SEARCH, SAVE & PROTECT (Central Mediterranean)

21 312*. A number that should shake things up. Yet nothing. 21,312 is the underestimated number of people who have died in the Central Mediterranean since 2014, and at the same time, the abandonment of the Mare Nostrum** program by the European Union and Italy.
To compensate for the discontinuation of this program, NGOs have decided to charter several rescue boats. Their mission: to help the overcrowded makeshift boats of exiles attempting the dangerous crossing from Libya to Europe.
21,312 - a number that makes the Mediterranean the world's deadliest migratory route.
Migration has existed in the Mediterranean for thousands of years. More recently, however, since the mid-1990s, thousands of people have been crossing the Mediterranean on makeshift boats from the coasts of North Africa and Turkey to seek asylum or migrate to Europe. In the 2000s, this phenomenon became more widespread.
At sea, whether on the Ocean Viking (SOS Méditerranée's boat) or the Geo Barents (Médecin sans Frontière's boat), the credo is the same: to train again and again to assist boats in distress, carrying children, women and men fleeing in search of a better life.
On land, European migration policies act as bulwarks, refusing to open up legal channels for people trying to change their lives. Backed by Frontex (the European Border and Coast Guard Agency) and its 750 million *** budget, Fortress Europe deploys its military and legislative arsenal to prevent border crossings on land and at sea: drones, planes, boats, administrative detentions, decrees criminalizing the work of NGOs... Europe is constantly reinventing itself to prevent what is known as irregular or illegal immigration.
The latest example is Italy, where Giorgia Meloni's far-right government has just passed a new decree requiring humanitarian boats to return to port after each rescue. These ports, designated by the Italian authorities, are assigned further and further away from the search area. It's a method that's putting NGOs out of business, forcing them to make long sea journeys and endless return trips between port and rescue zone. The technique is crystal-clear: waste time and money while the attempts to cross the sea continue unabated.
As you read this text, in France, a bill on immigration is due to be debated by members of parliament. Let's hope the land of human rights doesn't turn off its lights...
* missingmigrants.iom.int, updated June 2023
** Operation Mare Nostrum is the military and humanitarian operation led by the Military Marina between October 2013 and November 2014. It was launched after the tragedy in Lampedusa, where 366 people lost their lives in a shipwreck off the island.
*** Frontex website, budget 2022

The plane belonging to the "Pilotes Volontaires" association scans the area where the Océan Viking, the boat belonging to the NGO SOS Méditerranée, is operating. The associations cooperate to find any boats in distress. January 6, 2023.

Fulvia and Panama scan the horizon with binoculars. At sea, a third of boats in distress are found from the bridge thanks to binocular surveillance. A third are found thanks to the aircraft that scan the area, and a third are found thanks to distress calls relayed by the Alarm Phone system. June 26, 2022.

Gabi, lifeboat pilot, supervises the pallets of foodstuffs being lowered into the holds before the boat's departure. June 21, 2022.

Giulia, a rescue sailor, practices giving distances to Panama, pilot of the rescue dinghy, using hand signals. June 24, 2022.

Fabrice, the ship's doctor, gives a course in cardiac massage methods to all members of the NGO and to the journalists on board. June 21, 2022.

Luisa, head of SOS Méditerranée operations at sea, at her post on the upper deck. She is the relay with the authorities on land and at sea, with the other NGO boats at sea, with Pilotes Volontaires. She coordinates the search operations.

The crew of the ORCA lifeboat, ready to go to the rescue of a boat in distress. From left to right: Father, Giulia, Fulvia and Joan. An alert message has been received via the "Alarm phone" platform, which relays distress calls at sea to the authorities and the various boats in the area. July 27, 2022.

Fulvia, rescue operations coordinator, gives instructions to the people on the overcrowded boat, before handing out the life jackets. That day, MSF teams will carry out 6 rescues in less than ten hours, a record. July 7, 2022.

A man and a woman have taken refuge on a wooden plank and are drifting in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. The plank appears to be part of the floor of the inflatable boat that has just sunk with 111 people on board. June 27, 2022.

A dinghy overloaded with 113 people is found during the night by SOS Méditerranée teams. December 27, 2022.

Fulvia hands a four-month-old infant to her colleague Father, a lifeguard. The child, in respiratory arrest, is resuscitated by the rescuer a few seconds later on the deck of the boat. June 27, 2022.

A young boy looks after a baby while the child's parents are taken care of on the lifeboat. July 7, 2022.

A man sits on the inflatable of a sinking boat, handing out life jackets that an MSF member has just given him. Behind him on the right, a second team is waiting to take over. June 27, 2022.

A woman is pulled onto the mother ship by Claire, communications officer, and Liza, deck manager. The two members of the NGO must ensure that the flow of people is permanent and as fluid as possible, so as not to clog up the area and hinder the work of the rescuers from the zodiac. January 7, 2023.

Cigarette break for the rescue teams after the long 5-hour operation at sea which saved 71 people from sinking. 30 people are still missing and a pregnant woman died on the boat. June 27, 2022.

Margot, head of humanitarian affairs, and Céline, deputy project coordinator, accompanied by Salah, cultural mediator, gather initial information from the survivors in order to distribute a bracelet according to their status: unaccompanied minor, single man, single woman, accompanied minor, etc. July 7, 2022.

Survivors celebrate on the men's deck after a successful rescue. 110 people have just been rescued. July 7, 2022.

Survivors' laundry dries on a line stretched between the toilets and a staircase leading up to the women's deck. This is only possible when there are not too many survivors on board. July 28, 2022.

Helicopter evacuation of a survivor in the aftermath of a rescue. The operation is carried out by Maltese rescue teams. July 8, 2022.

At the request of the crew of Filipino sailors, and after the death on board of a pregnant woman, a priest comes to bless the boat and the MSF teams between two rotations. July 5, 2022.

Survivors line up for the food distribution set up next to the women's room. A kit containing clean clothes and hygiene products is also distributed. December 28, 2022.

View of the main deck, where around 250 people sleep. MSF members work in teams of two, day and night, to monitor the decks and act in the event of medical problems or conflicts between survivors. July 12, 2022.

Margot, Head of Humanitarian Affairs, and Lorène, Communications Officer, bring brooms to the survivors to clean the men's deck. Most of the day-to-day tasks are shared between the survivors and the MSF teams. July 10, 2022.

Aston and Achi, the Ocean Viking's two cultural mediators, work out in a room that doubles as a storage area. January 7, 2023.

"You are safe". Inscription translated into several languages on a sign installed near the tea distribution site. December 15, 2022.

M. performs a somersault in front of a group of survivors. With extended delays to reach a safe harbor, everyone is keeping busy as best they can. Drawing, coloring, playing soccer or arm wrestling are the daily activities. July 10, 2022.

P. wrapped up in his blanket to protect himself from the cold. Of Eritrean origin, he fled his country to avoid being forcibly conscripted into the army. January 10, 2023.

P. s'est emmitouflé dans sa couverture pour se protéger du froid. D'origine érythréenne, il a fui son pays pour éviter d'être enrôlé de force dans l'armée. 10 janvier 2023.

A moment of euphoria at the announcement of the designation of a safe port by the Italian authorities. July 11, 2022.

Arrival in the port of Taranto under escort of the Italian authorities. July 2, 2023.

A few hours before disembarkation, Florian, a doctor, and Stéphanie, a nurse, distribute the health logs drawn up on board by the medical team. July 02, 2022.

MSF teams gather on the quay to say goodbye to the woman who died aboard the Geo Barents following the shipwreck on June 27. Everyone wears a black armband as a sign of mourning. July 2, 2022.

I, holds in his hands heaters distributed by the Italian Red Cross at the arrival in Ancona.

Disembarkation in Ravenna of the 113 children, women and men rescued by the Ocean Viking on December 27. December 31, 2022

As they get off the boat, a member of the Italian authorities takes the temperature of each survivor. They are then photographed and taken to a bus. They are then transferred to a reception center where they will apply for asylum. July 2, 2022.