This project will support SOS MEDITERRANEE's mission to rescue migrants and refugees in distress in the Mediterranean and transport them to a safe place. Since 2016, we have saved nearly 42,000 people fleeing conflict, persecution, and extreme poverty. This includes 6,000 women and more than 10,000 children, 80% of whom are alone. On board our ship, we provide critical medical care, psychological support, and protection services, and essential supplies such as food, water, clothing and blankets.
More than 2.4 million people have risked their lives crossing the Mediterranean in the last decade, fleeing violence, persecution, and poverty. At least 31,287 have died since 2016. After spending months or even years traveling thousands of miles, facing sexual violence, exploitation, and trafficking, those who are rescued are often starving, dehydrated, and ill. A single day at sea costs $25,000, an amount that includes saving and caring for survivors on our ship for up to 14 days at a time.
This project will ensure that we can continue to save refugees and migrants in distress in the Mediterranean, in accordance with international law, and provide them with food, water, clothing, and medical care. It will also allow us to develop more post-rescue programs-a broader range of specialized medical services, deeper psychological support for survivors who have endured unimaginable trauma, and programming for the many children on board, 80% of whom make this treacherous journey alone.
The more search and rescue missions we can run, the fewer people will die in the Mediterranean. Saving those in distress is just the first step. By providing more in-depth care on board, we can ensure that people who have suffered unthinkable hardships disembark in better condition mentally and physically and are given a chance to start a new life. And, as many more people are forced to flee along other ocean migration routes, we will be able to respond to these unfolding crises, too.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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