By Sami Zaptia.
London, 22 November 2016:
Most migrants in Libya want to remain in the country and do not intend to head for Europe. The revelation came in the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) latest Libya Displacement Tracking Matrix Flow Monitoring Analytical report.
Libya remains the main country of intended destination for 56 percent of all 1,946 migrants surveyed, with 17 percent destined for Italy, 7 percent to Germany and 5 percent to France, the report says.
The report says 81 to 83 percent of migrants from Egypt, Chad and Sudan surveyed intended to stay in Libya. Only 16 percent of Nigerian migrants intended to stay in Libya while 43 percent intended to travel to Italy, 12 percent to Italy, 12 percent to Germany and the remaining 29 percent to a variety of other countries.
The demographic age of migrants surveyed were in their twenties, averaging 29 and 98 percent were male. Most were from the countries bordering Libya: Niger, Egypt and Sudan. Nigerians were the fourth most represented group making up 10 percent of those surveyed.
Economic reasons were given by 88 percent of all respondents as the main factors driving them to leave their countries of origin as well as the main reason determining migrants’ choice of destination. Seventy-four present of respondents said that they had spent over 6 months in Libya.
The IOM says that by interviewing migrants directly its reports highlight the complex and varied nature of migratory patterns and mobility trajectories of those who travel to Libya.
Meanwhile, the IOM’s latest Maritime Incidents Report off the Libyan Coast says that 440 migrants were rescued and 30 bodies were retrieved off the Libyan coast between 4-18 November. This brings the total rescued off the Libyan coast to 15,385 in 2016.
These figures compare to the latest statistics reported by the IOM of 167,276 migrant arrivals to Italy from the Central Mediterranean (overwhelmingly from Libya) and 4,139 deaths up to 17 November.
