178 People Rescued by Life Support Disembark in Civitavecchia

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At 14.30 today, Saturday 13 July, 178 people rescued by Life Support disembarked at the port of Civitavecchia. They were rescued during three different operations that took place between dawn and midnight on Wednesday 10 July in international waters. Among them were nine women and 17 minors, 12 of whom were unaccompanied.

The four boats in distress rescued in three different operations had all departed from Libya and were in international waters. Two of them were rescued in the Libyan SAR zone, while the other two in the Maltese SAR zone.

During one of the rescues in the Maltese SAR zone, a Libyan Coast Guard patrol boat also approached.

"Even though it did not intervene during the operations, its presence in international waters, in an area where Malta should be coordinating the rescues and not Libya, is still worrying," comments Anabel Montes Mier, Life Support's Head of Mission.
"In the last few days, two NGOs have witnessed the interference of the Libyan coast guard, which has sometimes been violent. Libya is not a safe place to terminate rescue operations, otherwiseit becomes a refoulement and that is a violation of international law."

The 178 people rescued by Life Support come from Bangladesh, Egypt, Sudan, SouthSudan, Syria, Pakistan, Palestine, Morocco, Eritrea and Iraq, countries affected by war, poverty, economic and political instability, and natural disasters.

"I left Sudan about six months ago and set off for Libya, via Chad," says a 23-year-old Sudanese man. "I fled my country because I did not want to fight. Often those who enlist have no other choice.However, it is a privilege to be able to leave the country as I did, many people do not have the means.I managed to find the money to pay for the trip: first to Chad, then I crossed the desert and arrived in Libya, in Tripoli.There I was hosted by Sudanese friends and spent a few months with them working in construction to earn enough to pay for the journey across the Mediterranean."

"I was born in Syria, but my parents are Palestinians and a large part of my family still lives there," continues a 14-year-old Syrian-Palestinian." I was always afraid in Syria too, there is an ongoing conflict there, even if you don't hear about it anymore. I didn't want to stay in Syria and obviously I couldn't go back to Palestine, so this year I decided I had to leave, I talked about it with my family and we all agreed.I am the eldest of my brothers and I had to look for a way to give my family a better life; I hope I can get them to Europe once I arrive in Germany."

"Among the 178 people that disembarked today in Civitavecchia, is a Syrian boy who attempted the Mediterranean crossing four times. On three occasions, he was rejected and taken back to Libya where he told of living in inhumane conditions and seeing people die because of the conditions in the prisons where he was detained," explains Miriam Bouteraa, cultural mediator on board Life Support. The stories we hear testify that Libya cannot be considered a safe place to conclude search and rescue operations at sea."

Life Support has now completed its 21^st mission. Since it began operations in the Central Mediterranean in December 2022, it has rescued a total of 1,856 people.

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