UNHCR honours Italian fishing crew
Mazara del Vallo boat rescued 300 migrants
25 November, 16:32
(ANSA) - Palermo, November 25 - The crew of an
Italian fishing boat who braved 15-metre-high storm waves to
save more than 300 migrants adrift in the Mediterranean was
honoured on Wednesday by the United Nations refugee agency
UNHCR.The captain of the Twenty Two, Salvatore Cancemi,and his crew were called in by Italian coast guard officials to lend a hand to a rescue operation off the southern island of Lampedusa on the night of November 28, 2008.
Only their large motorised fishing boat from the Sicilian town of Mazara del Vallo managed to reach the storm-struck migrants.
"The waves were well over 15 metres high, there was a full-blown storm and we could hear them crying out for help. It was tough, but we never thought of giving up. When we finally reached shore, we all broke out in tears," said the captain.
"The real Italy is one which upholds the value of life and solidarity. The courage of these sailors, who risked their own lives to save that of others, is an example of that spirit," said UNHCR's Italian spokesperson Laura Boldrini in handing out the recognition at a ceremony in Palermo. "In a spate of recent incidents, however, we've seen that migrants are likened to disposable waste, not worth helping because it avoids complications and possible legal tangles," said Boldrini.
In a clear reference to Italy and Libya's controversial push-back policy to prevent illegal immigration on Italian shores, Boldrini recalled that the Geneva Convention made it mandatory to help anyone stranded at sea. The policy has resulted in a 90% drop in arrivals since it was launched in May but it has come under heavy fire from the centre-left opposition in Italy, the Catholic Church, humanitarian organisations and the UNHCR, who say Libya does not have a system in place to deal with asylum claims.
Thanks to the agreement with Libya, only 1,900 illegal immigrants reached Italy from May to October 31, compared to 19,000 in the same period last year, Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said recently.
Under the initiative, migrants are rescued in international waters and taken back to Libya where humanitarian organisations can vet their asylum claims.
Libya is the main stepping-off point on the North African coast for migrants seeking to reach southern Italy.
Boldrini said immigrants taken to Libya, including women and children, were "being held in detention centres in terrible conditions".
