Italian authorities are planning an inspection aboard the German rescue vessel Humanity 1, which is waiting at a landing port off the coast of Sicily. This is intended to identify those people, including women and children, among the 179 people on board who will be disembarking for humanitarian reasons. The others will have to leave Italian waters, media reported on Saturday evening.
However, according to the NGO SOS Humanity, the measure is “illegitimate” because the people being rescued are refugees “who are in a vulnerable condition, some of whom are visibly traumatized”. “They need medical and psychological care,” emphasizes the aid organization. She is also sounding the alarm about food supplies: “Two hot meals can only be delivered for three days,” reports the NGO.
Ship has been waiting offshore for days
The “Humanity 1″ has been waiting for days for a landing port. The crew contradicted statements by Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi that they had entered Italian seas without permission. “We went into territorial waters to seek shelter from the wind and high waves. But we didn’t do that until we got permission from the authorities in the port of Catania,” SOS Humanity said on Saturday.
Italy’s interior minister, meanwhile, reported an “uprising” aboard Germany’s Mission Lifeline “Rise Above,” which rescued 95 boat migrants in distress in the Mediterranean on Thursday. The ship was on its way to the Sicilian city of Siracusa (Syracuse). Italy is investigating the situation, the minister said. Two people – a man from the Ivory Coast and a woman from Guinea – have since left the Rise Above and were taken to Siracusa by an Italian Coast Guard patrol boat. The couple was admitted to the hospital’s emergency room.
More than 1000 migrants on board
In total, four ships from different NGOs are waiting for Italy with more than 1,000 migrants on board. These include the “Geo Barentsz” of the NGO Doctors Without Borders with 572 people on board. The crew reported that they had visited Italian waters due to bad weather conditions. You have received permission from the Italian authorities, who have not assigned the ship a landing port. Those on board have been waiting for the landing for ten days, the crew complained. The situation is difficult.
Italy’s new right-wing government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni sees the ships’ flag states as an obligation to take in the rescued migrants. The government in Rome is in talks with France, which show that it is prepared to take in some refugees.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
