dima

  • Seenotrettung

    On board of the German rescue vessel Sea-Watch 3. In 2020, tens of thousands of refugees again tried to cross the Mediterranean sea from Libya.  According to UNHCR, more than 1000 people died by the attempt in 2020. Many more are dragged back to Libyan refugee camps by the so-called "Libyan Coast Guard". The European Union and Italy try to prevent private rescue ships from leaving and rescuing people, so that often there is not a single rescue ship left in the region. At times, it was not even possible to observe the situation and often state authorities do not respond to distress calls in order to prevent people from being brought to Europe. Only very few ships (like the Sea-Watch 3 in February) were able to leave for their planned missions in 2020 to save lives.