Please find below and attached the latest Alarm Phone report, covering
the last 6 weeks in which we dealt with 18 cases in total.
https://alarmphone.org/en/2016/10/10/monthly-reports-international-solidarity-against-mass-drowning-detention-and-further-border-militarisation/?post_type_release_type=post
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International solidarity against mass drowning, detention and further
border militarisation
WatchTheMed Alarm Phone Six Week Report
29th August – 10th October 2016
"FERRIES NOT FRONTEX" read the banner that Alarm Phone activists put up
on the high-speed ferry between Tangier (Morocco) and Tarifa (Spain), on
Monday the 26th of September 2016. The ferry protest engaged passengers
and crew in conversations about the Mediterranean as one of the
deadliest and most militarised borders in the world, which gained a lot
of interest and positive feedback, especially among passengers from
Morocco (for a longer recap of the protest see:
http://ffm-online.org/2016/09/27/ferries-not-frontex-2/). While
thousands of tourists, mainly from the Global North, cross the
Mediterranean on ferries with ease each year, others have to risk their
lives when they want to cross over to the European side.
But not only in Morocco, also on the Greek islands such as Lesvos, the
need for ferries for all is a pressing concern: after a fire broke out
in the completely overcrowded Moria detention centre on the 19th of
September during a revolt of the detainees,[1] the already unbearable
living conditions for the thousands stuck there have further
deteriorated. In 2015, travellers were still able to continue their
journeys from Lesvos after registration. Now they are held in detention
for about 25 days, before they are released and able to move on the
island but without the possibility to board ferries to the Greek
mainland. This untenable situation is a consequence of the so-called
EU-Turkey deal, based on the presumption that keeping people imprisoned
on the islands for unknown periods of times will deter others who would
seek to cross the Aegean Sea.
Solidarity with those trying to overcome militarised borders is
increasingly criminalized, as we witnessed in the cases of the three
Spanish firemen and lifesavers Manuel Blanco, Enrique González, and
Julio Latorre as well as the German retiree Bernd Keller, who were
recently arrested and accused of trafficking. Similar is the case of
Salam Aideen who is still forced to remain in Greece, not allowed to
return to his family in Denmark simply because he had rescued refugees
at sea.[2] Despite these attempts to suppress solidarity, creating
international solidarity amongst the governed is the only way to contest
regimes of control and deterrence.
We from the Alarm Phone network are continuing our work and just held
our 5th general meeting in Morocco in late September with members coming
together from 16 countries on both sides of the Mediterranean. At the
same time, our daily struggle to support travellers in distress
continues. At times, we speak to precarious travellers directly or we
get contacted by close family members and friends of those who seek to
cross borders. At other times, we are never able to engage directly but
can charge satellite phones kept on refugee boats with credit so that
they can keep making distress calls. This was the case in the Central
Mediterranean on Monday the 29th of August (for full report see:
http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/564). About 5,500 people were
rescued that day alone.
Throughout the past six weeks, the period that this report covers,
numbers of rescued travellers in the Central Mediterranean Sea remained
high. Approximately 24,141 people reached Italy through that part of the
sea.[3] While thousands were rescued, there were, once again, many
fatalities. Besides the unknown number of deaths of those who simply
disappear at sea, hundreds drowned on the 21st of September when their
vessel capsized off Egypt. More than 300 deaths are already accounted
for, but the death toll is likely to rise significantly as many remain
missing.[4]
From the 29th of August to the 10th of October 2016, the WatchTheMed
Alarm Phone was involved in 18 distress situations in total, of which 7
took place in the Western Mediterranean, 7 in the Central Mediterranean,
and 4 in the Aegean Sea. In the same period last year, the Alarm Phone
was involved in more than 360 emergency situations, many of which
occurred in the Aegean Sea. This decrease does not suggest that fewer
people need to cross the sea but merely that deterrence regimes at sea
prevent people from leaving with ever-greater violence. The EU-Turkey
deal in particular has established a trans- and supra-nationally
coordinated deterrence regime that, ultimately, seeks to end migratory
movements at sea.[5] This horrible deal that has caused human rights
violations on a mass scale now seems to serve as a blue print for future
deals with other third countries, especially Northern African ones.
