A German humanitarian group operating a rescue boat with 42 rescued migrants on board was in limbo in the Mediterranean for two weeks after Italy ordered it not to enter its territory. The captain ran out of options and turned the boat towards Lampedusa. He said, ‘I know what I'm risking, but the survivors are exhausted. I'm taking them to safety.’ Italy's hard-line anti-migration interior minister Matteo Salvini vowed fines, arrests, and a boat seizure. He said that other European countries should take responsibility for the migrants; in this case Germany, where the NGO has its headquarters, and the Netherlands, because the vessel flew a Dutch flag. On 27 June the boat reached Lampedusa and law-enforcement officers boarded it. By then the migrants were ‘desperate’. Salvini wants Italy to ignore European rules and refrain from registering and identifying future new arrivals.
Italy: rescue boat defies Salvini, enters port
Written by David Fletcher 27 Jun 2019Additional Info
- Pray: for the health and wellbeing of the 42, and for quarrels over responsibility for rescued migrants to end. (Deuteronomy 24:17a)
- More: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48769840
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