German rescuers face new challenges amid Mediterranean migrant crisis

A German migrant rescue organisation has conducted over 70 missions, saving more than 17,000 lives in the Mediterranean since 2015. However, the organization is facing escalating aggressive actions by the Libyan coastguard and restrictive European policies amid efforts to continue lifesaving operations.

Following is a transcript of Rudaw’s interview with Sea-Eye, a German non-governmental organization that rescues migrants in distress in the Mediterranean.

Rudaw: How many operations has Sea-Eye conducted to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean Sea? How many operations did you carry out in the first seven months of 2024 and 2023? How many migrants have you rescued during that time?

Sea-Eye: In 2023 we rescued 504 people in 5 missions, and in 2024 so far we have rescued 659 people in three missions. In total, we have saved over 17,000 lives in more than 70 missions since 2015.

Do you know the nationality of those you rescued? If so, how many of them were from Iraq, Syria, Iran, and Turkey?

I cannot provide specific figures on this. Overall, however, the data from the UN Refugee Agency shows that most people are fleeing from Afghanistan, closely followed by Syria. Many people seeking protection also come from Sudan. The causes of flight are diverse and range from persecution and wars to the consequences of climate change.

Have you faced any obstacles in rescuing migrants? Has any government surrounding the Mediterranean Sea created any obstacles for your team? If so, which countries and what were the obstacles?

In Europe, we have seen an increasing isolation policy in recent years. This is reflected in legislation such as the Piantedosi Decree in Italy, which came into force at the beginning of 2023. The law requires ships to contact the Italian rescue coordination centre immediately after a rescue and to be assigned a port without responding to further distress calls. Fines and penalties may be imposed for non-compliance.

In the same year we faced two other politically direct headwinds, both from Brussels and Berlin. In the summer, the EU agreed on a reform of the European asylum system that severely curtailed the rights of refugees and exacerbated inhumane conditions at the external borders. Towards the end of the year, the German government introduced a bill that could criminalise solidarity with refugees and imprison our crew. We protested with other organisations on both occasions and will continue to campaign for the human rights of refugees in 2024.

Another challenge for us in the Mediterranean is the so-called Libyan coastguard, which intercept people fleeing across the Mediterranean and bring them back to the civil war-torn country of Libya. It is financed by the European Union, among others. As early as 2023, UN experts accused the EU of aiding and abetting the crimes of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard. In its operations, the so-called Libyan coastguard repeatedly acts extremely aggressively and violently, which has already led to the deaths of people. In Libya, the abducted people are threatened with imprisonment in so-called detention camps, where they are exposed to serious human rights violations.

How much does each operation of rescuing migrants cost? or how much money did you need each year for the operations in 2023 and 2024?

In 2023, the cost of the SEA-EYE 4 was more than 2.5 million euros. We have to reckon with about 250.000 euros per mission. The money is spent e.g. on logistics, docking costs in port, shipyard and repairs, consumables, IT, medical care and the crew. As a non-profit organisation, our costs are largely financed by donations and membership fees. The German Federal Foreign Office also supports us financially.

How does your organization provide safety for your team and the migrants you rescue? has there been any incident that might have caused injury or death? If so, do you have such data for 2023 and 2024?

We have extensive operational training where the crew is trained in several rescue scenarios and first aid. We also work with the NGO German Doctors, who provide medical staff for our ship so that we can provide emergency care in a hospital on board.

2023 we had to mourn the deaths of 6 people. On the first mission of the year, all help came too late for two people. One baby had to witness the death of its own mother. In October, the so-called Libyan coastguard carried out an unprofessional operation with dangerous manoeuvres, as a result of which our crew was only able to rescue four people dead. So far in 2024, we have recovered 2 dead bodies from a ship and had several missions where people's lives were in danger - including the lives of two babies.

Does your organization collaborate with other NGOs to rescue migrants? If so, how?

In the Mediterranean, we naturally coordinate with other sea rescue NGOs and support each other. There are also many NGOs on land that we work with - for example Alarmphone, German Doctors I mentioned earlier or United4Rescue, a broad alliance in support of civilian sea rescue with over 900 partners initiated by the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD).

Has there been any legal case against your organization from any government or organization? If so, how was it and why?

We ourselves have not yet been charged, but we are defending ourselves with lawsuits against various detentions. We are often threatened with detentions and fines by the Italian authorities. Between June 2023 and June 2024 alone, the SEA-EYE 4 was detained in Italy for a total of 120 days. Sea-Eye has already filed several lawsuits against unlawful detentions. The judgements are often delayed by several years: a total of five court cases are currently pending. The processes are associated with high costs and additional effort for us.

In a hearing in June, the court in Reggio Calabria ruled in favour of Sea-Eye e.V.’s lawsuit and declared the 60-day detention of the SEA-EYE 4 in March 2024 to be unlawful. The judge found the allegations that the crew of the ship had not followed the instructions of the so-called Libyan coastguard to be unproven. The reason given in this case by the Italian authorities for the detention of the SEA-EYE 4 was that on March 7th, the ship did not follow the instructions of the so-called Libyan coastguard, who, according to eyewitnesses, were pointing weapons at the rescue ship. We also did not hand over the people seeking protection to the so-called Libyan coastguard. The SEA-EYE 4 rescued a total of 84 people from distress at sea during the operation. It was only in February of this year that the Italian Supreme Court of Appeal classified the handover of people to the so-called Libyan coastguard as a criminal offence, as the civil war country of Libya is not a safe place due to serious human rights violations such as torture, slavery, rape and arbitrary executions.

How do you see the migrants situation in sea and when they reach Europe compare to 2015 (when your organization was founded)? Do you collaborate with any parties to solve migrant issues and rescue them?

The situation for migrants at sea is still very difficult, risky and life-threatening. It already was in 2015 and it still is now. Thousands of people are still dying. According to the IOM, we have only recently exceeded the number of 30,000 people missing in the Mediterranean since 2014.

As already mentioned, we are witnessing an increasing isolation in the European asylum policy. This can be seen, for example, in the reform of the Common European Asylum System, under which people seeking protection will be sent to third countries such as Tunisia to apply for asylum. For us, this reform is above all a destructive approach to migration and refugees. This is because the reform neither guarantees safe escape routes nor strengthens human rights - instead it is an attempt to deter people from fleeing and pursues the sole political goal of reducing the number of arrivals in Europe: More border controls, prison-like border camps and shortened asylum procedures are no solution to the problems people face in their home countries.
 
Instead of isolation, we are calling for the EU to finally tackle the causes of flight, create safe escape routes and organise a state sea rescue service. Until then, we will continue to save lives in the Mediterranean - despite all the obstacles that are placed in our way.

In order to meet all these new challenges, we will be putting the SEA-EYE 5 into operation this year as a fast and flexible all-weather lifeboat that will enable us, for example, to get to assigned ports and back to the operational area more quickly. This means we won't lose any valuable time in the search and rescue area.

Reporting by Nyaz Mustafa