1-year partnership anniversary with Sea Eye.
We are proud to celebrate one year in partnership with the German search and rescue organisation, Sea-Eye. We first embarked on a mission with Sea Eye on the 15th of May, 2021. During the first year of this partnership, we completed 6 missions together where we assisted a total of 1,632 people in distress at sea and brought them to safety. Our current team at Refugee Rescue is made of people from Ireland, the UK, Spain, Portugal, and Canada. Together with Sea Eye, our missions at sea are a truly international collaborative effort against the preventable loss of life at sea that happens every day in the Mediterranean.
Summer Recap
The Sea-Eye 4 left port on June 4 with our rescue vessel Mo Chara on board, marking the beginning of our third rescue mission of 2022. During this mission, we responded to three different distress calls, rescuing 492 people in the Central Mediterranean route. We were assigned a Port of Safety in Messina on June 23 to disembark all survivors, except for 18 of them who had to be evacuated beforehand, including women in advanced stages of their pregnancies and people with severe burns.
On July 29, our fourth rescue mission of the year started. Together with the rescue vessel Nadir, from RESQSHIP, we assisted a distress case in the Maltese search and rescue zone. Due to the bad weather, many of the 88 rescued people became seasick and the mood onboard became very tense. Finally, after 11 days of waiting for a Port of Safety, the Sea Eye 4 was finally assigned Pozzallo, in Italy, to disembark all survivors.
Our fifth mission of the year is currently underway in the Central Mediterranean, with the crew on board carrying out training and SAR watch on an ongoing basis. Stay tuned on our social media accounts for updates on this mission.
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Finally, on behalf of everyone at Refugee Rescue, thank you for your ongoing support and generousity.
The Refugee Rescue Team
Refugee Rescue in 2022
2022 has been busy for Refugee Rescue so far, with the completion of our first mission of 2022 and the beginning of our second, both in partnership with Sea Eye, as well as the run of our Surrounded by Sea exhibition in Dublin.
Our first mission of 2022, began in mid March with our team and rescue vessel Mo Chara joining the Sea Eye crew on board the Sea-Eye 4. During this mission, we supported Captain Vasyl Maksymenko and the crew of his container ship who had rescued 32 people in distress and took the survivors aboard our ship which was better equipped for them. We also responded to a distress call en route back to shore, bringing another 74 survivors on board. We were granted a Port of Safety on April 6 at Augusta in Sicily, at which point we were able to safely disembark the 106 survivors. During this mission, many survivors on board the Sea-Eye 4 were celebrating Ramadan, which the crew on board was able to support them to do including with traditional meals thanks to generous donations from the community.
Our second mission is currently underway in the Central Mediterranean, with the crew on board carrying out training and SAR watch on an ongoing basis. Stay tuned on our social media accounts for updates on this mission.
Surrounded by Sea
Surrounded by Sea was finally able to happen the first weekend of April after initially being delayed due to COVID. The exhibition was a huge success thanks to the over 400 submissions from the public reflecting what the sea means to them, to everyone who stopped by to see the photos, learn more about SAR in the Mediterranean, and support our work. (how much we raised + engaged with community)
Finally, we want to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who has helped us throughout the year so far and who continues to support our work. Whether you submitted a picture to our Surrounded by Sea exhibition, donated to support our work, bid on one of the auction photographs, followed us on social media, or shared and amplified our work with others we want to say thank you! Our work would not be possible without the amazing community we have supporting us.
Refugee Rescue remains committed to supporting those who have been displaced from their homes and to continuing to advocate for the need for safe and legal routes to claim asylum and for the protection of the rights of all people, including the right to life.
News from the Central Mediterranean
Over 550 people have died in the Mediterranean since January. In April alone, there have been continued reports of tragedies in the Mediterranean as people continue to die and disappear as a result of EU border policies that focus on the securitisation of borders above the protection of human rights. This has included a week where over 100 people died at sea, two men who died by suicide after waiting for rescue, and continued extended waits for a Port of Safety for ships with survivors on board.
In April some key events we want to highlight are that SeaWatch are suing Frontex over their working relations with Libya and the resignation of EU Border Agency Chief Fabrice Leggeri after investigations into the ongoing pushbacks being carried out by Frontex under his watch.
Solidarity movements have continued as Refugees in Libya have continued to advocate and protest for their rights, the mayor of Lampedusa launched an initiative in Italy focused on peace and dignity hosting Lampedusa, Island of PeaceApril 28, civil actors at sea have continued to conduct Search and Rescue operations and to put pressure on states to act, and individuals and organisations have continued to speak up in support of those who are forced to cross their lives both in the Mediterranean and along European borders.
Europe’s Border Crimes: Bridging the Impunity Gap for the Enforced Disappearance of Migrants in the Mediterranean Graveyard
“In the past decade, over half of the border deaths, globally, happened in Europe… These deaths and disappearances have not pushed European states to set up policies of justice or reparation, on the contrary, Europe has continued investing in policies of deterrence and mobility control.”
Read more of Refugee Rescue Program Lead Pat Rubio's insights on the situation in the Mediterranean in her blog post “Europe’s Border Crimes: Bridging the Impunity Gap for the Enforced Disappearance of Migrants in the Mediterranean Graveyard”, which has recently been published by the University of Oxford Border Criminologies blog.
