Almost 2,000 migrants and refugees died crossing the
Mediterranean in 2018.
Almost 1,000 people have already died this year while taking the journey to Europe from Africa
640 died in the central Mediterranean alone. This is a minimum estimate.
For those who were either rescued or stopped in the Mediterranean and sent back to Libya, appalling and inhumane conditions awaited them inside detention centres. Sam Turner of medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, (MSF) explained, "These centres were not made for human inhabitation. They are converted warehouses, industrial buildings or hangars with locks on the doors and bars on the windows. Inside, there is an overcrowded situation where people are lying side by side and there is no room to walk. In some centres, there is not enough space to lie down even. There are no proper toilet or shower facilities and the provision for clean drinking water is very low. Food is severely lacking. Their main meal, often their only meal of the day, is a bowl of plain pasta."
He goes on to say that the criminalising of search-and-rescue has directly led to fewer efforts and vessels in the central Mediterranean. Criminal action has been launched against NGOs and captains of vessels which also made it more difficult for us to get back to sea and continue saving lives. This is an attempt to try and degrade the principles that are at stake and legitimise attacks against NGOs. There's also lack of coordination now. In the past, information about vessels in distress was widely shared enabling ships in the area to respond as quickly as possible. There's a bit of a vacuum now.
People are dying in the central Mediterranean not because they are seeking to reach Italy. It's because they are fleeing a situation in their home country and what they've experienced on the way in the hope that Europe can offer them a better chance at life.
Humanitarians recognise all lives are sacred and we must do what we can to save lives.
Almost 1,000 people have already died this year while taking the journey to Europe from Africa
640 died in the central Mediterranean alone. This is a minimum estimate.
For those who were either rescued or stopped in the Mediterranean and sent back to Libya, appalling and inhumane conditions awaited them inside detention centres. Sam Turner of medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, (MSF) explained, "These centres were not made for human inhabitation. They are converted warehouses, industrial buildings or hangars with locks on the doors and bars on the windows. Inside, there is an overcrowded situation where people are lying side by side and there is no room to walk. In some centres, there is not enough space to lie down even. There are no proper toilet or shower facilities and the provision for clean drinking water is very low. Food is severely lacking. Their main meal, often their only meal of the day, is a bowl of plain pasta."
He goes on to say that the criminalising of search-and-rescue has directly led to fewer efforts and vessels in the central Mediterranean. Criminal action has been launched against NGOs and captains of vessels which also made it more difficult for us to get back to sea and continue saving lives. This is an attempt to try and degrade the principles that are at stake and legitimise attacks against NGOs. There's also lack of coordination now. In the past, information about vessels in distress was widely shared enabling ships in the area to respond as quickly as possible. There's a bit of a vacuum now.
People are dying in the central Mediterranean not because they are seeking to reach Italy. It's because they are fleeing a situation in their home country and what they've experienced on the way in the hope that Europe can offer them a better chance at life.
Humanitarians recognise all lives are sacred and we must do what we can to save lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment