“We have seen everything, but something like this, a separation of families that was so clear, carried out in such a violent way, I don’t remember it,” explains Fulvia Conte, head of search and relief for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in the area, on the phone. Mediterranean, from the Geo Barentsthe NGO boat that rescues migrants on the high seas. Conte speaks of an incident that occurred hours before, at noon this Thursday, in international waters with armed men who were aboard a Libyan boat: he claims that they separated by shooting the families of a hundred migrants who were adrift in a inflatable boat about to sink. With shots in the air and blows with butts, which made many of them jump into the water, they stole cell phones and money, took women and children on board, and then abandoned the men to their fate, according to MSF, which rescued them. then to 83 adults and minors between 14 and 17 years old. But 25 women and four children, one of them under three months old, were kidnapped and taken to Libya, where migrants suffer serious rights violations.
“[Los migrantes rescatados] “They are in a state of desperation because their relatives have been taken to Libya,” explains Conte about the people helped, who last night were traveling to Crotone, the port assigned for disembarkation by the Italian authorities. “This aggressive and irresponsible behavior of a boat with armed men is unacceptable, it endangers the lives of many people and separates entire family units.”
This serious episode once again calls into question the controversial agreement between Libya and the European Union, signed by Italy in 2017 to contain irregular immigration, which finances the Libyan coast guard to be in charge of intercepting migrant boats, regardless of well how. The UN and human rights organizations have denounced torture and inhumane treatment conditions in migrant detention centers in Libya.
In this case, the Libyan boat had no flag or identification signs and could have been either from the coast guard or from one of the militias that operate in the area, although they often act in a coordinated manner, within the chaos of the African country. Of course, the MSF ship went to the scene after receiving a call from the Libyan coast guard, which warned it that the castaways’ boat was sinking, according to the NGO’s story.
“In general, it is known that there are militias that act in total collusion with the Libyan coast guard, and that sometimes even these people are part of it, or sometimes these vessels, without any identification, identify themselves as coast guard,” explains Conte . Furthermore, he adds that shortly after this rescue, the Geo Barents It was surrounded by seven Libyan vessels, including the one involved in the incident. Another was an official ship of the Libyan coast guard. “Donated by Italy, precisely,” says this spokesperson. “It had people on board who had clearly been intercepted a short time before, and they were taking them to Libya.” In theory, according to international standards, it could not do so, because Libya is not a country considered safe, and it should transfer them to Europe.
Incidents with the Libyan coast guard and related militias “with illegal interactions” are very frequent, according to MSF. “In recent months we have had quite brutal encounters with the coast guard: they have tried to stop the rescue, capture the people, they have threatened to shoot us, they have tried to board one of our boats with armed men saying that they would have taken it to Tripoli” .
In any case, the organization emphasizes, the Italian authorities have never acted against Libya, but they have detained the MSF ship and other NGOs in port for alleged non-compliance with the strict rescue regulations, adopted two years ago by the far-right Government. by Giorgia Meloni to hinder and limit bailouts. For example, they must inform and ask permission before carrying out a rescue; They are only allowed to do one at a time, with the obligation to return to port later, without doing any more, and furthermore, they cannot go to the nearest dock, but to the one assigned to them, even if it is on the other side of Italy.
Coast Guard Call
In this case, the humanitarian organization explained that it received a radio call from the Libyan coast guard, signaling the imminent sinking of the inflatable boat with men on board, and added that it would then “have been able to embark the women and children.” “However, the boat with armed men that had them on board has not followed the instructions and has prevented us from helping them,” emphasizes the MSF official.
“When we got there we found an amazing situation,” he explains. There were dozens of men in the water, with a Libyan boat of armed men loitering nearby, with women and children on board. MSF boats rescued those floating at sea, “who saw how their women, their partners and their children were deported to Libya before their very eyes.”
After being rescued, these people said that they had threatened them with weapons and shot in the air, to force the women and children to get on board. With the shots, many of the people jumped into the water. “A man told us that two boats have appeared and fired into the air [una de ellas abandonó el lugar antes de que llegara el Geo Barents] and into the water, they took all the money they found, and their cell phones. The people began to scream, they hit them with the butts of their rifles and then, with the threat of weapons, they took only the women and children. When they took his wife and two children and this man told them that they were going together, they forcibly kicked him out,” says Conte.
