Migrants

Authorities in Yemen have freed more than a thousand Somali and Ethiopian migrants, many suffering from torture and sexual abuse while forcibly held by human smugglers.

Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are suffering a sharp increase in violence at the hands of security forces in Morocco and at border areas, resulting in serious health problems.

Migrants passing through Morocco in hopes of reaching Europe often find more misery, illness, and injury along the way.

Doctors Without Borders is treating Sub-Saharan migrants who face abuse in Morocco as they attempt to travel to Europe.

MSF is providing aid to Syrian and Afghan migrants and asylum-seekers arriving on the Greek islands of Samos, Leros, and Simi.

MSF is treating migrants in Italy for neglected diseases like tuberculosis and Chagas.

In the last month MSF teams have treated high numbers of sub-Saharan African migrants who fell victim to violence in Morocco's Oriental region.

Extreme cold and the ongoing waves of new arrivals of migrants are putting pressure on the already fragile reception system in Greece.

After months of negotiations and discussions with Thai authorities, it has proved impossible to get permission to provide health care to undocumented migrants and vulnerable populations.

Aid workers say they are taking seriously alleged sexual assaults of up to two dozen women at camp for migrant workers.

Hundreds of vulnerable migrants and refugees in Tripoli are living in appalling conditions without proper medical care or security.

The war in Libya is not only having an impact on Libyan nationals, but also on the 2.5 million migrants who have come there to work or live or are passing through to reach another destination. 

Mouhaydin, 27, worked as a laborer and a cleaner in Libya before the war. He arrived at Shousha camp in March with his wife. She died on a boat to Europe in April. 

Inhumane living and hygiene conditions in detention facilities in the Evros region in Greece are causing major health problems for migrants and asylum seekers living there, MSF said.

MSF today called on Italian authorities to drastically improve living conditions for refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants, particularly for the most vulnerable.

At dawn on April 6, around 50 shipwreck survivors received assistance from MSF and other agencies working on Lampedusa.

MSF medical teams have been assisting detained migrants and asylum seekers and are witnessing a situation that has reached emergency levels.

As a result of a recent influx of migrants and asylum seekers, detention facilities in Greece are overcrowded and conditions in the cells are appalling.

Hundreds of migrants, including women and children, have been deported to a no-man’s land at the border between Morocco and Algeria, abandoned there during the night without food and water.

For people suffering from psychological trauma as a result of violence, detention, poor living conditions, failed attempts to leave Malta and general uncertainty about the future, being able to access mental health support is crucial.

Morocco is a place of transit and forced stay for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.

MSF is sharing the stories of men and women who left their home countries in search of safety, peace, and decent living conditions.

Athens, June 17, 2010 - Ahead of World Refugee Day on June 20, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) today released a report documenting the impact of detention on the wellbeing and mental health of migrants and asylum seekers in detention centers in Greece. MSF urges Greek authorities to ensure humane living conditions for detained migrants, and to consider alternatives to their detention.

MSF urges the Greek authorities to carefully measure the impact of detention on the well-being of migrants and asylum seekers and to seek alternatives to the detention of new arrivals.

In June 2009, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) released a report, No Refuge, Access Denied, which outlined the severe risks Zimbabweans took in order to cross the border, the dangerous conditions under which they lived once they reached South Africa, and their lackof access to health care.

This briefing paper highlights the problem of sexual violence against Sub-Saharan migrant women, who arrive in Morocco on their way to Europe.

Rabat/Barcelona/New York--March 25, 2010 --Sub-Saharan migrant women are enduring various forms of sexual violence in their countries of origin and while en route to Europe, with many forced to flee their homes because of violent conflict or to escape forced marriages or domestic violence.

Rome, February 2, 2010 – More than ten years since Italy’s migrant centers were set up, their management still seems to be conditioned by an emergency type approach. Services seem to have been organized to satisfy only the most basic needs, with no regard for creating acceptable conditions for the psychological and physical well-being of detainees. Since the new regulation came into effect extending the maximum period of detention from two to six months, there have been no planned improvements in the distribution of services to migrant populations.

