{"id":538,"date":"2020-02-23T19:14:05","date_gmt":"2020-02-23T19:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thanassiscambanis.com\/sipa\/?p=538"},"modified":"2020-02-24T00:12:40","modified_gmt":"2020-02-24T00:12:40","slug":"the-worlds-deadliest-ocean-crossing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thanassiscambanis.com\/sipa\/2020\/02\/the-worlds-deadliest-ocean-crossing\/","title":{"rendered":"The World\u2019s Deadliest Ocean Crossing"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY SEAN HANSEN<\/h4>\n
\"Launched

Launched earlier this year, the Ocean Viking is a humanitarian rescue ship operated in partnership by SOS Mediterranee and Medicins san Frontieres in the Mediterranean Sea. Source: SOS Mediterranee.<\/p><\/div>\n

Forty-two miles off the Libyan coastline, the<\/span> Ocean Viking<\/span><\/i> races towards a sinking ship full of refugees. Acting on information reported to the Libyan Coast Guard, the ship\u2019s crew prepares for a rescue effort in the bleak hours of the morning.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe had been trying to contact the Libyan Coast Guard to see if they agree for us to go,\u201d says Francois Thomas, President of the humanitarian organization SOS Mediterranee, which operates the Viking. \u201cBut we didn\u2019t receive an answer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The rescue ship goes ahead anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n

At 6:40 a.m., the Viking makes visual contact with the boat in distress: a white, rubber raft,\u00a0 floating listlessly in the Mediterranean Sea. In it is a crowd of tightly packed humans, callously arranged to maximize the number of bodies piled in. Without life jackets, they each cling to the person in front of them. But many of them cannot swim.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span> Viking<\/span> has been at sea for several months, carrying out search-and-rescue operations in the international waters of the Mediterranean. Although the migration crisis peaked in 2016, recent shifts in European and Libyan border policies have perpetuated the tragedy today, making sea crossings deadlier than ever before. Operated in partnership with Medicins san Frontieres (MSF), the Ocean Viking is one of the only search-and-rescue vessels in the area devoted solely to rescue efforts in the Mediterranean today. But despite its crew\u2019s good intentions, the Viking faces growing logistical and political challenges. Coordination with the Libyan Coast Guard is just one.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an <\/span>interview<\/span><\/a> with <\/span>al Jazeera<\/span><\/i>, a Libyan Coast Guard Colonel questioned the role of NGOs like MSF and SOS in rescue efforts entirely. \u201cCarrying out search and rescue operations in Libyan territory must be done with the Coast Guard\u2019s permission,\u201d he told <\/span>al Jazeera<\/span><\/i>. \u201cBut do we really need these NGOs working in this area? As long as NGOs are around, migration will continue.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In many ways, the Libyan Coast Guard and European Union have succeeded in shutting down rescue NGOs in Libya\u2019s search-and-rescue area. Intimidation tactics such as firing warning shots and harassing both migrant and rescue ships are routine. The environment is made more hostile by strict E.U. policies and practices of detaining rescue ships and <\/span>embedding spies<\/span><\/a> on board. While 10 NGO ships operated in 2017, there are just a handful today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With or without rescue organizations, the migration crisis has persisted. Since 2014, more than<\/span> 18,443 migrants<\/span><\/a> have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea \u2013 with an alarming 88% departing from Libya. This year alone, 1,235 migrants have perished attempting the ocean crossing.<\/span><\/p>\n

SOS Mediterranee began its operations three years ago, at the height of the crisis in 2016. Since then, it has rescued over 30,000 refugees and migrants.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe motivation is saving lives. Nothing more,\u201d says Francois, a seasoned French sailor with decades of experience as a navy officer and in both the maritime shipping industry and humanitarian sector. \u201cBut the coordination <\/span>is<\/span><\/i> under the responsibility of the Libyan Coast Guard,\u201d he adds. \u201cSo if they are closer than us, they will do the job, and they will bring back the rescued people to Libya. We have to be careful, of course, because we don’t want to risk the life of rescued people, or our seafarers.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

6:51 a.m<\/span><\/i>. With no word from the Coast Guard, the Viking\u2019s crew tries to contact the Libyan Joint Rescue Coordination Center via the ship\u2019s satellite phone. \u201cIt\u2019s the center to coordinate and organize a rescue,\u201d says Francois. \u201cBut most of the time, they don\u2019t answer us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

By 7:00 a.m., there\u2019s still no response. \u201cThere were several more times we called the Libyans,\u201d Francois emphasizes. \u201cBut still — no answer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With no time to waste, the Viking\u2019s captain makes the call to initiate the rescue without the explicit permission of Libyan authorities. \u201cIt\u2019s a risk assessment,\u201d Francois says. \u201cIf we don\u2019t do the job, and we wait for the Libyan Coast Guard, the people in distress will die. They will drown.\u201d It\u2019s an easy choice.<\/span><\/p>\n

At 7:15 a.m., the Viking\u2019s crew deploys the rescue boats. Responders spring into action, carefully handing out life jackets and urging the raft\u2019s inhabitants to remain still. With many migrants unable to swim, any sudden move could tip the boat and complicate the rescue.<\/span><\/p>\n

