“The reports of the tremendous suffering of the people fleeing Libya are alarming. As things stand, Tunisia and Egypt cannot manage the huge influx of refugees by themselves. We must do everything we can to prevent a humanitarian disaster. Only if we succeed in helping the people on the spot and in giving them a perspective for the future will we be able to prevent them risking their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean. The Federal Foreign Office has so far pledged a million euro to support the work of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross.”