The Italian organization “Mediterranea Saving Humans” is only a few months old, having been formed in October 2018. Now its ship, the Mare Jonio, is the latest migrant rescue vessel to enter into a stand-off with the Italian government after it saved 49 people from the Mediterranean on March 18.
A study by the International Organization for Migration on migrant flows in the Western Mediterranean reveals that nearly half of the over 1,300 migrants who arrived in Spain last year reported experiencing exploitation and abuse during their journeys.
Mediterranea is a mission that aims above all to show solidarity with migrants braving the Mediterranean and against European governments' policies towards them. The Mare Jonio ship, the flagship of the project, and its crew are nevertheless prepared to save human lives as well. InfoMigrants joined them during a training exercise.
Moroccan authorities have dropped a case against Spanish journalist and human rights defender Helena Maleno Garzon. Maleno works for the NGO Walking Borders which alerts Spanish and Moroccan rescue authorities to migrant boats in distress at sea.
Mediterranea is a mission that aims above all to show solidarity with migrants braving the Mediterranean and against European governments' policies towards them. The Mare Jonio ship, the flagship of the project, and its crew are nevertheless prepared to save human lives as well. InfoMigrants joined them during a training exercise.
A boat carrying migrants has sunk off the Greek island of Samos. Greek authorities said three people drowned, including two small boys. Nine others were rescued.
Many readers of InfoMigrants wonder about the safety of the migrants who cross the Mediterranean by boat. One of the most frequent questions we receive is why many migrants, and especially women and children, embark on the perilous journey without the added safety of a life jacket. We take a closer look at the reasons for why many migrants seem to avoid them.
The Sea Watch 3, a non-profit search and rescue ship, remains in Catania port in Sicily after Dutch authorities decided last week that it needed maintenance. The ship had been allowed to enter port only after being stranded at sea for ten days with 47 migrants on board. InfoMigrants spoke to Kim Heaton-Heather, who was responsible for the search-and-rescue operations on the ship's last two missions. He thinks the move to keep the Sea Watch 3 docked in Sicily is a reflection of a growing anti-immigrant feeling in Europe.
Italian authorities have been asked by the Netherlands to keep the NGO migrant rescue ship Sea Watch 3 in the port of Catania. The decision followed an inspection by Dutch authorities earlier this week.
Some commercial ships that have rescued people in danger have lied about their destination, according to a telephone hotline that helps migrants lost at sea. Alarm Phone says the crews of several ships led migrants to believe they would be dropped off in Europe, but instead returned them to Libya.
For two years, Sissoko, a 31-year-old Malian, has been trying to recover from his crossing of the Mediterranean. Of around 130 people who boarded the ship, 62 died, including all the children on board.
The mayors of some Italian and Spanish cities are challenging the politics of national sovereignty and blocked ports, by signing an alliance in support of NGOs working in migrant rescue in the Mediterranean. Just three months ahead of European elections, the signatories said the pact aims to "save Europe from itself.”