NI boat coming to refugees’ rescue in world’s deadliest migration route

Joby, from Belfast, said that some of those refugees have made the “staggering” trek from Afghanistan to Libya in their bid for freedom.

Refugee Rescue was founded in 2015 in response to the need for a humanitarian search and rescue asset on the Aegean Sea when thousands of people were arriving on the island by boat, having been displaced by war, conflict, and persecution.

In Greece, the crews on board Mo Chara (‘my friend’ in Irish), a former RNLI lifeboat, assisted over 15,000 people in distress situations at sea.

Refugee Rescue has now moved its operation to the Mediterranean, off the coast of Libya, the world’s deadliest migration route, in which over 22,000 people have died or gone missing since 2014.

Joby said: “Our first mission took place about four months ago, we were out for just over three weeks – we saved 460-odd people, 160 of them were children.”

Having brought the refugees safely to shore in Italy, Mo Chara was detained for three months by local authorities.

Joby said: “It was to be expected. We’ve got some of the best maritime lawyers looking after us, we managed to get out of it and we’re back on the sea again.”

Joby runs Refugee Rescue but is not one of the search and rescue personnel, who he said witness some terrible things.

The latest mission, working as a rapid reaction vehicle alongside the German ship, Sea-Eye, is to save refugees who get into difficulties off the coast of Libya.

Joby said: “They actually come right round from Afghanistan. Some of them will get to Turkey to cross, but some of them will come this way. I found it staggering that some of them would make this trip.

“You’ll get Palestinians trying to get across, but mostly folk from African countries.

“They make their way to Libya, there’s a whole smuggling network there. They’re going to come anyway, we’re just off the coast of Libya with other NGOs just waiting for them to hit the seas to ensure they don’t drown.

“They send them out in all sorts of rickety old boats, off they go. Many of these people are landlocked people, they’ve never even seen the sea before. The smugglers have taken their money and off they go. It’s a big mess really.

“Politics doesn’t come into it. We’re a humanitarian organisation. Would you like your own mother, or father, or brother, sister, daughter, son to be in the sea. You’d like to think someone would come and get you if you were.”

To find out more or to help Refugee Rescue continue their life saving work by donating visit their website www.refugeerescue.org

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