This is how MEDITERRANEA Saving Humans announces the departure of Mission #21 with the sailing boat SAFIRA from Lampedusa.

"In Libya and Tunisia, every day, it is a hunt for the migrant person. Especially if black, Christian and/or belonging to the LGBTQAI+ community. Raids in the streets, deportations and abandonments in the desert, interceptions at sea, arbitrary detentions in prison camps, torture and extortion are the daily news, at the hands of regimes and militias that are the privileged partners of the Italian government and European institutions'. - This is how Laura Marmorale, president of Mediterranea, describes the situation, adding: ‘In the past few days, the forced closure in Tripoli of the activities of a dozen non-governmental organisations, as well as the interventions in Tunis that repress humanitarian work, show that Libya and Tunisia are countries that are anything but safe, from which hundreds of people legitimately try to escape, seeking protection in Europe.’
It is in this context that Mission #21 of Mediterranea Saving Humans starts today from the port of Lampedusa: "Our ship Mare Jonio is in the dock in Naples, but our response can only be: we are going back to sea. - says Denny Castiglione, head of mission on board - We are going back to sea with the sailing boat Safira, already protagonist at the end of November 2024 of the rescue of 79 people 40 miles off the Pelagic island, thanks to the collaboration with the association that owns it. These days we have equipped the boat and trained our crew, with experienced rescuers and two medics on board. We will be operational south of Lampedusa to monitor the situation, provide first assistance to boats in distress, notify the Maltese and Italian authorities of cases on which to intervene and, if necessary, be ready to directly rescue lives in danger.

‘’Libyan criminals and traffickers, wanted by international justice unpunished and protected, espionage against victims and witnesses, humanitarian activists and independent journalists, plans to deport migrants to third countries. - concludes Marmorale - We also go back to the sea to testify that in our country humanity and solidarity are widely spread values. And that, at sea as on land, no one can be left behind'.

Lampedusa, 5 aprile 2025