The lives of seven refugees could have been saved had the authorities acted earlier, activists say

Meanwhile, over 400 refugees on board the Geo Barents wait for Europe to finally allow them to come ashore THE DEATHS of seven refugees in the Mediterranean could have been prevented had the authorities arrived earlier, civilian rescuers charged today. The authorities were first alerted to a boat in distress carrying what was later confirmed

Maltese and Italian coastguards fail to assist NGO rescuers who asked for their help

Aita Mari saves the lives of more people than it can legally bring on board but the authorities ignored their plight AN NGO refugee rescue ship in the central Mediterranean waited hours today for help from the Maltese and Italian coastguards that never came after the vessel saved the lives of 148 people, 28 more

NGO refugee rescuers unimpressed by EU’s proposals for a new migration and asylum pact

REFUGEE rescue and aid organisations have been left unimpressed by the European Commission’s plans for a new pact on migration and asylum. Commission president Ursula von der Leyen laid out its proposals to fix the EU’s ad-hoc approach for migrants and refugees at a press conference on Wednesday morning. “We have created a complex internal

Spanish NGO refugee rescuers pay tribute to former volunteer after his tragic death

Fernando Garfella passed away this weekend during a solo scuba dive off the coast of Mallorca SPANISH activists and members of the civil refugee rescue fleet have paid tribute to a former volunteer and documentary filmmaker who died in a tragic diving accident at the weekend. Fernando Garfella, 31, failed to resurface during a solo

Relatives of the drowned Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi urge Italy to release NGO rescue ships

Civil rescue ships, the Alan Kurdi and Aita Mari which saved close to 200 lives at Easter, have been detained in Sicily for over a month RELATIVES of the Syrian toddler whose body was photographed lying face down on a Turkish beach in 2015 have urged the Italian government to free two NGO refugee rescue

NGOs urge supporters to demand the Italian government releases seized rescue ships

Meanwhile, the IOM and UNHCR put pressure on Malta to bring 160 refugees detained on offshore tour ships to dry land NGO refugee rescuers have demanded the Italian government release two charity ships the authorities seized earlier this month and to start supporting their humanitarian work. The Alan Kurdi and the Aita Mari were detained