale
03:31 up and provide emergency appeal.
03:34 We have been there in Libya and in collaboration with ICRC, and we have been responding to
03:41 people's needs. What makes us acceptable from all parties is that we respond to people's
03:47 needs, and this is our priority. We do not delve into political divisions. We have been
03:54 there to support the National Society on responding to emergencies, on providing first aid and
04:01 training them, and also in preparing the National Society and increasing its capacity.
04:09 Will you then be able to fly in more aid workers and aid itself directly to the east, to Benghazi
04:15 perhaps rather than having to go via Tripoli?
04:18 Yes. Now I'm doing this interview with you, there was a meeting with all the National
04:25 Society, Red Cross, Red Crescent, National Societies from all over the world, our regional
04:30 office and our head of delegation in Libya. They are trying to mobilize sources and personnel
04:38 to be able to support the Libyan Red Crescent. As you know, this crisis is very huge. This
04:43 disaster is a large-scale disaster, so one National Society cannot respond alone. And
04:49 as you have mentioned in your report, that this country has witnessed years of conflict
04:58 and already is facing a compounded crisis at all levels. So we will spare no effort
05:05 to mobilize all resources from the Red Cross and Red Crescent all over the world, and they
05:09 are already calling us and we will play a role to coordinate assistance to help the
05:17 Libyan Red Crescent in their response.
05:19 I just want to pick up on something you mentioned there, which is that there has been conflict
05:23 in different forms in Libya for over a decade now. The country is profoundly divided, and
05:29 I presume that means that the governments in the different areas haven't perhaps focused
05:35 on some rather mundane but important issues like ensuring infrastructure is properly taken
05:42 care of. Do you think that is likely to have exacerbated this humanitarian crisis we're
05:47 seeing today?
05:48 Indeed. What you have mentioned, this is true. In any country, if you have such a major disaster,
05:56 if you have strong infrastructure, it will be impacted. So imagine in the case of Libya,
06:01 it will be worse. So what we are calling for now, it's a long-term support to invest in
06:07 infrastructure, because if you want to provide clean water, you can provide it for temporary
06:15 and provide temporary solutions. So what we aim for is to have investment in infrastructure,
06:20 to be able to provide good water and sanitation services, and also the medical facilities
06:26 there are impacted at all levels. There is no food security in the country. One of the
06:33 urgent needs now is food, so shelter. So all the needs are huge. And of course, 10 years
06:40 of war have impacted dramatically the situation there and also decreased the resilience of
06:48 the Libyan people to respond to a crisis of this magnitude.
06:53 And you mentioned earlier the possibility of an appeal being released directly to help
06:58 the people of Libya. To viewers who may be watching this right now who are wondering,
07:03 look, how can I help? I'm shocked by the images that I see. What message would you give them?
07:10 We will, as I mentioned before, we as AFRC, we are on standby and we are doing our best
07:18 to mobilize all resources and all personnel and all support to provide support to the
07:24 Libyan Red Crescent on the ground for their teams and volunteers. We have done this before.
07:30 We have in the Syria earthquake, in Morocco in the last days, and we all the time, we
07:38 are there to support the national society. We as a federation, we are, we consist of
07:42 191 national society, all Red Cross and Red Crescent from all over the world are present.
07:48 So when each country have a disaster or has a crisis, they all step in and try to provide
07:56 any support needed. And our role will be to coordinate this support and ensure it meets
08:03 the needs of the people there.
08:05 May Al-Sayyih talking to us there from the International Federation of the Red Cross
08:09 and Red Crescent. Thank you very much indeed.