Life Support | 14 Rescued People Disembark in Bari

At around 5pm local time in Bari, Italy, EMERGENCY's search and rescue ship Life Support completed its disembarkation of 14 people rescued last Friday in international waters in the Libyan SAR zone.

The people had been rescued on the morning of Friday 27 February, when an unidentified fibreglass boat approached Life Support at high speed. At a distance of about 70 metres, people on board jumped into the water and asked for help. EMERGENCY's crew promptly intervened, rescuing everyone and bringing them to safety on board.

"We have just completed the disembarkation of the 14 people rescued on this mission," said Domenico Pugliese, Captain of Life Support. "We would like to thank the authorities who welcomed us and the volunteers in Bari who assisted us: thanks to them, the disembarkation operations went smoothly. We wish the survivors who have just stepped on shore all the best for their future, and hope they can have better lives than the ones they left behind. Now, Life Support is preparing for a new mission in the central Mediterranean."

The 14 people rescued were all male, including an unaccompanied minor. Their countries of origin included Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia, countries devastated by conflict, violence, extreme poverty and food insecurity. They had departed from the Libyan coast.

"The survivors told us about their very complex and risky journey," comments Annachiara Burgio, Cultural Mediator on board Life Support. "Many also told us about arbitrary detentions in Libya, where some of them were imprisoned for months without seeing the light of day, while others were locked up for long periods in a room with 60 others, in appalling sanitary conditions. Many also have signs of physical torture on their bodies. We hope that everyone will find the protection they are looking for in this new phase of their lives."

"I was studying in Pakistan, but in my village, near the border with Afghanistan, there was always fighting and I didn't feel safe, so I decided to leave," one of the young people rescued told us. "I travelled by plane to Libya, where I was held captive for a year before leaving and where I was repeatedly beaten and asked for money. We were in a house, locked in a room with about 35 people, without a bathroom, without food and with little water, never going out or seeing the sunlight. We ate only once a day and spent months waiting for a boat. Finally, when we were in the middle of the sea and the silhouette of your ship appeared, the pilots of the boat we were on ordered us to jump into the water. I hope to meet better people in Italy."

Another of the young men rescued, who was threatened with death in his country, shared his experience of crossing the Mediterranean: "I don't know who I was talking to in Libya, it was probably the mafia. They told us they would take us to Lampedusa, we didn't know they would throw us into the sea. On the boat where we began the crossing, their faces were covered with cloth. They beat us and hit us on the head and hands with a gun; after the beating, my friend was bleeding from the head, I risked the same but I protected myself with my hand.
As soon as they saw your ship, the men with their faces covered brought the boat closer to the ship and told us to jump off, to jump into the water. We didn't jump because we were afraid, but they continued to hit us with the butt of the gun until we were forced to jump into the water. Fortunately, thanks to you, it ended well. Now I would like to bring my family and my girlfriend here too."

These testimonies remind us once again that policies of externalising and closing off borders - policies pursued by Italy and the European Union - enrich traffickers, putting thousands of people on the move at risk. EMERGENCY reiterates the need for Mediterranean policies to centre the protection of life, to strengthen rescue capacity with a European-led SAR mission, and to expand legal and safe routes of entry to Europe.

With today's disembarkation, Life Support concludes its 40th mission in the central Mediterranean, having operated in this region since December 2022. The ship has rescued 3,248 people.