On Sunday, 34 migrants who had been on board the rescue ship Aita Mari, joined 146 migrants taken from another rescue ship, the Alan Kurdi, in quarantine aboard a ferry off the coast of Palermo. The migrants are expected to spend 14 days on the ferry.
On Sunday morning footage taken from the Italian coast guard and the Italian news agency ANSA showed the transfer of 34 more migrants to the Rubattino ferry owned by the Italian company Tirrenia. The migrants had been rescued by the Spanish rescue ship on April 13.
On the Rubattino ferry, they joined 146 migrants who had been aboard the Alan Kurdi and were
transferred to the Rubattino on Friday, April 17.
The
180-meter-long Rubattino is built to carry a total of 1,471
passengers and has 289 cabins, a medical center, restaurant, bars and
a children’s play area. According to the news agency AFP, it is not
clear if each migrant would be confined to an individual cabin, but
they are expected to stay on board for at least 14 days before being
distributed among various EU countries, as per an agreement last
September in Malta.
Safe and sound
The
ferry is currently moored off the coast of the Sicilian capital
Palermo.After
the transfer, the Spanish rescue organization, which operates the Aita
Mari, tweeted: "Everyone is safe and sound, thank you for the
support."
More needs to be done
On Sunday, the German rescue organization Sea-Eye, which operates the
Alan Kurdi, posted a video celebrating the fact that those on board
the Alan Kurdi and the Aita Mari were transferred safely but that "five people are dead and seven missing because Malta did not send
any help."
In the video, various crew members read from statements from the organization. They say that countries like Italy and Malta which declared their ports closed during the coronavirus restrictions are "wrong," saying that closing the ports is "deadly."
"It is wrong to instrumentalise the coronavirus to seal yourselves off," said one statement. "It is irresponsible to demand that the rescue of human lives discontinues," said another. They asked EU member states to "reinstate national sea rescues immediately," as well as showing solidarity with Italy "and assume responsibility together."
'Unprecedented solidarity from Italy'
On
Friday, April 17, the organization Sea-Eye issued a press release.
In it, they stated that they had experienced "unprecedented
solidarity from people and authorities in Italy," even whilst the
country was experiencing many troubles due to the devastation wreaked
by the fight against COVID-19. They said Luca Casarini, the Italian
sea rescuer had written to the head of the Catholic Church, Pope
Francis. The Pope had replied "unequivocally stand[ing] behind all
civilian sea rescuers." The mayor of Palermo, Leoluca Orlando, also
deserved a "special mention," said Jan Ribbek, head of operations
with Sea-Eye in the press release.
They
called Orlando an "important advocate for the human rights of the
rescued people and the crew of the Alan Kurdi." Ribbek said that
Orlando had been in contact every day to check on progress and called
his commitment "essential for the end of this blocade."
The
crew of the Alan Kurdi also now face a 14-day quarantine aboard their
own ship. They are planning to launch a new operation in May but they
said that due to the coronavirus crisis, they are experiencing a drop
in donations and urge people to donate so that they can continue
saving lives as soon as they are able.