Mbaye Babacar Diouf was just 15 when he arrived in Spain after crossing the Atlantic in a small boat to the Canary Islands. On arrival, after receiving care from the Red Cross, he promised himself he would -- one day -- become a nurse. He's achieved that dream and is about to embark on his next challenge -- to become a doctor.
The NGO is launching an additional vessel amid a spike in the number of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. Some 900 people have drowned making the treacherous journey from North Africa to Europe.
Over 200 migrants have disembarked the humanitarian vessel Open Arms off the coast of Sicily and are undergoing quarantine. About a hundred migrants have died in the Mediterranean Sea this week alone.
Two associations based in the Italian city of Taranto have launched an appeal to help asylum seekers who ''have been forced to live and sleep on the streets for several weeks'' amid the coronavirus emergency.
Greek authorities on Thursday postponed the closure of a volunteer-run camp for vulnerable asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos. But they said they would carry out an evacuation "as soon as possible".
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has denounced in a statement that "administrative obstacles once again do not allow the Sea-Watch 4 to rescue lives while people continue to die in the central Mediterranean." The NGO said on October 23 that it fears that technicalities are being used by Italian authorities to block migrant-rescue vessels.
Nearly 30 prominent organisations have called on the Greek parliament to investigate reports of illegal pushbacks of migrants and refugees at the Turkish border.
Four NGOs involved in the rescue of migrants experiencing difficulty at sea have issued a statement calling for Italy to stop blocking their ships.
The Greek authorities have "prepared a case file that includes the offenses of forming and joining a criminal organization, espionage, violation of state secrets, as well as violations of the Immigration Code against a total of 35 foreigners," reported Greek news agency ANA-MPA on Monday.
Italian authorities have confined the migrant rescue vessel Sea-Watch 4 to port in the Sicilian city of Palermo. Aid groups say the move has been made under false pretenses.
The humanitarian rescue ship Open Arms rescued a further 77 migrants on Thursday night. Among those rescued were 11 women and two children. The ship was already carrying 83 previously rescued migrants.
An NGO based in the northern Italian region of Lombardy has rescued two migrants who were exploited by gangmasters. Kali, a 23-year-old Indian man, and Irina, a 27-year-old Romanian woman, became victims of gangmasters after they migrated to Italy. They were aided by ''Lule,'' an organization in Lombardy that helps victims like them.