The international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is requesting a place of safety to disembark 111 survivors—including 52 minors, the youngest of whom is four months old—on board the Geo Barents who were rescued from the Mediterranean Sea on March 5 and 6.
Malta and Italy have denied MSF’s requests for a place of safety to disembark, despite MSF informing the authorities about the vulnerable condition and medical needs of many people on board. Approximately 45 percent of the minors are traveling alone (many report having family in Europe with whom they are attempting to reunite), there are two pregnant women on board, and one woman with a severe traumatic injury to her right leg who needs specialist care.
Many of the people on board have symptoms of severe psychological distress such as flashbacks and generalized distress, anxious overthinking, and sleeping problems resulting from the trauma they experienced in Libya. MSF’s teams on board are doing their best to provide medical and psychological support to all survivors, but they need to be urgently disembarked in a place of safety to receive further assistance.
Many of the survivors recount that they have attempted the sea-crossing multiple times only to be intercepted by the Libyan Coastguard and taken to detention centers where they experienced extreme violence, including sexual abuse and ill-treatment.
Taken back to Libya
On February 20, the Geo Barents departed the Sicilian coast for the search and rescue zone. For several days, the rough weather in the Mediterranean Sea discouraged most departures from the Libyan and Tunisian coasts. The first alert of a boat in distress arrived in the very early hours of February 26. After a search overnight, the ship arrived close to the last known position only to find an empty rubber boat. The 105 people reported to be on board were most likely intercepted by the Libyan Coast Guard and returned back to Libya.