One by one, crew members lift the most vulnerable off the floundering raft: four children under the age of five, followed by four pregnant women, and finally, 39 minors. In total, 95 survivors are pulled from the inflatable dinghy.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With no loss of life, the rescue is a major success.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But before there\u2019s even a moment to pause, the Viking gets word of another boat in distress. In the following 48 hours, the Viking completes two more rescue operations. In just three days, the ship\u2019s crew pull a total of 215 people out of the Mediterranean.<\/span><\/p>\n

Crew from the Ocean Viking prepare to rescue 95 people from a rubber boat in distress. <\/span>Source: SOS Mediterranee.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"Crew

Crew from the Ocean Viking prepare to rescue 95 people from a rubber boat in distress. Source: SOS Mediterranee.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018World\u2019s Deadliest Sea Crossing\u2019<\/b><\/h5>\n

Despite these rescue efforts, the death toll continues to mount for migrants fleeing Libya. Just days before the November 19 rescue, the Viking discovered a deflated raft floating 35 miles off of Libya\u2019s coast. There were no survivors.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a real drama, in fact,\u201d Francois says somberly. \u201cThere are less fatalities this year compared to last year,\u201d he cautions, \u201cbut the percentage of fatalities is higher compared to their arrival.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, six refugees died every day trying to reach Europe — making this 300-mile stretch between Libya and Italy the deadliest migrant route in the world. This year, the IOM estimates that <\/span>1,235 migrants<\/span><\/a> have already drowned in the Mediterranean.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Making the crossing more dangerous today is the new reality that European Coast Guard vessels no longer conduct search-and-rescue missions, as part of a 2017 deal reached between the European Union and Libya. The arrangement provides that Italy and the E.U. pay $100 hundred million euros to finance the Libyan Coast Guard, in exchange for Libya tightening up its borders. It also specifies that Libyan authorities must return all rescued migrants to Libya, to newly established detention centers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Human rights groups have widely criticized the agreement as inhumane. <\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

In a letter to the Italian government last month, 21 international organizations <\/span>wrote<\/span><\/a> that “Italy and the entire European Union must be aware that they are implementing collective rejections of people fleeing war and persecution and that they are also financing the concentration camp system in Libya. All this recalls the most horrible pages of the history of the 20th century.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hajer Sharief, a prominent human rights activist in Libya and U.N.-appointed expert on youth, peace, and security calls the approach hypocritical. \u201cI find it extremely ironic that most, if not all of the European countries, advise their citizens not to travel to Libya because of the security situation,\u201d she tells me. \u201cYet when it comes to migration, they claim that it is safe enough to be treated as a host country; safe enough to have detention centers with migrants residing there,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

9:34 a.m.<\/span><\/i> Just as the Viking completes its rescue mission, Francois says the Libyan Coast Guard initiated communication and arrived on site. \u201cThey asked us to disembark the rescued people in Libya \u2013 in Tripoli or another Libyan port. But of course, we tell them no,\u201d he says in frustration. \u201cBecause Libya is not considered a safe place — this is recognized by the United Nations, UNHCR, E.U., and so on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The resulting system of search-and-rescue has thus proven chaotic, with the Libyan Coast Guard often contesting rescues with vessels such as Ocean Viking, which refuses to return migrants and refugees to any Libyan port.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a<\/span> written <\/span>statement<\/span><\/a> just after the rescue, Nicholas Romaniuk — the Humanitarian Coordinator onboard the Ocean Viking — highlighted the gravity of circumstances today. \u201cThe situation in the Central Mediterranean, from my experience, is as worse as it has ever been over the last couple years. There is no coordination. There seems to be a complete disregard for potential loss of life regarding people fleeing Libya by boat.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The different approaches to rescue efforts have led to the growing rift between humanitarian organizations such as SOS Mediterranee and the Libyan Coast Guard. Yet it is the refugees and migrants who suffer the most. They face an impossible choice of risking their lives, and often their life savings, in a perilous journey across the sea — or risking their lives by staying in a conflict-ridden Libya. As the number of migrants arriving in Europe continues to plummet, the reality is grim: more migrants are stuck in an unsafe Libya, and more migrants are perishing at sea.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the Mediterranean Sea?\u201d Francois asks. He pauses before continuing. \u201cFor many Europeans, it is a place of vacation, of holiday,\u201d he says. \u201cBut actually, it is a real drama.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For the thousands of migrants and refugees still stuck in Libya, the sea is the last obstacle preventing them from the safety and hope of a new life in Europe. With fighting in Tripoli intensifying to its worst level in years, migrants are increasingly desperate to flee. Despite Libya\u2019s new border policies, the flow of migrants isn\u2019t expected to stop any time soon. IOM estimates that there are as many as one million refugees and migrants still in Libya today \u2014 many of whom are unaccounted for.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Annabella is one of those waiting to leave. She fled from Edo State in Nigeria in 2017 amidst poverty and violence, and has been stuck in Libya since she lost her passport. Without a legal identity, she lives in a Tripoli apartment with several other Nigerian migrants, eager to leave behind the violence and uncertainty of Libya. She has friends that have crossed into Italy, and she plans to join them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the weather is good, we will go,\u201d she tells me. She\u2019s saved enough money cleaning houses to afford the smugglers fee.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While she is aware of the risks, Annabella is desperate to leave Libya. \u201cI have no other way,\u201d she tells me over the phone. Without a passport, she cannot return to Nigeria without paying hefty fees. \u201cIt\u2019s dangerous, I know,\u201d she recognizes. \u201cBut I don\u2019t have another way.\u201d<\/span>