Fishers of men: the dangerous rescues of migrants told by their protagonists Gainers in the news, especially when there are clashes with Libyan patrol boats for maritime border control. But many of the fishermen in Mazara del Vallo in Sicily - including the crew of the vessel Aries led by Gaspar Brown, were killed yesterday in which the blows of a Libyan patrol boat - received the prize "By Sea" by the High Commissioner UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), for rescuing hundreds of migrants in distress, in the crossing of the Mediterranean. Operations in the dangerous rescue of survivors, these fishermen have often replace the Italian coast guard. With no public reimbursement, but only to enforce the law of the sea, which requires the help to those in need. Here are their stories in first person, I have collected for the revised Charter.
FISHERMEN-EROI of Mazara del Vallo
"After having taken them all on board, I loaned the phone to some girls because the victims' families that they were well. They were polite, educated, you could not fleeing hunger, but to find freedom. Just a little bit 'of freedom! "So says Salvatore Cancemi, Twenty Two captain of the trawler fleet of Mazara del Vallo, awarded UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) who did the most heroic act of saving the migrants in Strait of Sicily in 2008. The award "by sea" of the UN, provides a sum of money (10,000 € for the whole crew) to repay the human commitment, but also economical, which offer the fishermen that lend themselves to the rescue. In addition to the tramp vessels meet at sea, in fact there are numerous cases in which the Coast Guard patrol vessels asked to intervene in the rescue of migrants, because of their boats are more spacious and suitable for reloading. Courses risk not to return it, it for the economic losses. "We operate in rescue simply because this is the law of the sea", they say all respondents. But the risk of losing vital revenue, at a time in severe crisis, the fisheries can push others to look the other way. Especially in the era of forced expulsions.
save 300 in a dark and stormy night
Cancemi and his crew have changed the fate of 299 persons on November 27 last year, when at night they were called by the master's port of Lampedusa, a barge with hundreds of migrants was in difficulties. With the dark, the sea state 8 and the smugglers who, fearing arrest, imposed the lights out, had all the characteristics of an enormous tragedy at sea. It took some time and the experience of captain Cancemi to locate the boat in a stormy sea, raggiungerla e avvicinarla alla costa. “Quando le onde portavano la nostra barca giù e la loro su, saltavano a 20-30 insieme, come pirati! E i nostri ad acchiapparli come tonni. Sempre pescatori siamo..”, racconta Cancemi animandosi al ricordo e mimando le azioni. “Alla fine, quando ho visto che nessuno si era perduto o fatto male, l'emozione è stata enorme e la tensione è scoppiata in un grande pianto liberatorio”. Nell'equipaggio si scherzava anche, per tenere alto il morale, come racconta Francesco Cancemi, il capo macchine del peschereccio: “Cercavo di distrarli, soprattutto le ragazze, che erano ancora spaventatissime! Gli abbiamo dato da bere, da mangiare, vestiti e biancheria arrivati al porto di Lampedusa, there was a crowd waiting for us: we were greeted with long applause. "
The obligation to send them back
Lifeboat not always end with joy: "A story that we never told - Cancemi says - is that a boat of Tunisia, met at the border between Libya's territorial waters and those of Tunisia. There were twenty or taking on water. Before rescue them - remember the captain - we felt the maritime authorities. " The authorization is in fact essential to perform a rescue on the sea, the fishermen may otherwise be charged with aiding and abetting illegal, faces up to 24 years in prison, in addition to the loss of economic activity vital to the whole crew. "We were told to take them on board but to return them to a Tunisian patrol boat that was coming to pick them: when they heard of having to return to Tunisia, those guys were very saddened. And we also - Cancemi says - because we knew that they would be beaten and jailed for months. But at the moment to say goodbye thanked us very much: for saving his life. "
A bundle from the sea in storm
There are two images that will remain forever imprinted in the mind of Peter Russo, captain of the fishing boat "Ghibli". The first is that of a bundle that was given out of the boat while a storm raged: "I opened it and found myself in front of children, very small - he says, and his face lights up - he smiled at me and I forgot everything else. He had a great desire to play, after all that darkness and that to stand still, all crammed into that little boat. " That evening, the Ghibli with vessels Monastir and Aries had been called by the Harbour of Lampedusa to rescue a boat at the mercy of rough seas off the island. "We found ourselves faced with a chilling scene: boys 15 to 16 years were in a boat full of people so incredible, eye 300-350, crying and screaming - Russo says - must act quickly because taking on water. With the help of Monastir and air, we have protected from wind loading. Risky operation. E 'in all the confusion, the first to arrive on board, was the bundle. " See
death in the waves
The other image that Russo will never forget was in 2006. Returning from a fishing boat of migrants who had met him for help. The Russian boat was close, but in the rush to board, or perhaps frightened by some dolphins cavorting behind the vessel, the survivors had all moved to one side and the boat capsized. "We found ourselves having to save twenty people who could not swim: it was a matter of moments. The first approach has been to a couple: We caught her husband, but she did not we did and it was abandoned. Then we learned that he had with him a few months that the child had escaped in the ship capsizing. I saw it go down with the long hair that blacks are stretched in the water. We could not throw to save it because there were another 20 people at sea. At the end we brought ashore 21, at 23 - says the captain, still grieving - but she and the baby there was nothing to do. "
A man alone on a piece of wood
Vito City, Ophel The captain, was on the bridge del suo peschereccio all'alba di un giorno d'inverno del 2007, quando vide all'orizzonte qualcosa che, all'inizio, gli parve una boa: “Ho preso il binocolo e ho visto un braccio che si alzava – dice Cittadino mimando la sorpresa del momento - sono avanzato quei 400 metri cercando di non perderlo di vista. Era un uomo solo su un pezzo di legno, il pavimento di un gommone. Gli ho lanciato un salvagente e poi mi sono proteso per afferrarlo. Cittadino ricorda la paura che gli morisse tra le braccia: “L'ho portato a bordo e gli ho fatto una doccia calda poiché tremava. Dopo 18 ore in mare, aggrappato al pavimento di un gommone, la sua pelle nera era diventata bianca. Aveva perso i sensi, non mangiava, non beveva quasi. Si è ripreso after sleeping 24 hours. He told us that they had started from Tripoli in 47: Mauritanian and many Iraqis, all very young, he already had more than just 24 years. They were all dead. "
Photo: Ludovic Jona
