47 Rescued People Disembark in Livorno

Today, Sunday 30 June, EMERGENCY's search and rescue ship Life Support completed the disembarkation of 47 people, who were rescued in the central Mediterranean, in the port of Livorno at 11.30 a.m.

The rescue took place on Wednesday 26 June in international waters, in the Libyan SAR zone. Among those rescued were three women and five unaccompanied children. This was the fourth time that Life Support had been assigned the port of Livorno for disembarkation since it first began maritime search and rescue operations in December 2022.

"After three and a half days of sailing, we have arrived in the port of Livorno where disembarkation operations have just been completed thanks to the full cooperation of the local authorities," commented Carlo Maisano, Life Support Head of Mission. "We are starting to prepare the ship once again for a new mission in the central Mediterranean, where Life Support will continue to carry out search and rescue activities to save lives and bring people to place of safety."

The boat in distress had departed from Zwara, Libya, and was spotted from Life Support's bridge following a report from Frontex's Sparrow 4 aircraft.

While en route to Livorno, Life Support received several reports of other boats in distress from Alarm Phone, Frontex's Sparrow 3 aircraft and via VHF channel 16. Despite Life Support's willingness to intervene, no authorisation was provided by the Italian MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre). Life Support therefore had to proceed directly to the port and was unable to investigate the reports, some of which were very close to the ship itself - including one about 10 miles away.

The countries of origin of the 47 rescued people are Bangladesh, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Libya, Nigeria, South Sudan and Sudan. These include countries that are impacted by armed conflict, political instability and corruption, climate change, and persecution for religious affiliation or sexual orientation.

"I am from South Sudan, but since 2011 I left to escape the conflicts in my country," says a 22-year-old man on board. "My family and I first went to a refugee camp in Kenya, then to one in Uganda and finally in 2017 we went to Sudan, to Khartoum. They were very difficult years, without stability or security, and I always felt estranged from the situation around me. In Khartoum, we lived in the Mayo camp, where I remember EMERGENCY had a hospital for children. Luckily I never had to go there, but I have friends who were treated there. In 2020, I decided to go to Libya to try to reach Europe, I could see no opportunity for me in Khartoum."

However, his family remained in Khartoum, where war broke out more than a year ago and has since led to the highest number of internally displaced people in the world. Despite the many difficulties caused by the conflict, EMERGENCY - present in Sudan since 2003 - continues to provide free medical care in the country with hospitals, clinics and paediatric.

"From Sudan to Libya was a difficult and dangerous journey, especially in the desert area in between where many people travelling with me lost their lives," the man continues. "In Libya, the situation for sub-Saharan people is really difficult, I didn't know how much racial discrimination there was in that country, but I realised it very soon. It was a really long four years, also because I spent most of that time in prison. The most difficult time was when I was in prison for five months and I fell ill. I couldn't stand up for weeks, I thought I was going to die. I hope that in Europe, I and all the people who were rescued with me will be treated with respect. That we will have the chance to create a new life for ourselves far from conflict and injustice."

"I am from Bangladesh, but I could not support my family and so, being the eldest of my brothers, I had to leave. My mother has health problems and we need money to pay her medical expenses," says M., another 22-year-old man on board. "I arrived in Libya in February, I was brought near Benghazi where for three months I remained with 25 other people in a house with two rooms and one bathroom. We could not go out, we could not even see the sunlight. Outside the house there were always two people with AK-47s on guard. Once a day, they gave us bread and some water. Then, last Monday, they told us we had to leave. Around midnight they let us out and took us to the beach where there was a dinghy waiting for us. It didn't look safe but we had no choice. After a few hours of sailing we were lost in the middle of the sea until we saw a plane: after two hours you arrived. I want to reach Europe because I hope to find a job that will allow me to send money home and support my mother's medical treatment."

"I left Lagos, Nigeria, in 2016 because my family could no longer support me," says L., a 28-year-old woman rescued by Life Support. "I went first to Niger and then to Libya, where I spent eight years of my life. I thought the situation in Lagos was difficult, but life in Libya is much worse. Deciding to go there was the worst decision of my life. I worked in the house of a Libyan family for about two years: they treated me like a slave. One day my landlady told me to get in the car and took me to the police station. I was owed a couple of months of my salary and she didn't want to pay me, so she accused me of stealing in her house and they arrested me straight away: in a place like that, where a black person has no rights, it is impossible to defend yourself against accusations from a Libyan. And I don't speak any Arabic. I was in prison for four years. I got out about two years ago and started working again, but I had already realised for a long time that I couldn't stay in a place like that. So as soon as I earned the money to try to cross the sea, I did. I hope therewill be a future for me in Europe, a future I could not have in a country like Nigeria or Libya."

This was the 31st rescue carried out by Life Support in 20 different missions. Since beginning search and rescue activities in December 2022, Life Support has rescued 1,678 people.

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