Disembarkation operations at the port of Civitavecchia for the 156 people rescued from distress at sea by Emergency’s Life Support Ship on February 16 have been completed.
The castaways come from Egypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Gambia, Chad, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Guinea Konakri. Among them are two women (including a mother of three children between the ages of 7 and 10) and 28 unaccompanied minors.
Many shipwrecked people have told rescuers it was them arbitrarily detained in Libya, where they suffered violence. “Today is the first day of my life – comments Iusef, one of the rescued men, who bears on his body the marks of the violence suffered in Libya -. I didn’t want to spend my life as a soldier and go to war, so I left my country after high school. My younger brother decided to go with me but unfortunately we were divided in Libya and now I have no idea where he is.”
Among the unaccompanied minors present also on board Keda, who says he “only traveled two years”. “I knew that there was no one to help me and that I was the only one who took care of me. I often thought of my parents who stayed in Nigeria. Now I feel a great responsibility, my family made a lot of sacrifices to get me here and now I will do the same for them,” he added.
The emergency ship arrived in Civitavecchia with 156 migrants
The NGO: We will leave Civitavecchia for another mission
“We draw your attention to the fact that at the moment there is no civil society ship that can help troubled boats of migrants fleeing wars in the Mediterranean. We are already preparing the next mission, we will leave Civitavecchia on Wednesday to head towards the area international waters opposite Libya”. Thus explains the operations manager of the rescue ship Life Support, Manuele Nannini, who explains: “The landing operations in Civitavecchia are going well “There is excellent cooperation between Emergency and the local authorities. The 156 shipwrecked people are all well, including three children and around thirty unaccompanied minors. Those who needed medical attention were treated by our doctors and luckily had we do not have serious cases. Unfortunately, however, many of them have suffered the marks of torture and suffering in Libya. I remember the story of a boy whose jaw was completely crushed in the Libyan prison camps, who does not speak well and above all cannot eat, the pain of the last years in Libya and the reason why they decided to flee. .
Seizure of the ship Iuventa, the crew files a complaint
The crew of the Iuventa filed a complaint with the Trapani Public Prosecutor’s Office to “open an investigation into the abandonment and deterioration of the rescue ship impounded in the summer of 2017”. “The crew rescued more than 14,000 migrants at risk. Today “After almost 5 years of compulsory confinement in the port authority of Trapani, the Iuventa lies abandoned, looted and largely destroyed. At the moment it is in danger of sinking, which poses a real threat to the environment,” says a statement from the crew.
“The report, which followed the technical inspection carried out in October 2022, commissioned by the shipowners and approved by the Trapani Municipality, states that “on board it is established that from the date of seizure the ship was in a state of “is in total abandonment” because “no ordinary or extraordinary maintenance work has been carried out”. According to the report submitted, there is a risk that essential parts of the ship are no longer operational, while others have been stolen,” it continues. Following these investigations, last December the investigating magistrate of Trapani ordered the repair and maintenance of the Iuventa ship. According to Nicola Canestrini, Iuventa’s lawyer: “Failure to take custody is a punishable offense under Italian law. We await an in-depth investigation to determine whether and who has failed in their duty to maintain the proper functioning of the rescue ship seized by the authorities, now in a state of utter desolation.
Six more landings with 296 people on Lampedusa
During the night 296 migrants landed on Lampedusa where 5 of the 6 small boats were rescued by the Captaincy and Frontex patrol boats. Instead, ninety immigrants landed autonomously at the Mole Madonnina, where they were stopped by the soldiers of the Lieutenancy’s financial police. Yesterday, 845 migrants arrived in Lampedusa in 17 boats, almost as if it were summer. At the hotspot in the Contrada Imbriacola they are available at the moment There are not even 400 places available for 2,871 people.
Another 600 migrants, guests of the Lampedusa hotpot, will leave the island later in the day. The prefecture of Agrigento ordered the transfer after 1,041 non-EU citizens were transferred yesterday. The Diciotti ship will dock in Cala Pisana on Lampedusa and will embark 600 people by evening to be taken to Reggio Calabria. The aim is to lighten the very first reception structure, which this morning hosted 2,871 people versus 400 places.
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