Mediterranea Saving Humans

Mediterranea Saving Humans APS is a "civil society platform" making connections between existing networks and individuals and a "non governmental project".[1] Though it is similar to the many NGOs operating in the Mediterranean it is not actually an NGO, it brings together heterogeneous organizations and individuals, secular and religious, social and cultural, unions and political, who have decided to take a stand against the deaths and the human rights violations committed daily in the Mediterranean Sea. It was founded in 2018 to keep watch of the situation in the Mediterrean sea and to save lives in difficulty after the majority of other NGOs were not able to act due the legal obstacles created by the Italian authorities.[2][3][4] The group coordinates the search and rescue operations of the ships Mare Jonio and Alex which sail under the Italian flag. The project also has the support of the German association Sea-Watch and the Spanish Proactiva Open Arms.[5]

Mediterranea Saving Humans APS
Formation4th October 2018
Founded atBologna (Italy)
TypeCivil society reality platform
PurposeMonitoring and possible aid to those who risk dying in the Central Mediterranean
Websitehttps://mediterranearescue.org

Operations

May 2019

On the 9 of May 2019, the Mare Jonio and the Italian Coast Guard saved almost 66 people near the Libyan coast. Their boat had capsized in the sea and the Mare Jonio ship welcomed 30 people on board. The minister of the interior announced that neither ship had the permission to make the people land, but later they were authorized.[6] The ship headed north, where it encountered the Italian authorities and was taken to Lampedusa. By order of the Internal ministry, on the night of the 10th the ship was seized and the crew were accused of aiding and abetting illegal immigration.[7] [8]The activists claimed a research, but refuted a seizure.[9] On the 13th of May the Attorney general of Agrigento rejected the preventive seizure for lack of evidence.[10]

July 2019

On the 5th of July 2019, the ship Alex, a yacht with a sail which had initially just been tasked with accompanying the Mare Jonio, reached the waters off the coast of Lampedusa with fifty four people on board, picked up the previous day.[11] As had happened previously with Sea-Watch 3, the authorities initially refused the request to enter.[12] The Italian government refused to accept people in Lampedusa and referenced Malta, some 100km away, as an alternative. The spokesperson for the organisation, Alessandra Sciurba, declared the journey to be too long and impossible for the passengers on July 6th, 2019.[13][14][15] In the afternoon of July 6th, 2019, the captain Tommaso Stella entered the port of Lampedusa without permission.[16][17][18][19] The ship was overloaded more than three times the amount agreed upon by the eleven members of the crew. From a maritime point of view, therefore, refusal was not an option.

August-September 2019

On the 28th of August the rescue ship Mare Jonio saved approximately 100 people from a refugee ship that was sinking. According to the survivors, 6 people, including children, had previously drowned.[20] The Italian coast guard brought children and women on land in Lampedusa. Mare Jonio was forbidden from allowing the remaining 34 rescued people to reach land in an Italian port because the operators would have not respected the laws and caused an emergency situation.[21] The authorisation to land «for health reasons» came from the captaincy of the port on the 2nd of September, following a storm and a hunger strike that the migrants had started. [22][23] The ship was subsequently confiscated until February 2020, when the jury accepted Mediterranea's appeal, immediately releasing the ship from seizure.[24]

June-July 2020

Halfway through March 2020 the organisation announced that its two ships, Mare Jonio and Alex would suspend their navigation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[25] Navigation resumed in the month of June.[26] On the 19th there was the recovery of sixty people, who were able to land at Pozzallo without facing particular obstacles.[27] On the 29th another forty-three people were rescued, and in subsequent days reached the shores of Augusta, Sicily.[28] Since some of them had resulted positive for the Covid-19 virus, the crew observed the mandatory quarantine, which ended without repercussions on the 15th of July .[29]

Supporters

Mediterranea is supported with contributions and support from associations like ARCI and Ya Basta Bologna, NGOs like Sea-Watch, social enterprises and individuals. The project was made possible with a loan from an Italian ethical bank, Banca Etica, and a crowdfunding campaign with over 3000 supporters which raised over 1 million euros[30] When Mare Jonio was stopped and fined in May 2019, in less than 2 days they received the 65,000 euros needed to pay the fine through crowdfunding. [31]

Pope Francis has publicly expressed support for the work of Mediterranea and their rescue mission. In December 2019 he received a cross with the life jacket that had been found floating in the sea. He had it placed at one of the entrances to the Apostolic Palace and wrote “I have decided to display this life-vest, 'crucified' on this cross, to remind us to keep our eyes open, to keep our hearts open, to remind everyone of the obligatory duty to save each human life. It is a moral responsibility that unites believers and non-believers.”[32]

A live event was organized on Facebook in December 2020 for Giving Tuesday to collect donations for Mediterranea Saving Humans’ mission at sea. Many guests attended the event including Don Luigi Ciotti, Roy Paci, Fiorella Mannoia.

