Rana Jaber

Chaos on the Libyan border

As we work our way through the chaotic main border crossing between Egypt and Libya, a man with a megaphone is surrounded by an anxious melee of hundreds of Bangladeshis.

They're gripped by his every word. The man is reading out a list of names - the selected few are allowed to board buses for the journey to Alexandria and a flight home.

They shove and barge their way on board their route to freedom, their bagged and boxed belongings of a life lived in Libya shoved down below.
 
The rest remain disappointed. They will be here again tomorrow, and, for most, for days to come. Three thousand five hundred have been processed so far, there are thousands more to come.

"There are three planes from Alexandria to Dakar every day," said Rana Jaber of the International Organisation for Migration.