Follow our work:
Follow us on social media to stay up to date with our work:
Finally, on behalf of everyone at Refugee Rescue, thank you for your ongoing support and generousity.
The Refugee Rescue Team
A chairde/Dear friends,
Happy New Year from all of us at Refugee Rescue. Since our last report, we have embarked on two more missions, bringing the number of missions undertaken this year with our partner, Sea-Eye, to four. In total, 1,468 people were rescued during these missions. This would not have been possible without the support of our donors on GlobalGiving, who have collectively donated over €11,000 to our efforts in 2021.
Here is a brief overview of the missions that this funded:
Thank you so much to our supporters and donors old and new who we rely on to help us fund these missions. We would also like to give a special thank you to our incredible crew, both on the ground and off, who dedicate so much time to keeping the wind in our sails. In particular, we would like to thank our RHIB team leaders who lead the SAR team on our boat, Mo Chara, during these rescues: Arn, Adam,Patrick, Amber.
Despite our rescue efforts, it is important to remember that in 2021,1,839 people have drowned or gone missing in the Mediterranean alone. Our hope for 2022 is for safe passage for those in migration, and an end to unnecessary loss of life on our seas. Until then, we will continue to save lives at sea.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh, athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh!/ Thank you, and Happy New Year!
After five years of providing lifesaving search and rescue for people crossing the Aegean Sea to the North Shore of Lesvos, Refugee Rescue has made the difficult decision to suspend our operations.
The deteriorating situation on the North Shore has made it impossible for us to continue our efforts to assist those in distress at sea at this time. Unacceptably, the rising criminalization of humanitarian organizations in Lesvos and growing hostilities now pose an irrefutable threat to our staff, assets, and work – and we can not in good conscience continue to operate if we cannot guarantee the safety of our team. Additionally, the unchecked impunity with which authorities now work has created a situation where we no longer trust that they will allow us to launch our independent rescue boat, Mo Chara.
Make no mistake: our decision to suspend operations for the foreseeable future does not in any way mean that search and rescue is not still imminently needed off the North Shore of Lesvos. In fact, human rights violations on the Aegean have only intensified in the past few months – from authorities leaving people stranded at sea for hours, to illegal pushbacks on Greek waters – which have all made the journey from Turkey to Greece more perilous than ever for those seeking refuge. The record-low number of arrivals to the North Shore recently signals that people are being forcibly prevented from exercising their right to seek asylum, not that they no longer seek it. It deeply saddens us that we are unable to operate in this context, where independent search and rescue is desperately necessary to save lives and hold authorities accountable.
While we suspend our operations in Lesvos, we will use the coming months to assess our next steps – whether it is returning to Greece at a future time, or elsewhere where our skills and assets can be supportive. This is not goodbye – not yet – but a commitment to monitor the situation closely so that we can best support our staff, donors, local communities, and most importantly, the people we serve.
We take this time to thank everyone who has volunteered, worked, funded, and committed to Refugee Rescue since 2015. Together, and with your help, we have assisted over 15,529 people, ensuring that they made it safely to shore. Most recently, in 2019 and 2018 our crews assisted a total of 5,015 people and 1,809 people respectively in each year. We could not have achieved this impact without your time, energy, resources, and unwavering commitment to human rights and to our mission: preventing deaths at sea. We hope you will continue to use your voice to advocate for refugee rights worldwide – from the Aegean and beyond – so that we create a better world for all.
Our vessel may be docked at shore for now, but our collective power to demand justice will always stay afloat.
This year has been incredibly difficult for us at Refugee Rescue. We started the year with constantly increasing new arrivals, and deaths at sea within the first few days of the year. At the end of January, the closure of Stage 2, the transit camp where new arrivals could spend a night and receive a warm meal, was confirmed. Increasing unrest from some of the local population began, partly due to the lack of support from the European Union, and partly due to the plans to build a closed detention centre on the Island.
At the end of February, Turkey opened their borders and we saw a large influx of arrivals, followed by increasing violence and a fascist response. Unfortunately, there were deaths due to capisizing boats during this time, and almost daily violence directed at asylum seekers and aid workers. The videos of stage 2 in flames showed the escalating tensions on the Island. Despite this, Refugee Rescue stayed on call 24/7 providing assistance to those in need.
In March we faced a new threat: Covid-19. With our rescue boat MoChara out of the water for maintenance, we decided we could not risk the safety of our crew, the people of Skala, or importantly, the safety of new arrivals. Our home town of Skala Sikamineas saw a complete lockdown and it was not possible to continue our work at sea.
However, we are not discouraged. We have continued working harder than ever to advocate for safe passage, reflect on our work so far, and on all of the people that make that possible. We are pleased to say that we are currently planning our return to Lesvos, working hard to ensure that we are back as soon as the situation allows. This involves a great deal of planning from our team, and all are as passionate and determined as ever to continue supporting rescues on the North Shore. We believe our team are needed now more than ever on the North Shore to ensure that those fleeing persecution receieve the support they deserve.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continuing support. It keeps us going even when it seems like a difficult task, knowing that we have a strong community behind us. We are excited about the coming months, getting back to the water and our upcoming advocacy plans. We are incredibly grateful for our worldwide crew and all that you do to support us, and spread the message of our work.
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