See also


References
  1. "Mediterranea". Mediterranea Saving Humans. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  2. "The prosecutor's case against the rescue ship Open Arms ⁄ Open Migration". Open Migration. 2018-03-29. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  3. "Italy: Migrant Rescue Ship Impounded". Human Rights Watch. 2018-03-19. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  4. "Italy seizes refugee rescue ship accused of 'aiding illegal immigration'". The Independent. 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  5. "Aktuelle Mission / Partner: Mediterranea / Mare Jonio". Sea-Watch (in German). Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  6. "Flüchtlinge gerettet - Salvini verärgert (Rifugiati salvati - Salvini sconvolto)". Tagesschau (German TV series) (in German). 10 May 2019. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  7. "Nuova strage di migranti. Sequestrata la Mare Jonio. Sarebbero partiti dalla Libia, 16 i sopravvissuti". ANSA. 11 May 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  8. "NGO-run ship Mare Jonio seized after migrant rescue - English". ANSA.it. 2019-05-10. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  9. Fabio Albanese (10 May 2019). "Le due navi che hanno salvato i migranti sono arrivate in Italia. La Mare Jonio sequestrata". La Stampa. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  10. "Non convalidato il sequestro preventivo della nave Mare Jonio". Lettera43. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  11. "NGO-Schiff rettet 54 Migranten in libyschen Gewässern (ONG-Schiff salva 54 migranti nelle acque libiche)". stol.it Nachrichten für Südtirol (in German). 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  12. "Deutsches Rettungsschiff "Alan Kurdi" nimmt 65 Migranten an Bord (La nave di soccorso tedesca "Alan Kurdi" prende a bordo 65 migranti)". Die Welt (in German). 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  13. "Alex, Lampedusa porto chiuso. Il Viminale incastra così la Ong: "Vi aiutiamo, a una condizione"". Libero (newspaper). 5 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  14. Marco Mensurati; Alessandra Ziniti (6 July 2019). "La nave Alex attraccata a Lampusa, migranti a terra nella notte. La Finanza sequestra la nave". la Repubblica. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  15. "Mediterranea on Alex case: "in these conditions sailing to Malta would seriously endanger health and safety of people on board. Lampedusa is the only possible place of safety."". Mediterranea. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  16. "La nave Alex attraccata a Lampusa, migranti a terra nella notte. La Finanza sequestra la nave". la Repubblica. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  17. "Trotz Salvini-Verbot: Italienisches Rettungsschiff setzt Kurs auf Lampedusa (Nonostante il divieto di Salvini: la nave di soccorso italiana fa rotta per Lampedusa)". FOCUS Online (in German). 6 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  18. "Rettungsschiff trotzt Salvini. "Alex" auf Lampedusa angekommen (La nave di soccorso sfida Salvini. "Alex" sulla strada per Lampedusa)". ZDF (in German). 6 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  19. Oliver Meiler (7 July 2019). "Skipper «Tommy», die italienische Antwort auf Carola Rackete (Skipper «Tommy», la risposta italiana a Carola Rackete)". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  20. "Migrants, babies rescued at sea as survivors say six drowned (Migranti, i bambini salvati in mare mentre i sopravvissuti dicono che sei annegati)". News24. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  21. "Italy disembarks some migrants from rescue ship Mare Jonio but won't lift ban (L'Italia sbarca alcuni migranti dalla nave di salvataggio Mare Jonio ma non revoca il divieto)". CNA. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  22. Antonella Salini (2 September 2019). "Mare Jonio, finisce l'incubo: "La Guardia costiera ci fa sbarcare per motivi sanitari"". Agenzia DIRE. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  23. Nello Scavo (2 September 2019). "Nave Mare Jonio. Sciopero della fame e della sete. Inviato report sanitario in Procura". Avvenire. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  24. "Mediterranea esulta: "Tribunale ordina il dissequestro della nave Mare Jonio"". Agenzia DIRE. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  25. Alessandra Benignetti (18 March 2020). "Migranti, Ong annunciano stop alle missioni: "Ce lo impone la pandemia"". il journal. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  26. Andrea Gagliardi (12 June 2020). "Tornano in mare le navi delle Ong, sbarchi in aumento già ad aprile e maggio. La Mare Jonio e la Sea Watch 3 si trovano nell'area di ricerca e soccorso davanti alla Libia. A maggio e aprile sbarchi raddoppiati rispetto allo stesso mese del 2019". Il Sole 24 Ore. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  27. Fabio Albanese (20 June 2020). "Migranti, a Pozzallo i 67 salvati dalla Mare Jonio. Resta senza "porto sicuro" la Sea Watch 3 che naviga al largo della Sicilia". La Stampa. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  28. Alessandro Puglia (29 June 2020). "Mediterranea salva 43 naufraghi, ma il bimbo nato nel naufragio è ancora in Libia". Vita. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  29. Patrizia Caiffa (15 July 2020). "Migranti: Mediterranea, conclusa la quarantena della nave Mare Jonio. "Pandemia non sia scusa per non soccorrere"". Servizio Informazione Religiosa| AgenSIR. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  30. "Mediterranea Saving Humans". Produzioni dal Basso. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  31. "Mediterranea: i sostenitori pagano la multa. Il crowdfunding continua per tornare in mare". DINAMOpress (in Italian). 2019-07-10. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  32. "Pope to NGOs helping refugees at sea: "I am always available. Count on me" | ROME REPORTS". www.romereports.com. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
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