476 rescued people from SEA-EYE 4 allowed to go ashore in Messina

Sea-Eye criticizes unequal treatment of people seeking protection

After the 476 refugees had spent a week in cramped quarters on the SEA-EYE 4, disembarkation began today, 22.06.2022, in Messina. Yesterday, the Italian Coast Guard had assigned Messina as a port of safety to the SEA-EYE 4.

The crew of the SEA-EYE 4 had rescued 494 fleeing people from various boats in distress during the previous week. While waiting for a port, 18 people had to be evacuated from the ship for medical reasons. The people had fled the Libyan civil war in unseaworthy boats. However, many had previously fled their countries of origin. The people come from 23 different countries of origin. Among them Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mali or Syria.

“There are also long-term armed conflicts or even wars in countries such as Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Libya, Mali or Syria. Currently, however, there are only safe passages to the EU for people fleeing Ukraine. People from all other countries of origin must continue to risk dying at European borders for the chance of safety and an asylum process. This is clearly structural racism. We need safe passages for all people seeking protection, no matter what the color of their skin or the tyrants they are fleeing,” says Gorden Isler, chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.