Dear friends of Sea-Eye,
Before the start of our current rescue mission, we urged you to donate because the price of fuel has skyrocketed in recent weeks. Many responded to our appeal so that we could send our ship on this mission.
And your help arrived: Today I can inform you that on Wednesday morning we were able to rescue 290 people from a large, heavily overcrowded wooden boat with two decks in a difficult rescue operation. After we were able to get all the people safely on board the SEA-EYE 4 in a three-hour operation, the so-called Libyan Coast Guard approached the boat. They had already observed the entire operation, then moored the wooden boat to their ship to take it back to shore.
While we were carrying out this operation, the Spanish rescue ship AITA MARI reached another boat in distress with over 100 people not far from our position. However, the operation was disrupted by another ship of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard. 17 people who had jumped into the water could be brought on board the AITA MARI. The people who remained on the rubber boat were forced onto their ship by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard and abducted to Libya.
Both cases clearly show the character and intentions of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard. Used by the EU as an isolation tool, it abducts fleeing people into a civil war where they are exposed to the most severe human rights violations. At the same time, the so-called Libyan Coast Guard takes boats back to shore to serve a second business with trafficking. It has been known for a long time that the people of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard cooperate with traffickers or are traffickers themselves.
It is an absolute evidence of incapacity that our European governments cooperate with such actors. These events show once again that the so-called Libyan Coast Guard does not deserve the title “coast guard” just as the EU doesn’t deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.
Nevertheless, we are glad that during this mission we were able to rescue 416 people in a total of three missions and save them from drowning or being dragged into civil war.
Yours,
Gorden Isler
- Chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.
P.S. The increased prices, especially the high price of oil, put a great strain on our finances still. Please continue to support our rescue missions with your donation!