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The German rescue ship “Sea-Watch 4” has received permission from the Italian authorities to bring 353 migrants by boat rescued from the Mediterranean Sea to Sicily. The private aid ship was allowed to call in Palermo as a “safe haven,” the maritime rescue organization announced on Twitter. “Finally redemption for those rescued on board,” he continued.
A spokeswoman said “Sea-Watch 4” is expected to arrive in Palermo on Wednesday. Among the migrants are men, women, children and many unaccompanied minors. People would be taken to an Italian quarantine ship. Migrants must be isolated for two weeks in Italy to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
The “Sea-Watch 4” is operated by a broad alliance of helpers, including the Evangelical Church. The ship is on its maiden voyage and left Spain in mid-August to pick up the shipwrecked migrants in the Mediterranean off Libya. The port was assigned to the ship “on the eleventh day after the first rescue,” the operator wrote. He had applied to be a member of Italy and Malta.
The chairman of the council of the Evangelical Church in Germany, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, wrote in a message that without the civilian helpers the rescued “most likely would have drowned.” “It cannot be that Europe looks the other way when people die on the borders of Europe.”
Over the weekend, the “Sea-Watch 4” took more than 150 people from another ship sailing under the German flag. The “Louise Michel” has the support of British street artist Banksy, but was unable to maneuver due to the large number of passengers. The Italian coast guard initially ignored the precarious situation, but then shipped 49 castaways on Saturday night. The “Sea-Watch 4” welcomed the remaining refugees.
During the summer, the number of immigrants arriving in Italy by sea increased again considerably. Since the beginning of the year, the Ministry of the Interior in Rome has registered almost 19,400 arrivals; In the same period of 2019 there were 5,253. People come out of both Libya and Tunisia. In southern Italy, rising numbers are causing more and more protests at arrival sites. Many reception centers are crowded.
