#DontLetThemDrown Archives - aditus foundation

NGO Press Statement: Malta must stop illegally pushing back people to Libya!

We are extremely concerned at yet another allegation that Malta illegally pushed back to Libya a group of 83 persons. According to the reports, the people were in distress at sea in Malta’s Search and Rescue Zone. The reports further allege that, instead of coordinating their rescue, Malta somehow permitted the Libyan authorities to enter Malta’s zone of rescue responsibility and to return the people to Libya.

Libya is not a safe country. It remains unsafe due to widespread and on-going conflict. This is aggravated by the fact that it does not yet have a Government able to provide security and stability to the entire country and to all people living in it.

Joint NGO Statement: Survivors of traumatic incidents at sea need support, not detention!

aditus foundation and Jesuit Refugee Service (Malta) are extremely saddened by the recent news of yet another tragedy at sea that resulted in several people dying. We are further upset by Malta’s treatment of the survivors. According to news sites that we are unable to confirm, 21 persons were taken to Malta’s main detention centre.

We underline that anyone going through such a horrific experience requires immediate psychological support. The survivors came within inches of death whilst at the same time witnessing their friends and possibly loved ones drowning around them. No words can possibly describe the mental state they must be in.

We therefore strongly urge Malta to offer them all the psychological support they require, particularly to the most vulnerable. This support cannot be provided in detention, but requires a safe and caring space. This is an opportunity for Malta to do what is right.

As always, we stand ready to provide our own services as soon as we are able to.

(AFM photo of the boat while out at sea: Jonathan Borg, from Times of Malta)

Government’s abdication of search and rescue responsibilities contributing to deaths in Mediterranean

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The government’s continued abdication of search and rescue responsibilities is contributing to deaths in the Mediterranean

More than 1,300 people died or disappeared in the Central Mediterranean in 2022. These people – men, women, children, sons, and daughters – can be added to the deplorable death toll of more than 25,000 people who have died while crossing the Mediterranean since 2014.

The Maltese government’s continued failure to uphold its search and rescue (SAR) responsibilities contributes to this death toll by putting lives at risk. In 2022, Maltese authorities ignored more than 20,000 people in distress; 413 boats in distress in Malta’s SAR zone were not assisted, and only three boats were rescued by the Maltese Armed Forces.

Malta must give answers on Loujin’s death

Malta Refugee Council demands and official inquiry into the death of a young girl

At the end of August, Loujin, a four-year old Syrian girl, boarded a wooden fishing vessel on Lebanon’s coast with her mother and one year old sister, Mira, and set out across the sea with over sixty other people from Syria, Palestine and Lebanon.
Running out of basic provisions and taking on water, they began sending out distress signals on 2 September, 2022. Those distress signals were immediately relayed to the Maltese authorities.
Joint Press Statement on the vigil for Loujin held on 16 September 2022

Publicly available information on Loujin’s tragic death is conflicting. One version claims Malta was alerted to the distress situation on 3 September and that no concrete action was taken to secure the lives of the persons aboard the fishing boat. Another version claims that Malta was informed on 6 September and every step was taken to protect all lives, including that of Loujin.

The version everyone must agree on is that Loujin did not survive the ordeal, dying of thirst in her mother’s arms.

Save lives at sea

At the end of August, Loujin, a four-year old Syrian girl, boarded a wooden fishing vessel on Lebanon’s coast with her mother and one year old sister, Mira, and set out across the sea with over sixty other people from Syria, Palestine and Lebanon. Running out of basic provisions and taking on water, they began sending out distress signals on 2 September, 2022. Those distress signals were immediately relayed to the Maltese authorities.

For days, the Maltese Authorities ignored the distress signals. They also ignored NGO calls for help. For days Loujin, her family, and their fellow travelers drifted in the eastern part of Malta’s search and rescue region (SAR). Commercial vessels passed within eyesight multiple times. The Maltese Authorities shamefully instructed none of them to intervene.