“Saving all lives, on land and at sea, is possible and it is our duty.” Two days ago, on April 7, the Italian ministries of transport, health, interior, and foreign affairs issued an urgent decree¹ claiming that Italy, due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, would not be able to provide the ‘places of safety’ obligatory…
European Union Member States found something they agree on this morning when Ministers from various migration departments formed a Working Group to discuss the impact of COVID19 on some of Europe’s most vulnerable residents. “We have a longstanding track record of washing our hands of this type of responsibility” commented the Working Group’s spokesperson. She…
Resisting illegal push-backs to Libya is not a crime! One year ago, a rubber boat with over 100 people on board left the coast of Libya to reach safety in Europe. Although they were found and rescued by the merchant vessel El Hiblu 1, its crew was ordered by European authorities to return the rescued…
While the Corona crisis is keeping Europe in suspense, the suffering of those seeking international protection and the humanitarian disaster at Europe’s borders are fading into the background. In Camp Moria on Lesbos alone, designed for a maximum of 3,000 people, over 20,000 people are currently living without adequate access to water, basic hygiene facilities…
The “Poseidon” will soon be saving lives in the Mediterranean In a covert bidding process, the alliance United4Rescue and the sea rescue organisation Sea-Watch were able to purchase the former research vessel “Poseidon”. The hashtag of the alliance #WirSchickenEinSchiff („We send a ship“) is to become reality this spring. Until the end of 2019,…
