Migrants, Alan Kurdi heads to Marseille: “No country contacted coordinates relief efforts” – La Stampa

After four days of waiting at sea to the east of Lampedusa, Alan Kurdi with the 125 migrants on board decided to leave for Marseille: “No rescue at sea coordination center in the different countries contacted wanted to take over our intervention – explains a note issued in the morning from the headquarters of Regensburg, city of the NGO Sea-Eye – and that is why we are heading towards France ».

The NGO explains that it chose Marseille because “that was originally our destination port” where the change of crew and the preparation of the new mission were planned. But the clearest explanation comes later, when the president of the NGO, Gordon Isler, says that he does not want Alan Kurdi to experience what happened last week at the Open Arms in front of Palermo when dozens of migrants jumped into the sea trying to get there. to the coast after days of waiting at sea: “This is one of those uncontrollable situations that we do not want to happen – said Isler – we will not accept another block.”

There is no mention of what happened to the other ship that called in Palermo at the same hours, Sea Watch 4, which, once the quarantine period was over, was subjected to an inspection by the Coast Guard and therefore to arrest. administrative. But there is no doubt that among the fears of the NGOs, at this point, there is also that of the boats being stopped after each rescue. They repeated it a few days ago when representatives of various NGOs said that these arrests “are a pretext and are made to block the rescue at sea.” The Alan Kurdi, which is currently the only “operational” NGO ship, had already been detained by the Italian authorities on May 5, after landing 150 migrants, and right in the port of Palermo. The next day it was the turn of the Spanish Aita Mari. On the 5 NGO ships that made a stop in Italy in the last 5 months.

Yesterday, the Italian Coast Guard had agreed to the medical evacuation of eight people from the ship: two families, including young children. But then the MRCC of Rome, like those of Malta, Libya and Germany, had no longer responded to constant requests for a “pos”, a safe port in which to disembark shipwrecked migrants. Thus, the NGO made the decision to go to the most distant France, despite still having 125 of the 133 migrants recovered last Saturday in the central Mediterranean on board, after consulting with the crew: “Since we will pass through several ports of Sardinia, from Corsica and the south of France, we could ask for help anywhere if necessary ”, says Gordon Isler.

The German NGO does not know if the French government will bear the burden of disembarking the 125 migrants, “but we believe in the help of the French people and that they will not leave Alan Kurdi abandoned in front of Marseille.”