A Cape Town doctor, working with an international humanitarian aid group in Libya, has described how more than 1000 foreign labourers are holed up in derelict camps without food and water.
Dr Mohammed Dalwai, 28, who arrived in Libya's capital, Tripoli, two weeks ago, said the country's situation was dire.
More than 1000 labourers from Nigeria, Gambia, Togo and Sudan are struggling to survive in the camps without food or water. Dalwai, a member of the humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), said the walls of one of the camps, erected in a port west of the city, had faeces smeared on them.
"There is nothing at the camps, no water, no electricity. They are sleeping under derelict boats and there is excrement on the side of the harbour wall," said Dalwai.
The doctor said as a result of the absence of ablution facilities, disease was spreading.
Some of the migrant workers complained of respiratory infections, skin diseases and gastro-intestinal conditions. "A lot of them feel scared ... (and) they are showing signs of psychosomatic disorders," he said.
Between 800 and 1000 labourers have been crammed into the makeshift port camp, while another 200 are located on a farm. Forces loyal to ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi have choked off Tripoli's water supply and engineers have not yet managed to reach the pumping stations at Jebel Hassouna, 700km away.
Some of the labourers have been in Libya for three years, working in the country's billion-dollar oil industry.
Dalwai said migrant workers still feared for their lives as fighters are still trying to root out forces loyal to Gaddafi.
Dalwai, who arrived in Tripoli on August 26, is expected to return home on Saturday.
MSF spokesman Kate Ribet said between 40 and 50 of the organisation's international staff are working in Libya.
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