87 People Rescued by Life Support Disembark in Naples

87 people rescued by EMERGENCY’s search and rescue vessel, Life Support, disembarked at the port of Naples this afternoon, 6 May. The rescue took place on 3 May in the Libyan SAR zone. The people rescued include eight women and 17 minors.

“The disembarkation operations were completed without any difficulties. It took us three days of navigation to reach the assigned port of Naples,” says Domenico Pugliese, commander of Life Support. “The choice of assigning a distant port exposes the shipwrecked people to further unjustified suffering, when they should be disembarked as soon as possible in a safe place. We now wish them the best for the future”.

The dinghy had left the town of Zawiya in Libya at around 01:00 on 3 May. After several hours of sailing, they were spotted by Pilotes Volontaires‘ air asset Hummingbird 2, which reported their location to Life Support. The report was also confirmed by Alarm Phone. EMERGENCY’ ship headed to the coordinates received to carry out the rescue.

“This was a rescue that took place in critical conditions,” explains Maria Rametto, Life Support‘s Mission Coordinator.

“The boat was overcrowded, in poor condition and had been taking on water for hours. The tubes were deflated. Those on board had no food or water. We managed to avoid a tragedy. Now, the rescued people are safely on land.”

The 87 people rescued are from Sudan, Nigeria, Niger, South Sudan, Eritrea, Bangladesh, Mali, Togo, Ghana, Liberia, Chad, Cameroon, Senegal and the Ivory Coast.

“I had to flee Niger because, after my father died, my neighbours threatened me saying that if I didn’t leave they would kill me,” says a 20-year-old Nigerian boy. “They wanted the land I had inherited. One day they beat me until I lost consciousness; I was 13 years old and I realised that I had to run away if I wanted to live. I spent a few years in Niger and Chad. In 2021, I arrived in Libya where I worked as a mechanic for three years. During all this time, I was exploited. Sometimes I was forced to work on the cars of Libyan militias, the same people who kidnapped and tortured my sub-Saharan brothers every day, probably using those same cars. My Libyan boss paid me a pittance and got rich thanks to me. One day I told him that I would always be the one working and he the one enjoying my work: he started beating me, put his hands in my mouth and wanted to tear my cheeks. If I had responded with force, I would have lost my life. This is how it works in Libya: if you have dark skin, you have no rights and it takes little to be killed. After three years in these conditions, I decided I had to leave. No one decides to leave their country and their family and risk their life if they are not forced to do so by wars, poverty or political repression.”

“I left Ghana about a year ago with a friend of mine,” says a 25-year-old woman. “Ghana is a beautiful country but it has many problems to solve. I had been threatened by a man and I was afraid to stay in my city. My family was worried, they were afraid he would hurt me. A friend convinced me to leave, I don’t know if I could have done it alone. We left without telling anyone. They didn’t know I was here now, just as I didn’t know where I would go after leaving Ghana. I only knew that I had to cross the desert to leave my problems behind. I hope I can help my friend who stayed in Libya. Libya is very dangerous, especially for women, and I am afraid for her.”

Life Support, EMERGENCY’s search and rescue project, has carried out a total of 19 missions in the Central Mediterranean since it began operations in December 2022. During this time it has rescued a total of 1,631 people in distress at sea.