Dear friends of Sea-Eye,

today I am writing you a longer letter because we are currently receiving alarming signals from all EU external borders!

But the good news first: Yesterday we could say goodbye to the last of the more than 400 rescued people, including 150 children, in the port of Pozzallo. We are very happy to have carried out such a successful first rescue mission with our new ship SEA-EYE 4.

At the same time, however, we are very worried. Because we see how the EU states are acting ever more brutally against fleeing people. Spanish soldiers beat defenseless people unrestrained on the beach of Ceuta this week, while Frontex is involved in forced repatriations to the Libyan civil war hell on the Mediterranean. And on the Greek islands, thousands of people have been held in misery camps for years.

The brutal actions of the European authorities were also felt by the people on SEA-EYE 4 two days ago. Dr. Jan Ribbeck, Head of Mission on SEA-EYE 4 told us about racist comments and violence against children: “The medical staff on site performed forced PCR tests on toddlers through their noses in a most brutal way. They were screaming in pain. As a doctor, I cannot understand how one can treat young children in this way. In addition, it makes no medical sense to force such tests on children at such a young age.”

The EU states have turned Europe's borders into a lawless space in which European forces are completely uninhibited in their use of force against people who are fleeing. If the EU continues to shift in this direction, we can finally forget the 1951 Refugee Convention.

We will do everything to prevent this and are planning our next rescue mission. You can help us by becoming a permanent donor and protect human rights on the Mediterranean Sea with us!

Yours, Gorden Isler
- Chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.

PS: We have summarized the first rescue mission of the SEA-EYE 4 for you in a video. Watch it here.