Rome, January 12, 2010 - The recent violence in Calabria, Southern Italy, has placed the plight of the region’s seasonal migrant workers in the international spotlight. Following the outburst of violence against the migrant workers, sites where thousands of migrants have been living since November 2009, are now completely empty. MSF denounces the ongoing neglect and exploitation of this vulnerable group.

Brussels, December 16, 2009 - Asylum seekers and undocumented migrants are bearing the brunt of increasingly restrictive policies which take a toll on their physical and mental health. Escaping conflict, deprivation or widespread violations of human rights, they endure long and dangerous journeys to Europe. Yet when they finally reach Europe, many face prolonged detention, appalling living conditions and a lack of access to healthcare. Others remain trapped outside Europe or are intercepted and sent back to countries where their health and lives may be at risk. Ahead of International Migrants Day, the international humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) urges policy makers across Europe to respect the life and dignity of migrants and asylum seekers and improve their access to basic services, including shelter and health care.

Rome, November 19, 2009 -- New Italian government policies to curb the influx of migrants have led to a sharp decrease in the number of migrants and refugees arriving by boat to Lampedusa, Italy. As a result, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is withdrawing its team from the island. Between May and October 2008, more than 21,000 migrants and refugees landed on Lampedusa after a perilous journey across the Mediterranean, according to MSF. During the same period this year, MSF teams saw fewer than 200 migrants. MSF is extremely concerned for the fate of migrants reportedly intercepted at sea and prevented from arriving in Italy.

The Greek government has announced to temporary close down the Pagani detention center. MSF sees this as a welcome first step towards more humane treatment of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers.

It has been more than two months since Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) resumed providing psychosocial support to undocumented migrants and asylum seekers in the Pagani detention center on the island of Lesvos, and the situation continues to be extremely worrying.

For the sixth consecutive year, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is providing health care to undocumented seasonal migrant workers in southern Italy. Once again, poor living and working conditions pose a serious threat to their mental and physical health.

MSF provided medical immediate assistance to the surviving men and woman who were all suffering from serious health problems as a result of the journey to Italy.

The demolition of the camp has left all the people who were previously living there homeless. Most of them have lost everything, all their belongings, during the clearing of the camp or the fire.

Athens, July 13, 2009 — Following yesterday’s police operation at a makeshift camp for migrants in Patras and the subsequent fire that broke out, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) expresses concern for the medical and humanitarian condition of the migrants and asylum seekers who were left homeless, as well as those who were arrested. MSF urges authorities to ensure humane living conditions and the provision of medical assistance to this population.

"So in August we tried one more time. We had been at sea for four days and four nights when our boat broke down. There were about 50 people on board. We were rescued by a Maltese ship and brought to Malta."

MSF has resumed work in Ta’kandja detention center for migrants and asylum-seekers in Malta after authorities committed to enable the provision of effective medical care and to ensure adequate living conditions for detainees. About 60 percent of patients MSF has treated there are from Somalia.

MSF runs emergency medical programs for asylum seekers and migrants on the border shores of a number of countries, calls for minimum standards in their reception, and denounces their systematic detention.

An MSF team consisting of two doctors, two nurses and one cultural mediator is back in Lampedusa, providing medical care to undocumented migrants and asylum seekers landing on the Italian island.

Brussels, July 11, 2008 — As the launch of the Union for the Mediterranean is due this Sunday at the Paris EU Summit, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) calls on all participants to urgently improve reception conditions for migrants reaching the southern shores of Europe.

Thousands of people risk their lives every year to cross the Gulf of Aden to escape from conflict, violence, drought and poverty. 

Madrid, June 19, 2008 — Thousands of Somalis and Ethiopians risk their lives every year to cross the Gulf of Aden to escape from conflict and extreme poverty. The trip is fraught with danger, as people are exposed to violence from smugglers and receive little assistance upon their arrival in Yemen.

In response to recent outbreaks of violence against migrants in Johannesburg, South Africa, MSF is currently providing emergency medical care for wounded people seeking shelter in police stations, community halls, and other locations to which they have fled for safety.

Johannesburg/Brussels/Kinshasa, December 5th, 2007 – The international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) denounces the pervasive and systematic use of rape and violence perpetrated by the Angolan army during the expulsions of Congolese migrants working in diamond mines in the Angolan province of Lunda Norte.