MIGRANTS THE LIBYAN CONNECTION While migrants and refugees drown in the Mediterranean, 630,000 more remain stranded in wartorn Libya. How should Europe deal with this tragedy on its shores? by Sorrel Downer Moonbird, a plane operated by the German Search and Rescue NGO Sea-Watch, is on a reconnaissance mission, flying 15,000 feet over the Mediterranean. Using binoculars, the flight crew spot a small, white inflatable, drifting in the vast blue expanse of international waters north of Libya. It is 1.18pm on 28 October. As the plane t t flies closer, the crew count 15 people onboard I I including children and babies. The adults on cred on cred I I wave for help. Moonbird contacts their Air Fifteen men, women Liaison Officer (ALO) back at base who sends and children are spotted by the Moonbird a distress call to coastguards and all boats in search-and-rescue plane the area. An offshore tug, VOS Aphrodite, Photo/Illustrat Photo/Illustrat in the sea north of Libya. 2 reader's digest 04.2020 02.2020 reader's digest 3 is just a few miles away. It is called has picked up the distress call. A boat support from authorities and govern- fewer people attempted the crossing repeatedly, but the ship sails on. The crewed by the Spanish NGO Proactiva ments. Sea-Watch condemns but one in 14 died, and the rate, in the ALO contacts the Libyan Coast Guard, Open Arms has just delivered 45 “merchant ships who refuse any first four months of last year, reached asking if they are responding to the people it has rescued from another communication with our reconnais- one in three. distress call. The voice at the other boat. But the Open Arms rescue vessel sance aircraft Moonbird and official For all those rescued at sea, the end is crackly, but the message is and its 17-strong team are in Malta, maritime rescue coordination centres ordeal is by no means over. European clear: “Not today… bad weather. Our some 18 hours away. who value formal responsibilities countries around the Mediterranean coastguard ships are fibre. Not OK in Undeterred, they decide to help. more than human lives.” remain reluctant to let them land, bad weather.” Open Arms sails through the night in And Oscar Camps, the Proactiva disagreeing on how to share the “You’re saying the coastguard is not worsening weather. Captain Ricardo going out because of bad weather?” Sandoval and his team are desperately the ALO asks in disbelief. There is a concerned for the safety of those in the THE INFLATABLE IS CLOSE TO SINKING, BUT THE pause, and then a reply: “Yes.” inflatable. But at 10 the next morning, RESCUERS ARRIVE IN TIME TO SAVE ITS OCCUPANTS. they get an update from Moonbird, Two hours pass. Moonbird checks on which is back in the air. After more the boat every 20 minutes, but the than two hours of searching, it has Open Arms founder who was Reader’s burden of resettlement. They persist plane is running low on fuel, and is spotted the inflatable. It is still afloat. Digest’s European of the Year in 2019, in obstructing humanitarian organisa- forced to return to base. All is not lost, Many hours later, Open Arms condemns the inaction of the Libyan tions that save those at sea from however. Another rescue organisation locates the craft. It is half-deflated and Coast Guard. “Libya is not a safe drowning and bring them ashore. close to sinking, but the place, and if its coastguards don’t go Oscar Camps was blocked from Baby Menissa and rescuers are in time to save out to rescue lives in danger if there is entering ports in four European her mother, saved the eight adults and seven bad weather, they should no longer be nations last year—Spain, Malta, from drowning. children onboard. There are called coastguards,” he says. Greece and Italy. On one occasion, he two babies—a girl called was stranded at sea for three weeks Menissa and a boy, Wasim, More people in the world are on the with 98 migrants and refugees onboard his page: proactivaopenarms.org who will celebrate his first t move than ever before, driven by from three separate boats from Libya. birthday the next day. armed conflict, lack of opportunity, “It was a very difficult year. We wasted At 3.15pm Open Arms poverty and climate change. UNICEF seven months,” he says. sends a message back to estimates there are currently 636,000 Other Search and Rescue NGOs have base: “All saved.” The rescued ea-watch.org; migrants and refugees in Libya, of been prosecuted or had boats seized or s migrants and refugees—from whom 44,500 are children—around a deflagged. Médecins Sans Frontières Libya, Morocco and Tuni- quarter unaccompanied by adults. In (MSF) with its partner SOS Méditer- sia—are transferred to a recent years hundreds of thousands, ranée had to stop Search and Rescue Maltese coastguard