Libyan exiles find new home in Tunisia

World Today

Libyan exiles find new home in Tunisia

Since NATO helped the Libyan rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has descended into chaos. More than a million Libyans had sought shelter in neighboring Tunisia, hoping their stay would be short lived, and that stability would return to their homeland. Many are now facing the reality that their stay in Tunisia might be much longer than they had planned. CCTV America’s Yasmine Ryan reports.

Libyan exiles find new home in Tunisia

Since NATO helped the Libyan rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has descended into chaos. More than a million Libyans had sought shelter in neighboring Tunisia, hoping their stay would be short lived, and that stability would return to their homeland. Many are now facing the reality... that their stay in Tunisia might be much longer than they had planned. CCTV America's Yasmine Ryan reports.

As Libyan militias seek vengeance on their enemies, no one is spared. One 20-year-old was hunted down by the Misrata militia simply because he had been a nurse during the 2011 conflict. The tortured he suffered at their hands left him forever crippled. He now lives in Tunisia, in exile.

He has bullet holes in his body, and brain injuries after the militiamen beat him with the butt of a Kalashnikov. The bones in his legs were shattered and he can’t walk without assistance. He says it was a miracle he escaped with his life, and asked that we conceal his identity.

His father and the rest of his family, who were pro-Gaddafi but were never involved in politics, were once a comfortable middle class family in Tripoli. In Tripoli, his father was an engineer. Now he lives day-to-day, sometimes finding work as a mechanic or plumber. These exiles are not alone. More than one million Libyans are now living in Tunisia.

One reason so many Libyans come here is because of the medical treatment. At clinics like this one, often more than half of the patients are Libyan.

Not all of the Libyans coming to Tunisia stay. Many of the Libyans who have come to Tunisia since the 2011 conflict believed their stay would be short-lived. However, months are turning into years, and the situation in their homeland is getting worse rather than better. Until that changes, Tunisia is their new home.