“I was put in jail in Libya for 4 months after I tried to cross for the first time. They gave me one piece of bread in the morning and one in the evening, that’s all we could eat. After that I escaped and I tried to cross again. You saved me. In Côte d’Ivoire there’s no job for everyone and all my family is jobless. They were happy I started my journey to come to Europe, I’m their only hope,” a 17-year-old told our crew.

The hopes of an entire family rest on the shoulders of a teenage boy who had to go through hell in Libya. The crew has heard many reports like this on board.

In the meantime, all the rescued people were able to leave the ship in Messina, Sicily. The fact that they survived their escape cannot be taken for granted. For example, one of the boats that the SEA-EYE 4 was able to rescue was already sinking when we arrived.

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you. Many thanks to the crew, who did an incredible job for several weeks at sea and were able to bring 494 people to safety. A big thank you also goes to all the people in the background who make a mission possible. And finally, I would also like to express my gratitude to our donors for their continued support, because without them our rescue ship would not sail!

The increased prices, especially for fuel, but also for food and technology, continue to present us with great financial challenges. We are highly motivated to get the SEA-EYE 4 back into action as soon as possible so that it can once again save lives. Please continue to donate so that the next mission can start soon – we are needed.

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