“I saved her, but I lost 6 friends” – Corriere.it

Slammed in the waves on the back big fat boyIt was little more than a yellow spot on his red shirt. Only when the rescuers Doctors without borders (Clearing) They realized that the little bundle that the young man did everything to keep out of the water was 4 month old baby girl.

photojournalist Michael Bonnellwho was on board the MSF launch, filmed the entire scene that took place in Libyan search and rescue area: We see the strong young man in the red shirt and a woman hanging on a wreck, just above the surface of the water. They have been there for at least three hours, they are exhausted, violent waves pull them from side to side. The big boy in the red shirt has a hallucinatory look, however he grabs what’s left of the boat and with the other hand he grabs the little girl, a little bundle every time she runs the risk of running away from him.

throws it over his shoulder as if His rock in the middle of the sea. The boat approaches to swing as the rescuers extend their arms. It’s dangerous, they can take them all down. savior, Fulvia Conti From the lady, she leans on the edge of the orange rubber, while two other workers hold her to the suit. He was able to take the child and take her to the doctor. She is not breathing and so he tries to revive her: a heart massage, a few strokes on her back. The little girl suddenly She burst into tears: she’s alive. Everything ends in a matter of seconds, without even having time to think.

It seems like a miracle. But if that little girl is now safe with her mother in a hospital in Malta, it is not only because the boy in the red shirt kept her as if his life was going away and that MSF gave her the first treatments.
and why Before 17 year old boy Save her from the wavesAnd entrusted it to the young man in the red shirt.
he is Unknown hero Arrived from Togo In that piece of the Mediterranean, trying to find a better life in Europe.
He saved six other people and then disappeared into an unidentified shelter from Taranto. Now he must be saved, to have the better life he was looking for.

“I was traveling on the canoe with 6 friends, They all died

“ The boy, from whom we know only the correct name, said to Doctors Without Borders, c. “The waves were high and the wind was very strong and it was late at night. Water entered the boat everywhere. We tried to unload it. People were very afraid, panic started. Everyone stood up ». A lot of people had fallen into the sea. “I started seeing people in the water” said the boy.

It was he, one of the few who knew how to swim, To reach six people with one stroke, one after the other
to take them to the cut of the canoe that is floating in the middle of the waves, where they have been wedded for hours. Among them was the child’s mother who Save the boy first
. Only later did he catch the yellow packet in the waves. So I also grabbed the baby And put it in the arms of the boy in the red shirt. “anyway I couldn’t save any of my 6 friends because I saved so many babies. Rescued the little girl who was evacuated by helicopter with her mother. I also took another baby, but unfortunately he is already dead. Then MSF came to save us.” J. told the rescuers.

When Geo BarentsThe MSF rescue and search ship arrived at the wreck site on June 27, after three hours of navigation, encountering a horrific sight. The boat, now smashed by the waves, began to sink. “It was our worst nightmare coming true. We immediately understood the complexity of the rescue,” says Riccardo Gatti, MSF’s chief of operations aboard Geo Barents. “The boat was sinking and dozens of people were stuck while many of them were already in the water”. Rescuers threw life jackets into the sea to allow the shipwrecked, scattered everywhere, to cling on. The sun was in their faces and they didn’t see the baby right away. Then the rescue.

Not everyone was so lucky: Two women said they lost their children at sea Another young woman reported the loss of her younger brother. Among the dead was a pregnant woman whom rescuers were unable to revive. Finally an enemy 71 survivorsMany of them suffer severe burns and dehydration, e At least 22 people are missing. The Mediterranean remains the world’s deadliest frontier, with 24,184 migrants dead or missing Registered since 2014. 721 only in 2022.

Among those who made it is J., 17-year-old hero child. He lodged in Taranto, and was captured by the Italian authorities. He’s no longer risking his life, but His fate is still uncertain
suspended from the recognition and assistance procedures for unaccompanied minors.

“If we ran away, it was because we were not at home, and that is why we ran away; If we were healthy, we wouldn’t go looking for this tragedy.” These people saw their friends, friends, children, brothers and sisters dying before their eyes. Many of them are fleeing From the violence and violations that Libya has been subjected to
And after this drowning, they experienced yet another tragedy – adds Fulvia Conti of MSF, MSF’s Vice President of Search and Rescue Activities who rescued the child on the rubber boat. Fortunately, they have come to dry land where they can be helped on a medical and psychological level. But an appropriate response is needed to a situation that is no longer an emergency because it has been going on for years. We believe that there is a need for a coordinated European response and an appropriate and proactive search and rescue, as well as more legal and safe channels to evacuate these people from Libya is not a safe country“.