The Humanity 1 ship of the NGO ‘Sos Humanity’ arrived in the port of Catania with 179 migrants on board, escorted by a Coast Guard patrol boat. Under the new decree, an inspection by the Italian authorities is scheduled to identify and disembark the most fragile people, women and children. At the port of Catania, in addition to the police and Coast Guard personnel, also ambulances, volunteers from the Civil Protection and two urban buses arrived in the evening, probably destined to be used for the transport of disembarked people.
Aboubakar Soumahoro, a member of the Chamber of Deputies elected on the Italian Left and Greens list, also arrived at the port of Catania, who in the afternoon posted a video on Facebook to testify that he was there because as a “human being, as a citizen, as a deputy and as a servant of the state because we cannot keep human beings, fragile people and children with the aim of carrying out a desperate propaganda, identity, political and ideological campaign on the body of human beings “.
“The decree of the Italian Interior Minister is illegal. Rejecting refugees at the Italian border violates the Geneva Convention and international law. All 179 people rescued at sea aboard Humanity 1, as well as aboard the civilian rescue boats Ocean Viking, Geo Barents and Rise Above, are in need of protection. Italy is obliged to let all survivors go ashore immediately. ”Mirka Schäfer, from the legal office of Sos Humanity, told Adnkronos before the ship landed.
The NGO announced that on Friday evening the captain of Humanity 1 – who was allowed by the Italian authorities to enter territorial waters to shelter from bad weather – received a letter signed by the Italian interior ministers Matteo Piantedosi, of Defense Guido Crosetto and of Infrastructure and Mobility Matteo Salvini. “The decree – the NGO says – prohibits a Humanity 1 to remain in Italian territorial waters longer than necessary to ensure rescue and assistance operations for people in emergency conditions and in precarious health conditions. The decree indicates that particular vulnerable persons will be identified and only a selection of survivors will be brought ashore by the ship anchored outside the port ‘. An undoubtedly illegal decree “.
“All 179 – underline Adnkronos by the NGO – are people rescued at sea who, according to international law, must be brought ashore to a safe place without delay. The survivors fled Libya, where they were exposed to violations of human rights. As refugees, they are clearly in a vulnerable state, some of them visibly traumatized. They must be able to go ashore immediately, where they can be guaranteed medical and psychological treatment and will be able to exercise the right to seek international protection. It would be inadmissible – they conclude – according to international law and from a humanitarian point of view, disembark only a selection of survivors “.
On board “hot meals still only for three days,” says Joachim, captain of the ship. Among the rescued migrants, over 100 unaccompanied minors and a seven-month-old baby. “As captain – he tells Adnkronos – I am responsible for the safety of all the people on board. After about two weeks on deck, with these weather conditions and above all with the story of the survivors, all these people need protection. food on board: two hot meals can only be provided for another three days. We urgently need to disembark in a safe place. It is their right and I will fight for it. ”
The deterioration of the weather does not help the living conditions on the ship. The migrants are on the bridge which is only partially protected by a tarpaulin. “They are in the cold – say the NGO – and during the night they got wet with the storm. We ask the European states, as well as civil society, to act immediately and not to remain inert to accept this injustice”.
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