Abandoning ships – turning point in Sicily: migrants are allowed ashore

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After waiting two days in the port of the Italian city of Catania, nearly 250 migrants left the two rescue ships and went ashore. After doctors and psychologists examined the escaped men, they decided on Tuesday evening that they could disembark for health reasons. 35 people left the German ship “Humanity 1”. 213 migrants had previously left the Norwegian-flagged Geo Barentsz.

Since the weekend, the Italian authorities have refused permission, arguing that the men are not in an emergency situation. The actions of the new Italian government under far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is much tougher on migrants, had drawn international criticism. The European Commission, UN agencies and the federal government called on Rome to land all rescued persons. In the morning, the Dresden rescue ship “Rise Above” was able to disembark 89 migrants in Reggio Calabria with relative ease.

Italy has not assigned rescue workers to a port
The ship “Ocean Viking” of the organization SOS Méditerranée, on the other hand, went to France with 234 people on board because Italy had not assigned a port to the rescuers. Meloni had discussed the case with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to Ansa news agency. Tuesday evening she was happy with the development of the “Ocean Viking”. Their headquarters said they were pleased with Paris’ decision to allocate the ship a port. Immigration is a European issue and should be addressed as such, it said.

Two weeks after the far-right government took office in Rome, the first major conflict between the anti-immigrant right-wing coalition and international sea rescuers threatened to escalate. Two NGOs in the Sicilian city of Catania were asked to leave the port with their ships and some rescued people. Both refuse.

Haven’t eaten in 40 hours
About 30 of the 35 migrants on the German “Humanity 1” were on hunger strike, Petra Krischok of the organization SOS Humanity confirmed. The men told the crew they hadn’t eaten in 40 hours and that the public should know. Rescuers will share more details about the protest and the general situation at a press conference on Wednesday.

The situation on board therefore continues to deteriorate. “Applicable law is being flouted,” said Captain Joachim Ebeling. “When I see that I have people on board who have the right to land but are prevented by the authorities, I am just angry.” He emphasized that he would not move the ship until all migrants are ashore. .

‘Impossible to drown people’
The most recent development confirms his humanitarian actions. “What we are experiencing here now leaves me in no doubt about doing something like this again,” the Bremer-born of the German news agency said. “It’s always been impossible for me to let people drown and not help them when they needed help.”

Rather drown than return
The crew tries to encourage the 35 men and allay their fears that they could be taken to Libya, where they started their journey in boats. Many said they would rather drown than have to return to the land of the civil war.

Like Monday, Brussels had again appealed to Italy to release all rescued persons. A spokeswoman for the European Commission stressed that EU law requires migrants to have access to the asylum procedure in Italy. There is a clear legal framework. “Of course, third-country nationals who are in the territory of a Member State, including its territorial waters, can apply for asylum and in this case Member States are obliged to grant effective access to asylum procedures.”

“It is important that everyone on the land can do that”
Germany, under whose flag the “Humanity 1” flies, is therefore in exchange with Rome. It was “important that all the people rescued from the ships can go ashore and that everyone can be really well cared for,” a foreign ministry spokeswoman said Monday. “We will continue to work for this as a federal government.” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) has already discussed this with her Italian colleague.

“Human but also resolutely principled”
Rome’s actions came as no surprise. The right-wing parties had already announced during the election campaign that they wanted to stop boat migrants. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said Monday evening that Italy behaved “humanly but also resolutely principled”. He recently described the people who must remain on the boat as “the remaining cargo” that must leave the port. He received sharp criticism from the opposition and aid organizations for this.

In 2019, Piantedosi was head of the Interior Ministry under Matteo Salvini of the right-wing populist Lega, which already barred boats carrying refugees from Italian ports. Only a small proportion of migrants come to Italy on NGO ships. On Monday, the interior ministry in Rome counted more than 88,000 boat migrants reaching the country this year — most of them reaching Italian waters with their own boats.

Source: Krone

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