boat and exploited by traffickers, have risked missions when their boat, Aquarius, taken to dry land on Malta. their lives to make the perilous jour- was stripped of its registration in late ney across the Mediterranean in over- 2018; it was eight months before they 1,249 PEOPLE LEAVING NORTH AFRICA In the aftermath, both Sea- crowded, unsuitable vessels. could set sail with a new boat. FOR EUROPE DIED AT SEA IN 2019. Watch and Proactiva Open In 2017, one in 38 of those trying to Facing political pressure from Arms criticise the lack of opening spread: Julie Bourdin/ reach Europe from Libya died; in 2018 Europe’s southern Mediterranean 4 reader's digest 04.2020 04.2020 reader's digest 5 countries, even the EU’s own Opera- “Their plan is to reduce migration by tion Sophia stopped boat patrols and leaving people to die.” rescuing migrants and refugees last The President of the European year. They were routinely refused Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, entry into European ports, and Italy’s rejects such criticism and offers a far-right deputy prime minister different solution. “In the last five Matteo Salvini went further, threaten- years, more than 17,000 people have ing €1m fines for NGOs attempting to drowned in the Mediterranean,” she land rescued migrants on Italian soil. told the European Parliament last November. “At sea, there is a duty to On 29 June, Carola Rackete, the save lives… But saving alone is not German captain of Sea-Watch 3, enough. We must reduce irregular having waited at sea for 17 days with migration, we must fight smugglers 43 desperate people onboard rescued and traffickers—it is organised crime.” off Libya, declared a state of necessity To that end, she backed a drive to and took the risk of entering the port create Europe’s first uniformed stand- at Lampedusa, colliding with an Ital- alone border security force of 10,000 ian patrol boat while docking. She was officers. But in the same week as it was Libyan Coast arrested and threatened with up to 10 launched, a resolution calling on the Guard commander years in jail. EU to step up Search and Rescue oper- Nasser al Gamudi. Days later she was released by order ations to prevent migrant deaths was of an Italian judge who said the NGO’s defeated in the European Parliament. After widely reported human rights one of six boats provided by Italy for captain was doing her duty to protect Instead of supporting NGOs, the EU abuses, including torture, rape and intercepting migrants and refugees, lives. Rackete called the judge’s deci- continues to encourage Libya to act as human trafficking in Libya, and told the Spanish newspaper El País despite an open letter from Oxfam, last year: “We put our lives in danger. Amnesty International and Save The And nobody gives a damn in Europe.” “THE EUROPEAN UNION’S PLAN IS TO REDUCE Children among others asking the While the Libyan Coast Guard inter- MIGRATION BY LEAVING PEOPLE TO DIE.” Italian government to reconsider its cepted boats carrying 8,965 people provision of boats, but the arrange- last year, many boats evaded them. ment was renewed last November. “Since the NGOs started disappear- sion “a big win for solidarity with all Europe’s border police. Libya’s zone of ing from the Mediterranean, we people on the move including refu- responsibility is now larger than it has Some of the Libyan Coast Guard are frequently receive a rescue alert and gees, migrants and asylum seekers, ever been, creating an NGO no-go not happy with the arrangement arrive too late,” says al Gamudi. “We hotography/spottorno.com and against the criminalisation of area extending 94 nautical miles off p either. The Tripoli Naval Base find boats sinking and people dying… helpers”. She was later awarded the the coast. The armed Libyan Coast commander, Anwar Sherif, protests: At times we have 500 people in front Catalan Parliament Medal of Honour Guard, trained by the EU and on boats “We are not responsible for solving of us, and we can pick up only 300.” pottorno pottorno alongside Oscar Camps. provided by Italy, intercepts migrants s the problems of the Italian govern- And, he adds, none of those rescued “The European Union is responsible at sea and takes them back to the ment—nor any other.” want to be rescued. “It’s the end of arlos arlos for so much cruelty,” Camps says. country they are trying to escape from. c Nasser al Gamudi, commander of their dreams.” He argues that the 6 reader's digest 04.2020 04.2020 reader's digest 7 shores per day was actually “Imagine being locked up and hear- taken that contravened human rights Conditions for migrants higher on days when NGO ing shelling in an area engulfed by and international maritime law,” says in Libyan detention centres are grim.