“I saw their arms in the water, they forced them to jump in”: in the Mediterranean, rescuers face unprecedented violence

During the last Sos Méditerranée operation at sea, near the Libyan coast, on October 10. Camille Martin-Juan/Sos Méditerranée

The first national conference on solidarity at sea is taking place this Thursday, October 17, at the Montpellier exhibition center, supported by the Occitanie maritime parliament and the SOS Méditerranée sea rescue NGO, with the support of the Region, the Hérault Department and the Montpellier Metropolis.
At sea, the operations of the NGO SOS Méditerranée continue. Account of their last mission, on October 9, where candidates for exile were thrown into the water at nightfall, between Libya and Italy.

“It was starting to get dark, I could see their arms in the water waving to us, and their cries calling us… They were all very cold, in a panic, that's what I remember the most… They had just arrived in a semi-rigid with two masked and armed men who forced them to throw themselves into the sea and put themselves in danger."

An unprecedented level of violence and cruelty towards migrants was reached in the Mediterranean on October 9, in the Libyan zone, and San, 32, a former nurse turned professional firefighter, witnessed it.

Nearly 41,000 people saved since 2016

For two years, this employee of the NGO Sos Méditerranée has been crisscrossing the sea between Libya and Italy on the Ocean Viking, to help migrants, as part of the team dedicated to rescue.

For this new mission, the 425th of the NGO, created in the spring of 2016, which has saved nearly 41,000 people from almost certain death, the Ocean Viking left Syracuse, Sicily, on October 6, arriving in the area two days later, in international waters west of Tripoli. We reached San on Wednesday, October 9 at 6:30 p.m., ahead of an inevitable rescue operation.

“There, we keep watch for an hour on the bridge, using binoculars. Up until now, the weather has not been good, with a lot of wind, not conducive to departures. But we have already observed four empty boats, one of which was burned: the Libyan coastguards, once they have intercepted a boat, they take the refugees to bring them back and set it on fire”, reports the Auvergnate.

There was no inscription on the other three fragile wooden boats either, a sign left by the NGOs to indicate that the rescue had been carried out. They all had to be repatriated.

"Sometimes we go a week without anything happening" she continues. “There is always a little apprehension. Tonight, there is a good window of opportunity weather-wise, potentially for departures. In this area, there are also many Libyan actors, coast guards and armed militias, it is difficult to identify the boats surrounding us at night."

After our phone call, San will only have had time to take a shower and change in a hurry. On October 9, around 8 p.m., the signal sounds: "men overboard", “a stressful situation that rarely happens” she tells us, contacted at the beginning of the week, while she is still on the Ocean Viking.

“We had never seen this before”

Night falls and the semi-rigid boat arrives at full speed with six migrants, all young men, including two minors, who are then thrown by force into the water…

“We had never seen this before, it's the first time it's happened” also testifies Alisha, in charge of coordinating communication on the ambulance ship. Was this planned ? Was it's opportunism ? Have they spotted us ? We don't know."

At dusk, San immediately sets off to sea : “We put our boats in the water and went to rescue the six people, luckily we were able to mark the scene with floating objects with lights, one of the survivors couldn't swim, he was helped by one of the others… It's an act of incredible violence."

The survivors are safe and sound and the two armed individuals left at full speed.

“We don't know who they are… It is suspected that they are Libyan militias, but we do not know who, the survivors paid a large sum, several thousand dollars to cross" recalls San.

From 500 euros to 8000 euros to pay depending on the nationality to cross the sea

More precisely, according to Alisha, on the migratory route of sub-Saharan populations through Tunisia to Italy, candidates for exile pay 500 € to find themselves“on welded pieces of metal.”

Migrants who pass through Libya can spend from “3,000 to 8,000 euros for the crossing. Some sell their cars, their houses or the whole community mobilizes so that they can leave”, says the coordinator.

On October 10, the Ocean Viking carries out a second rescue, the latest to date. “In the early morning, we made another rescue, we located a boat in distress late, in the early morning, we had a call and the green light from the Italian coordination center, to carry out the rescue” continues the firefighter.

“It was a fiberglass boat, with 41 people on board including four women and three children, which was not suitable for navigation on the high seas, it was a case of distress. We were able to carry out this rescue which happened calmly”, she reports. “But we had intimidation maneuvers from the coast guards and we were followed.”

The ambulance ship sent as far as possible for the disembarkation

In the process, as required by procedure, Italy has assigned a port for disembarking the refugees. Problem: as has been the case for several months, the authorities are sending them as far away as possible to limit their interventions. There, in Ravenna, to the North, four days' sailing away, the Ocean Viking having arrived there on October 15. The survivors were taken care of by the Red Cross and the reception center.

This Thursday, October 17, the ambulance ship continues its route to return to the rescue zones. And the crew must endure the aftermath of these men being thrown into the sea like trash: “This operation has left its mark on us all… When we have survivors on board, we take care of them.  We'll take the time to get together afterwards, to talk about what happened, it's quite traumatic and violent" San repeats again, determined to continue her mission "as long as people are drowning" in the Mediterranean.

Skipper Thibaut Vauchel-Camus: “This body that was floating… This life could have been saved”

Ten days after the last-minute and accidental rescue of migrants in the open sea, skipper Thibaut Vauchel-Camus is still furious.

"At least two boats deliberately did not stop and during the rescue, about twenty cargo ships passed by. It is impossible that they were not seen! This body that was floating&hellip This life could have been saved", he laments.

On October 7, the winner of the last Transat Jacques-Vabre, was ferrying his multihull OceanFifty between Morocco and France, when off the coast of Almeria, he and his crew spotted a frail boat.

“In the middle of the morning, in a dead calm, we saw through binoculars people who were moving, holding their buoyant vests at arm's length to be spotted. They were stressed that we wouldn't stop”, says Thibaut Vauchel-Camus.

“We are just witnesses”

“There were sixteen people on board and a body floating next to it… They were Algerians, they had been adrift for five days and had run out of gas… The victim was diabetic and had run out of insulin, with the blazing heat, the lack of water, food…"

The navigator thinks back to this "violence taken full in the face", above all refuses the label of any heroic gesture: "We are just witnesses to this unacceptable situation and beyond morality, those who did not stop are in violation. The law must be enforced. We sailors, solidarity distinguishes us, but no, we are not spared, some turn a blind eye."

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