Libyan asylum seekers will finally leave for third countries, months after restrictions brought by Covid-19 outbreak holed them up in camps.

Although resettlement had been suspended in March, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in collaboration with host countries continued with case processing and conducting interviews online, which enabled departures to take place immediately would be host countries and Rwanda opened their airports in August.

Up to 48 asylum seekers have so far been resettled to their third countries since the year began and more than 44 are scheduled for resettlement before the end of 2020.

Although some asylum seekers have starting to adapt to life in Rwanda, enrolling in colleges, some are suffering from frustrations.

Dawet Okubazgi’s childhood dream was to be a doctor; he studied marine biology back home in Eritrea and he felt like the degree brought him closer to his dream, but then something happened.

After graduation, the government of Eritrea decided that his next step should be enrolling for military marine, and went on to forcefully conscript him into the army, and that’s the last course of life he wanted, hence his decision to flee.

At 23, he finds himself in a Rwandan refugee camp, like many of them he is frustrated that Covid-19 prolonged the time he had to wait to finally go where he intended to go in the first place.

“I eat and sleep here in the camp, I go out to Gashora town centre, I drink alcohol and sleep again, nothing much, I am waiting to Canada.”

“Covid-19 prolonged the time of staying here, instead of six months I now had to wait a year, I am waiting for interviews then go to Canada and continue with my life, if I am lucky I will go on with school,” said Mr Dawet.

Sweden, Norway, Canada and France are the countries that stepped up to welcome these asylum seekers, and up to 82 out of the 306 that came have so far been resettled since last year.

“Despite Covid-19 disturbances, we have taken all possible measures to continue case processing in collaboration with the host countries, France has sent technical missions to help with processing cases and departures” Elise Laura Villechalane, the UNHCR external relations officer told Rwanda Today.

She said the Covid-19 related delays and other disruptions that came with containment measures exasperated mental health issues among asylum seekers, since some live with cases such as posttraumatic stress disorders (PSTD).

“These people have been on a run for so long, many came to Rwanda with PSTD, so the uncertainty about their future during this time was stressing for many”

She said adhering to containment measures, made some to opt for other activities such as group counselling and English language classes.

However UNHCR in collaboration with the government of Rwanda found a safe way of conducting group therapies for a few who had serious mental health illnesses.