Besides the already close ties to Tunisia and Morocco, collaborations
between the EU and Libya are intensifying. Following an agreement signed
on Tuesday the 23rd of August, EU navies will train Libya’s coastguard
on a vessel part of the military mission Sophia, in order to intercept
and return people seeking to escape Libya.[6] These novel co-operations
have already led to the return of more than 11,000 people, following the
account of Libyan authorities.[7] Regardless of the well-documented mass
violations of migrant rights in Libya, and not to mention the fact that
Libya is a war-torn country, the EU actively assigns responsibility to
those who admitted to have violently attacked and arrested humanitarian
actors, such as the crews of Doctors without Borders and Sea-Eye.[8]
While not openly shared by most representatives of EU institutions and
member states, these deals and co-operations effectively create the
“giant refugee city” in Libya that the racist Hungarian Prime Minister
Orban called for in late September.[9] And not only there. The president
of the European Parliament Martin Schulz now openly pressurised the
Egyptian government to sign a deal similar to the one with Turkey, even
tying the granting of IMF loans to such forms of cooperation.
The externalisation of EU borders to Northern Africa will further
exacerbate the suffering that people on the move experience in places
they need to escape from. As we have repeatedly made clear, and as
shipwreck after shipwreck demonstrates, sea-migration will not cease to
exist but occur through ever-more dangerous and deadly paths. The high
numbers of fatalities off the coast of Libya and the latest mass tragedy
off Egypt give evidence to that fact. At the same time, it is clear that
these forms of border externalisation and deterrence agreements are
deeply volatile and flawed - they can never fully deter unauthorised
forms of migration from seeking out new paths and finding cracks in the
border regime.
Summaries of cases 29th August – 10th October:
Central Mediterranean Sea
On Monday, the 29th of August, an Alarm Phone member was contacted by
someone calling from a Thuraya satellite phone at 8.17am. While no
information could be shared in the initial call, we were able to upload
the satellite phone with credit, as it had nearly no credit left. After
several unsuccessful attempts to reach the phone, we received a call
from the Thuraya phone at 8.55am, but communications were difficult and
eventually broke down. It was clear, however, that the caller was on a
boat. At 9.02am we called the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination
Centre in Rome (MRCC) and passed on the phone number. At 9.11am we
received a call from a contact person in Morocco who reported that a
friend of his had informed him that he had successfully made it onto an
Italian boat after having left Libya on a boat. […]. At 5.35pm MRCC Rome
confirmed that the boat in question had been rescued by an Italian
vessel. All in all, about 5.500 people were rescued on the day (for the
full report see: http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/564).
On Tuesday, the 30th of August, our Alarm Phone shift team was alerted
to 3 cases of maritime distress in the Central Mediterranean. Around
9am, Father Mussie Zerai informed us about 2 vessels in distress off
Libya. Vessel 1 carried about 100 people had had left about 7 hours
earlier, presumably from Zuwarah. Vessel 2 had presumably also left from
there but it was unclear how many people it carried. At 9.10am we were
able to recharge one of the satellite phones with credit but we were
unable to reach the boats. At 9.50am MRCC Rome confirmed that they knew
about the boats in distress already. Our shift team reached vessel 2 at
10.01am and at 11.45am the travellers were able to pass on their GPS
position. […] At about 1pm we received information about a third vessel
in distress, again via Father Zerai. The vessel had also left from
Zuwarah in Libya. […] At 3.34pm MRCC Rome confirmed that they were
coordinating the rescue of all in all dozens of vessels and that the
people would need to patiently wait for their rescue. At 6.25pm MRCC
Rome confirmed the rescue of all vessels in distress in that area of the
sea. All in all, about 3000 people were rescued in 30 SAR operations
(for the full report see: http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/565).
