72 People Rescued by Life Support Disembark in Livorno

Today, Monday 4 November, 72 people rescued by EMERGENCY's ship Life Support disembarked at the port of Livorno, Italy. The survivors were rescued on 31 October in two separate operations, both in the international waters of the Maltese SAR zone, in the central Mediterranean Sea.

Both boats were reported by the NGO Alarm Phone. After rescuing a boat in distress with 38 people on board, Life Support contacted the authorities and received authorisation to delay its arrival at the assigned Place of Safety (POS) - Livorno - due to reports of a second distress case. Both boats were overcrowded and unsuitable for crossing the Mediterranean.

"After more than three days of navigation, we arrived in Livorno for the disembarkation of the rescued people, an operation that was carried out in cooperation with the local authorities," said Domenico Pugliese, captain of Life Support. "It is disconcerting to know that during these same days, the [Italian] government has decided to go on with the Memorandum of Understanding with Albania and externalisation of borders, without waiting for a ruling from the European Court of Justice. As we prepare for our next mission, we wish all the best to the 72 rescued people, who were finally able to go ashore today."

"During this long voyage to the POS assigned by the authorities, we had the chance to get to know the rescued people and the stories they told us: they have left to escape extremely complex socio-political situations," explains Chiara Picciocchi, Cultural Mediator on board. "For example, a Syrian-Palestinian boy had left Syria to move to Lebanon and then, when the conflict with Israel began, he was forced to return to his country, where his family lived in extreme poverty and he faced compulsory military service. So he made the difficult decision to leave and try to reach Europe via Libya. His goal is simply to have a better life, to be able to help his family and to see his rights respected."

The 72 rescued people include 14 women and 11 children, of whom seven are unaccompanied. Their countries of origin include Bangladesh, Egypt, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine and Syria - countries affected by violence, political instability, poverty and the impacts of the climate crisis.

"I was born in a refugee camp in Syria, after my father had to flee Palestine at the age of 20," says a 26-year-old man. "I feel completely Palestinian, despite having never been there. In this camp, most people were from Palestine, so I grew up managing to maintain a cultural identity with the place where my parents were born. I feel lucky about that. I graduated with a degree in architecture in Syria, but it would have been almost impossible to find a job there as an architect, so after my father and sister died, I decided to leave. I took a flight to Benghazi and from there I went to Misrata. I knew it would be a difficult journey where I could die, but it was the only choice I had. I can't wait to get to Europe and be able to call my mother to let her know everything went well. I hope to join my uncle, who works in Holland, to continue working and do my Master's degree in architecture."

Since December 2022, EMERGENCY's search and rescue ship Life Support has rescued 2,293 people in the central Mediterranean, one of the world's deadliest migration routes. The ship is once again preparing to set sail for the operational area, and to save more lives.