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The two fishing vessels “Medinea” and “Antarctica” with 18 crew members released yesterday by the government of General Haftar after the prime minister’s lightning mission in Libya are sailing towards Mazara del Vallo. Conte and the chancellor Di Maio. The ships left the port of Benghazi only at night, a delay due to the need to recharge the batteries of the engines that had been parked for 108 days after the seizure that took place on 1 September. To complete the crossing in the Strait of Sicily, the two fishing boats, traveling at a speed of ten knots per hour, should take approximately 48 hours. The arrival in Mazara del Vallo, where relatives and friends of the fishermen celebrated their liberation yesterday, is scheduled for Sunday.
“In these 108 days we have changed four prisons in increasingly difficult conditions. The last one we were in was in the dark, they brought us food in metal containers. It was really very complicated: they turned the lights on and off as they pleased. “Pietro Marrone, captain of the” Medinea “, tells the story of the imprisonment in Libya, in the first contact via radio after leaving the port of Benghazi with its owner Marco Marrone.
This morning, from the new radio station in the port, the shipowner managed to speak with his crew who are setting sail to return to Mazara del Vallo.
“Yesterday,” Captain Pietro Marrone says, “they came looking for us and a guard told us: ‘Get ready, we have to go’. The same thing had already happened about a month ago, so at this point no one believed it ”.
The captain of the “Medincea” then continues with his reconstruction of the day: “After the announcement that we would be released, we got ready: we shaved, we borrowed bottles of shampoo, we washed, they brought us some monkeys.” Then on board a bus they took us out of our ‘varcuzze’ (the fishing boats). Last night, after recharging the batteries, we started the engines and drove off. Now we are looking forward to going home. ”
“The last cell, where we spent the night before hearing the news of the release, was dark,” says the captain. The food was brought to us in bowls and it was not good. We have been subjected to humiliation, psychological pressure, but never violence. When they told us it was ‘good morning’ we didn’t believe it. ”
“They kept us divided: Italians and Tunisians, separated. In dark cells, without trial, and always wearing the same clothes. We met again after 70 days, and it was beautiful. But we get scared. When they told us that President Conte was coming, they also gave us better food, but yesterday we ate the real one in our boats. We are happy, we are all doing well, and we are looking forward to getting home to our family and friends. Thank you all”.
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