On Monday, the 12th of September 2016 at 7.20am, Father Mussie Zerai
alerted the Alarm Phone to a boat in distress in the Central Med. On the
boat were 140 travellers, amongst them many women and children. We
passed on the information to the Italian coast guard, who informed us
that they were already working on the case. In the evening, the Italian
coast guard confirmed that the boat had been rescued as one of three
vessels rescued that day, carrying a total of 350 travellers (for the
full report see: http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/573).
On Tuesday, the 13th of September 2016 at 7.25am, Father Mussie Zerai
alerted the Alarm Phone to 35 travellers in distress in the Central Med.
We passed on the information to the Italian coast guard, who told us
that they were already aware of the case. At 10.53 the Italian coast
guard confirmed that all the travellers were on board of a merchant
vessel. Later we found out that the travellers had been transferred to
an Italian coast guard boat together with 310 other travellers rescued
the same day from four different vessels (for the full report see:
http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/574).
On Wednesday, the 14th of September 2016 at 6.16am, Father Mussie Zerai
alerted the Alarm Phone to a group of around 130 travellers in distress
in the Central Med. We informed the Italian coast guard about the
situation, but they insisted that they could not do anything without
knowing the exact position of the vessel. At 1.15pm we talked to the
Italian coast guard again, and they informed us that all 124 travellers
on the boat had been rescued by MOAS a few hours earlier (for the full
report see: http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/575).
Western Mediterranean Sea
On Wednesday, the 31st of August, the Alarm Phone was alerted at 9.36am
to a case of distress in the Western Mediterranean Sea. A contact person
informed our shift team about a boat that had left in the early hours of
the day from Malabata in Morocco. […] At 9.46am we received a second
call from another contact person who informed us that there were 10
people on the boat, trying to reach Tarifa/Spain. Shortly afterwards the
second contact person informed us that she could not reach the
travellers anymore. Our shift team tried to contact the boat people,
without success. About one hour later, the initial contact person
informed us that the boat had been rescued by the Spanish coastguards
Salvamento Maritimo. We passed the information on to our second contact
person (for the full report see: http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/563).
On Monday, the 5th of September 2016, the WatchTheMed Alarm Phone was
contacted at 8.03am by a person who informed us that he was on a boat in
the Western Mediterranean Sea. We agreed for him to send us the GPS
position but communication then broke down and we were unable to
re-connect to him until 12.17pm. Unfortunately, the travellers had been
intercepted by the Moroccan authorities and been returned to Morocco
(see: http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/577).
On Thursday, the 8th of September 2016, the Alarm Phone shift team was
contacted at 6.27am by a person who was on a boat in distress with 7
other travellers. They had left from Tangier at approximately 5am. At
6.32 the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo
confirmed that they were in contact with the boat and were looking for
the 8 travellers. When we were able to get in touch with the group again
at 6.58am, it was clear that they were seriously anxious and distressed
and it was difficult to gather any further information about their
situation. Salvamento Maritimo confirmed to us at 7.40am that the vessel
had been found by the Moroccan Navy. The travellers were returned to
Morocco (see: http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/578).
On Tuesday, the 13th of September 2016, at 7.15am, we received a call
from a contact person from Morocco about 10 travellers in distress. They
and another group of 7 travellers had left on two zodiacs from Tanger at
6.30am. Both boats were intercepted by the Marine Royal. Some of the 17
travellers were bussed to Kenitra close to Rabat, after being registered
at the police station in Tanger. This is a usual practice in Morocco
with the aim of preventing another attempt to cross the border (for the
full report see: http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/574).
On Friday, the 16th of September 2016, at 11.21am, the Alarm Phone shift
team received a call from a Moroccan number, but the connection broke
off and it was not possible to re-connect to the travellers. At 2.46 pm
we received another call from the travellers. They informed us that
everyone was safe and back in Morocco (see:
http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/570).
