Tuesday, December 17, 2024
At 8:55am on 17 December, the 34 people rescued by EMERGENCY’s search and rescue ship Life Support disembarked in the Italian port of Ancona. They had been rescued from a rubber boat on 12 December in the central Mediterranean, within the international waters of the Libyan SAR zone.
“We arrived in Ancona after five days of navigation. Weather conditions were not always favourable, in particular during the first 48 hours the waves were reaching nearly two metres,” comments Laura Pinasco, captain on board Life Support. “The survivors were assisted by our medical staff and now they have safely reached land. We can only wish everyone the best for their future.”
The rescued people include 33 men and one unaccompanied child. Their countries of origin include Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sudan: countries devastated by armed conflicts, political instability, poverty and the effects of the climate crisis.
“Many of the rescued people are fleeing conflicts that prevent them from remaining in their own country,” says Chiara Picciocchi, Cultural Mediator on board Life Support. “Someone from Pakistan shared that he lived in an incredibly deprived area where there are many conflicts, reasons that prompted him to undertake the journey to Europe. Once he arrived in Libya, he attempted the crossing of the Mediterranean twice: the first time he was intercepted and brought back by the so-called Tunisian Coast Guard, but he managed to return to Libya and attempted a second crossing. This time he was rescued by Life Support, now his desire is to live in Italy, find a job and be joined by his family.”
“I come from Parachinar, Pakistan, a city on the border with Afghanistan,” explains a 23-year-old man on board. “In recent years, my city has been the target of many terrorist attacks, it is not a safe place to live. Schools are closed, hospitals do not have the tools to operate, there is only one road that connects the city with the rest of the country and is often blocked, which can halt the arrival of food and medical supplies for weeks at a time. It was impossible for me to live like this. I didn’t feel safe, I had to leave. At university I studied optometry but I couldn’t find a job to support my family, which is also why I decided to leave. I left Pakistan four months ago. I went first to Dubai and then to Egypt, finally I took a plane to Benghazi, Libya, where people were waiting for me in the car,” he continues. “They took me to Tripoli, but in the three months I spent in Libya, I changed cities many times. The traffickers beat us, we ate only one piece of bread a day with a little water. The first time we tried to cross the sea, a drone of the Libyan militias found us before we got on the boat and we had to run away. We waited a month. This was the second time I tried to make the trip.”
“When we paid in Pakistan, they promised us a nice boat, safety equipment and sailing equipment,” he concludes. “Instead, when we arrived at the beach we saw that we would make the trip on a small dinghy, without life jackets, with very little food and only five bottles of water for more than 30 people. We didn’t want to get on: it was too dangerous, there were too many of us and the boat was too small, but they forced us to do it. Luckily you found us, I don’t know how long we would have lasted without your help.”
With this morning’s disembarkation, Life Support has concluded its 28th mission in the central Mediterranean. EMERGENCY’s search and rescue ship has been operating in the region since December 2022, rescuing a total of 2,451 people.