from our correspondent on board the Life Support
This morning I saw a turtle swimming in the sea. It swam fast and close to the surface of the water, off the eastern coast of Sicily. I took it as a good omen for the mission of the Life Supportthe Emergency ship engaged in search and rescue activities in the Mediterranean.
After leaving the port of Syracuse we admired the island of Ortigia kissed by the early morning sun, then we moved offshore to carry out some rescue exercises at sea. I also participated, because on board the Life Support, the journalist participates in most of the activities, including cleaning the corridors and stairs, washing his own dishes and cutlery, observation shifts with binoculars from the command bridge, resuscitation exercises with cardiac massage and the use of the defibrillator.
The sea rescue trials are carried out on board two Rhibs, the rigid keel dinghies that will actually be used if and when our ship encounters castaways and boats in difficulty off the coast of Africa. To get on board I have to wear the equipment assigned to me: a helmet, a waterproof suit, waterproof shoes and a life jacket. It’s still warm and the jacket can hang up. The red t-shirt with the Emergency logo is enough.
The dinghy pulls alongside the ship and I am given the all clear. According to procedures, the journalist is the first to board. I do this quickly by lowering myself down the ladder that leads down from the deck to the ship’s rescue area. I quickly learn that to get on the dinghy I have to wait for the invitation from boat leader and that instead of grabbing the hand I have to grab the forearm. I get in and settle in the back of the Rhib. Driving is Samuele Chiesa, 28 years old, from Milan, while the boat leader is Jonathan Nanì La Terra, 39 years old, anthropologist, Sicilian, the only one on board who took part in the 24 previous missions of the Life Support. Together with me they get on the dinghy Pedro Di Rocco, 34 years old, Argentinian, an athletic boy with lifeguard experience, here in the role of rescuer and on his first mission with the Life Support; Marcello Kurtam, 37 years old, nurse on duty at the Emergency clinic in Castelvolturno; Chiara Picciocchi, 34 years old, cultural mediator.
The sea is not very rough and it is warm. The second, smaller Life Support Rhib sails a short distance from us. It is led by Elena Buch, 43 years old, Spanish from Galiciaon his first mission with Emergency, but a long experience with these fast inflatable boats because he worked on a hospital ship. The boat leader is Florent Cruciani, 33 years old, French from Marseille. He has already participated in four missions of the Life Support and to seven rescue operations. The other rescuer is Chris Fusco, 31 years old, from Forlì, Romagna, on his twelfth mission with the Life Support. They are tall, athletic and muscular guys who, in their downtime, keep themselves trained, even with a punching bag. Bringing castaways on board requires strong muscles. Other people on board the Life Support they board the second dinghy and pretend to be shipwrecked that we have to rescue. When we approach them, Chiara stands up and reassures them in English: “We are Europeans, don’t worry, we will take you to Italy”. If necessary you can repeat it in Arabic and French. The first objective is to reassure people, exhausted from the days spent at sea, terrified at the idea of returning to Libya or Tunisia.
Then we throw the life jackets at them. They are of two types. Light and orange (similar to those on board airplanes), or yellow and horseshoe-shaped (heavier, therefore less sensitive to the buffeting of the wind).
Our dinghy approaches that of the fake castaways. Jonathan gives Simone instructions on how to approach. The working language is English. The maneuver is delicate, there is no need to cause shocks. Boarding is quick. Then the roles are reversed. Now I too take on the role of a castaway and am taken aboard the dinghy that saves me. We try to mimic the possible reactions of the castaways: we shout, we get agitated, we jump up.
Florent (but to everyone it’s Flo) leads the operations and gives the go-ahead before grabbing my forearm and pulling me to safety. In the following minutes various situations are tried: a dummy is thrown into the sea and recovered (it happens that the castaways, in a panic, throw themselves into the water), we pretend to have a pregnant woman, an unconscious person, a bleeding castaway, agitated people on board. It’s just an exercise and the weather conditions are excellent, but the professionalism and calm of the Emergency staff is striking. They are all very good at conveying confidence. The exercises end when it is already getting dark. As we head towards the Life SupportPedro spots a floating plastic bottle. The dinghy approaches, Pedro reaches towards the water, retrieves it and throws it into a bag. The turtle we saw this morning will be grateful to us.