On Thursday, the 22nd of September 2016, at 9.38am, the Alarm Phone
received a call from a number in Morocco. We learned that the person
calling us was missing news from relatives on a boat. At 10.20am, we
received the phone number of the travellers in distress, but were not
able to reach them directly. At 11.30am, we alerted the Spanish rescue
organization Salvamento Maritimo (S.M.). At 1.30pm, S.M. from Almeria
informed us that they had just found a boat with 19 travellers on board,
including a pregnant woman. At 2pm, one of the contact persons confirmed
to us that the travellers on board of the boat in distress had been
rescued (see http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/571).
On Monday, the 26th of September 2016, at 9.28am, the Alarm Phone was
called from a Moroccan number and informed about 9 people on board of a
boat in distress, who had left from Tangier/Morocco to Tarifa/Spain. We
were unable to reach the travellers directly, but stayed in contact with
the person who had called us. At 3pm, we were able to speak to one of
the travellers via this contact person. The group had been intercepted
and brought back to Morocco by the Moroccan Marine Royal (see:
http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/572).
Aegean Sea
On Saturday, the 17th of September 2016, at 5.45am, the Alarm Phone
shift team was alerted by a contact person to a boat carrying 35
travellers, on their way from Turkey to Greece. The engine had stopped
twice, but was working again. At 6.57 am the Greek coast guard confirmed
that the travellers had been rescued by a Frontex vessel, and that they
would be taken to Samos (see: http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/567
for the full report).
On Sunday, the 18th of September 2016, at 1.37am, the Alarm Phone shift
team was alerted to a group of 10 people, 8 men and 2 women, who had
stranded on Pasas Island. They were seeking shelter in the church on the
island, and reported that they were very cold. At 7.13am the group
confirmed that they had been rescued and that everyone was safe (for
full report see: http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/568).
On Thursday, the 6th of October 2016, at 5.16am a contact person sent us
a position of a boat in distress. We checked the position and told him
that the boat was in Greek waters. He told us that the Coastguard was
already near the boat, but that he called because he was afraid of a
push-back. At 6.13 the contact person sent us the number of a person on
the boat. We reached out to the people in the boat, who told us that
they had been rescued to the Greek island of Samos (see:
http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/579).
On Sunday, the 9th of October 2016, at 3.15am, we received a call from
travellers in distress near Milos. At 5.40am, the travellers confirmed
that the Greek Coastguard had rescued them to Milos. 3 persons were
arrested as traffickers (for the full report see:
http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/580).
[1]
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/refugee-camp-lesbos-fire-thousands-flee-moria-greece-migrants-a7317336.html
[2] http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/49/49390/1.html,
http://taz.de/16-Jahre-Haft-wegen-Schlepperei/!5336068/,
https://www.change.org/p/council-of-the-european-union-allow-salam-aldeen-to-leave-greece?recruiter=597212192&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_page&utm_term=des-lg-share_petition-custom_msg
[3] http://data.unhcr.org/mediterranean/country.php?id=502
[4]
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/23/death-toll-in-migrant-shipwreck-off-egypt-rises-to-300?CMP=twt_gu
[5]
https://www.opendemocracy.net/maurice-stierl/every-refugee-boat-rebellion-supporting-border-transgressions-at-s
[6] https://euobserver.com/foreign/134732
[7] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-libya-idUSKCN11M1AP
[8]
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/28/libyan-navy-admits-confrontation-charity-rescue-boat-msf,
http://www.all-in.de/nachrichten/rundschau/Eskalation-im-Mittelmeer-Libysche-Kuestenwache-setzt-Fluechtlingshelfer-68-aus-Ofterschwang-fest;art2757,2349973
[9]
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/europe-giant-refugee-city-libya-africa-hungary-prime-minister-viktor-orban-a7327931.html
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