In recent days, news concerning Libyan ambulances which had to hang for hours, even days, at the border crossings with Libya, have proceeded to make headlines, and incite anger on the Libyan side.
For a few days now, Libyan ambulances assumed to carry patients who come for treatment in Tunisia, have no longer had access to Tunisian territory. The rules have shifted and they are now requested to transfer their patients to Tunisian ambulances, which must first have obtained permission from the Ministry of Health, and the agreement of the private clinic which is to receive the patient.
But, instead of questioning why this ban, it would be better to ask whether Tunisian ambulances have access to Libyan territory. Well, it appears not and patients going to Libya must be transported to Libyan ambulances, at a space provided for that, at the border crossing. So, it is quite logical that the Tunisian authorities apply the same rules, in return.
However, in addition to the principle of reciprocity of measures, it should not be taken into the record that many Libyan ambulances have, in the past, entered Tunisia by carrying healthy people, who just desired to access Tunisian territory. There have even been people who entered by this stratagem, by dozen, just to attend a wedding, in Tunisia.
Without forgetting that once the border is crossed, the Tunisian authorities lose these wheels and their occupants, from sight, and you never know if they were actual patients and if they have ever landed in a clinic or a structure of care.
Classic security reasons should, furthermore, be added to all this, because it is not at all obvious for customs officers or border police to secure the identity of the patient transported, sometimes rolled up. dressings and tubing of all kinds!
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