AP PHOTOS: Migrants evade Libyan Coast Guard to reach Europe
By BRUNO THEVENIN and RENATA BRITO
ABOARD THE OPEN ARMS (AP) – The February storm is relentless, shaking the ship of the humanitarian rescuers violently as they try to revive a faulty engine and rescue African migrants drifting in the Mediterranean after entering Libya. had fled on non-seaworthy boats.
In addition to braving 70 km / h winds and 4-meter waves, they must also win the race against the Libyan Coast Guard, which has been trained and equipped by Europe to keep migrants away from the coasts.
In recent days, the Libyans had already thwarted eight rescue attempts by the Open Arms, a Spanish NGO vessel that harassed and threatened its crew in the international waters of the central Mediterranean, where 160 people have died so far this year.
The latest tragedy occurred on February 20, when a dinghy carrying 120 people began to take up water and waited hours for a commercial ship to arrive in the area to assist. Forty-one people drowned, including three children and four women, the UN migration agency, the International Organization for Migration, said.
Those rescued at sea are not necessarily safe. From January 1 to February 22, nearly 3,600 people, including dozens of women and children, were intercepted and forcibly returned to Libya, according to IOM.
There they are placed in filthy detention centers and are victims of ill-treatment, torture, extortion and rape.
About 2,530 people have come to Europe after leaving Libya this year.
Among them is 3-month-old Moise, whose plump cheeks barely protrude beneath the oversized life jacket rescuers had fastened around him when they brought the baby and his Cameroonian mother to safety on board the Open Arms rescue ship.
A day later, rescue workers plucked 5-year-old Timi from a dinghy under the intimidating gaze of the Libyan coast guard a few yards away. She and her mother had embarked on the risky route to Europe through the Libyan desert six months ago to flee female genital mutilation in their native Ivory Coast, where the practice affects 55% of young girls, according to UNICEF.
Despite nausea and vomiting caused by the rough seas, the prospects of a safer future in Europe, along with warm blankets, helped Timi fall asleep on the overcrowded deck of the Open Arms ship.
It would take three more days of stormy navigation for the 146 people rescued by the group on their 80th mission in the Central Mediterranean to reach a safe haven in Sicily.
But before they can even embark on the challenging process of starting a new life on European soil, they must board yet another ship and undergo a 14-day quarantine, a preventive measure imposed by the Italian government. to stop the spread of COVID-19. pandemic. Until then, they can only dream of a better life.
___ Renata Brito reported from Barcelona, Spain.
Follow AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration