Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Italy silent as ships with 1,000 rescued migrants seek help

Italy silent as ships with 1,000 rescued migrants seek help

Humanitarian groups caring for nearly 1,000 rescued migrants on three ships in the central Mediterranean are sounding an alarm about deteriorating conditions, but Italy’s new far-right-led government has not responded to requests for a safe port as it hardens its position against rescue boats.
The country’s new interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, has set the groundwork to ban humanitarian ships from Italian ports while appealing to countries whose flags the rescue ships fly to relieve the burden on Italy by accepting the rescued passengers.

The moves are reminiscent of the anti-NGO posture taken by League party leader Matteo Salvini, now the deputy premier, who prevented humanitarian ships from accessing Italy’s ports when he was interior minister from 2018-19.

So far, Italy, along with Malta, has remained silent in response to requests for a safe port from the three ships: the Doctors without Borders-operated Geo Barents, which has 572 people on board; SOS Mediteranee’s Ocean Viking, with 234 people on board, and the SOS Humanity’s Humanity 1 with 179. All were rescued over a weeklong period beginning Oct. 22.

While Italy is de facto blocking the humanitarian ships from disembarking the 1,000 people, Interior Ministry figures indicate that Italian authorities brought 6,383 others to the country’s shores over the last week.

Migrant arrivals by sea to Italy have risen this year, to 85,991 so far compared with 53,825 in the same period last year. The number is still well below the peak arrivals during 2014-2016.

The crew of the Geo Barents is struggling to accommodate the migrants picked up in seven operations starting Oct. 22. They include more than 60 unaccompanied minors, yet more families with children and pregnant women, as well as the elderly. Many are sleeping on the floors, and supplies were running low.

“We are here on board with 572 people, some of them have been with us already for 6 days,’’ said Caroline Willemen, MSF Coordinator on the Geo Barents. “As you can see, the situation here on the deck is extremely overcrowded. People do not have space to move. The MSF team we are doing everything we can to take care of them.

“It is absolutely necessary that they can disembark as soon as possible in a place of safety,’’ she said. The rescued migrants were struggling with the crowded conditions and the uncertainty.

“We don’t have enough space to sleep. We are sleeping down on the floor and it’s very cold at the morning and at night,’’ said Khaled Mahmoud Mansour, a Palestinian. “Actually the situation is becoming day after day more difficult.”

After failing to get a response from either Italy or Malta, SOS Mediteranee also issued requests for safe ports to Greece, Spain and France. “The 234 rescued people on board must be disembarked urgently,’’ the group said. “The current blockade at sea of 985 persons is illegal and inhuman.”

The maritime rescue group urged EU member nations to come up with a “predictable system of disembarkation to ease the pressure on European coastal states,’’ saying people rescued at sea “must no longer be traded into political debates.”

European Commission spokeswoman Anitta Hipper said the commission is aware of the 3 ships with around 1,000 people seeking safe disembarkation, but emphasized that it does not coordinate operations at sea or landings.

“Saving lives at sea is a moral duty as well as a legal obligation for member states under international law, independently from circumstances which have led people to the distress at sea,” Hipper told reporters.

Piantedosi signed a directive last week that can be used to once again prevent humanitarian groups to access Italy’s port, and has asked the countries whose flag they are flying to take on the migrants.

“We cannot take on migrants picked up at sea by foreign ships that are systematically operating without any coordination by authorities,’’ Piantedosi told the Corriere della Sera newspaper this week.

“Since we are taking on 84% of the migrants arriving on our coast, saved by us, we hope that the much-ballyhooed European solidarity will be realized,” he said.

Italy and Germany have traded communications regarding the German-flagged Humanity 1 ship but no agreement was reached. The German Foreign Ministry said it asked Italy to help quickly, but did not provide further details
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
×