Sea Rescuers Complain: “Meloni Uses Human Lives as Leverage” Netanyahu Clearly Wins Election in Israel – Lapid Congratulates

“We are running out of time,” said Caroline Abu Sa’Da, director of the organization SOS Méditerranée. Your words are haunting. She is concerned about the health of the refugees and the safety of her crew. “The psychological stress could quickly become so great that the situation on board gets out of hand,” said the Geneva resident.

Two weeks earlier: The rescue ship Ocean Viking was at sea in the Mediterranean for three days when far-right Giorgia Meloni was sworn in as Italy’s new prime minister on October 22.

Two days later, the new Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi announced that Italian ports would henceforth be closed to private rescue ships. “We cannot accept those migrants who are taken on board by foreign ships at sea,” he told the Corriere della Sera.

“We’ve never seen anything like it”

SOS Méditerranée only learned of this through the press. On October 26, the Ocean Viking made two more rescues, with 234 people on board now. Of these, 60 are minors, most of them unaccompanied. “The rescued are completely exhausted and mentally damaged. Some of them need immediate medical attention,” said Abu Sa’Da.

The first rescued have been on board for almost two weeks. “We’ve never experienced that. It was also difficult under Salvini or Draghi, yes. We had to report four or five times before we could coordinate the disembarkation.” However, since Meloni came to power, they have simply been ignored. The shipping authorities have been contacted twelve times. In vain. It has also been tried in Malta. But the Maltese have completely ignored rescue ships for more than three years.

«Italy violates the law of the sea»

There are currently two other private rescue vessels in the Central Mediterranean, the “Humanity 1” and the “Geo Barents”. In total, nearly a thousand rescued people are waiting for a safe harbor.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi accuses NGOs of failing to cooperate with authorities. In addition, those countries must take care of the rescue, under whose flag the relevant rescue ships were operating. The Ocean Viking sails under the Norwegian flag.

The director of SOS Méditerranée firmly rejects the allegations. «Since our inception, we rely on collaboration and total transparency». In this way, all movements of the ship could be followed live online. The Ocean Viking would also never have invaded any state’s territorial waters without permission.

The coordination of a rescue at sea is also the responsibility of the state closest to the people in need. “Italy’s failure to assume this responsibility violates international maritime law.”

The well-known publicist Roger de Weck also criticizes the behavior of the Italian authorities in the strongest possible terms. The former director-general of SRG has been a member of the board of SOS Méditerranée since last year. “It has been a tradition since ancient times and today it is a requirement of human and maritime law that castaways are rescued and treated humanely.” If there are people in distress on board, they must be released ashore. Anything else would be a blatant contradiction to the law of the sea.

human life as leverage

But what does Italy want to achieve with radio silence? Caroline Abu Sa’Da has already formed an opinion about this: “The Italian government wants to put pressure on other European countries. She wants to breathe new life into the discussion about the distribution of refugees.” This has been silent for three years.

Abu Sa’Da would also welcome this discussion, as Italy is suffering disproportionately from the influx of refugees in the Mediterranean. “But using human lives as a medium of exchange is both inhumane and against the law.”

Captain should declare a state of emergency

The Ocean Viking doesn’t have much time to find a safe haven. There is still food on board for 10 days. Then you must have found something at the latest, says Abu Sa’Da. It would be better sooner, because the situation on board is tense.

If no country cooperates, “the captain of the Ocean Viking will have to declare a state of emergency. This will allow us to enter and dock in Italian territorial waters without permission.” But nobody wants that. The crew would risk arrest. “That would mean hundreds of other people would drown.”