The successful rescue of 155 African migrants shipwrecked off Lampedusa on Thursday is the silver lining in the cloud of sorrow lingering over the Italian island, according to the Knights of Malta volunteers’ coordinator.
Mauro Casignini, director of the Italian Emergency Corps of the Order of Malta (Cisom), said the search for hundreds of irregular immigrants lost at sea off Lampedusa had to be put on hold because of rough seas.
The Knights of Malta provide humanitarian aid worldwide, including the borders of war-torn Syria, in keeping with their tradition of defending the sick and displaced.
It’s sad, but we must also look at the number of rescued people
They are now in Lampedusa where a boat carrying some 500 people, mostly Eritreans and Somalis who left from Misurata in Libya, capsized early on Thursday.
The Italian Coastguard has recovered 111 corpses and saved 155 people. It is believed that more than 200 are still missing.
“There is a huge sense of sadness in the air. There are a lot of bodies here. However, the knowledge that 155 people were rescued is uplifting.
“The number of the victims is big. It’s sad, but we must also look at the number of rescued people,” he said, adding that the night before the tragedy, more than 400 people were taken to Lampedusa alive after they were shipwrecked. Some 100 of these were children.
“Unfortunately, there have been many similar tragedies we probably did not get to hear about because the bodies were never found. There have also been other cases when only a few people were saved from large groups.
“This is not the first tragedy in the Sicilian Channel, but it is the first one that took place so close to Lampedusa,” Mr Casignini told the Sunday Times of Malta over the phone from Lampedusa.
Cisom has an agreement with the Italian Coastguard and Guardia di Finanza to provide aid on the Italian coastline.
The Order of Malta is the only organisation that since 2008 has been sending a doctor and nurse on every single coastguard boat which goes out at sea to rescue migrants. To date, volunteers have screened 4,000 migrants.
“This is an important service as we manage to stabilise patients and provide life-saving first aid before they land for more treatment,” Mr Casignini said.
Following last Thursday’s tragedy, the Order of Malta is also providing psychological services to Lampedusa residents because of the magnitude of the tragedy and the number of dead people brought to shore.
In the meantime, however, the rescue teams have to wait for the sea and the wind to calm down.
The Migrants’ Network for Equality and Moviment Graffitti are holding a candle-light gathering tomorrow at 5.30pm to express grief at the loss of lives in the tragedy near Lampedusa.
“Through this gathering we also want to denounce policies of harsh border restrictions in place in many European countries, which are leaving people no option but to embark on perilous journeys where death is a very real possibility,” a statement from the two groups said.