Syracuse
“Human rights must belong to all men, absolutely everyone, otherwise call them privileges.” Gino Strada’s phrase is written on the side of the ship “Life Support”, which I boarded this morning in the port of Syracuse.
The Life Support is Emergency’s search and rescue (SAR) vessel in the central Mediterranean. It is a red and white ship, over 51 meters long and 12 meters wide. It can accommodate up to 175 castaways, in addition to the on-board staff. There are 29 of us on board, including seafarers, Emergency staff (among them a doctor and two nurses), two cultural mediators. There are some veterans of missions and others on their first trip on the ship of the association founded thirty years ago by Gino Strada. This is the case of Claudio, my cabin mate, who in life is a gardener and does other volunteer work.
Departure is scheduled for Sunday. The sea is calm, the sky alternates between clouds and sun, the temperature is still summery and the center of Ortigia is full of tourists. The first day on board was spent with various briefings and exercises. The language is English because there are people from various origins on board: Argentina, France, Spain, Romania. The rule is that on board everything must take place safely and precisely, but quickly. The on-board doctor, Roberto Maccaroni from Ancona, 47 years old, with a long experience of missions with Emergency in countries such as Sierra Leone, Libya, Central African Republic and Afghanistan, explained to us the resuscitation technique with cardiac massage and the use of defibrillator. We did practical tests with a dummy, then the doctor showed us how to use the stretcher to carry any injured people on board.
Then we loaded the supplies on board, both for the staff and for the people who will be rescued at sea. With a fast and efficient human chain we transported rice, couscous, pasta, vegetables, fruit juices, meat, fish, biscuits, water, drinks.
The Emergency staff also gave us the technical equipment: t-shirts, sweatshirt, tracksuit, sturdy shoes. Once the people recovered at sea are on board, it will be important to follow precise hygiene measures to protect the staff and the castaways.
The shelter and reception area for rescued people is a completely covered bridge of approximately 270 square metres, the main deckwhere a medical clinic, toilets, beds and some benches have been set up. From the main deck you have access to boat deckthe outdoor reception area of approximately 90 square meters, with benches sheltered by a shade cloth. This is where the rescued people will be boarded after being rescued. This area is important for healthcare personnel because it will allow them to evaluate the state of people with the same principle followed within hospitals: the triage.
For several years Emergency had been involved in collaborations with other NGOs on board humanitarian ships and had witnessed the desperate crossings in the Mediterranean. In 2021 he therefore decided to dedicate and invest resources in starting a vessel managed independently from start to finish, putting into practice the skills developed over the previous years.
Life Support left the port of Genoa for its first mission on 13 December 2022. From December 2022 to August 2024, Life Support carried out 24 missions, rescuing and rescuing 2,221 people, of which 1,653 men, 171 women and 397 minors. The countries from which they come are over 30 and the most frequent nationalities are Bangladesh, Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Mali, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Guinea Conakry, Sudan, Senegal, Cameroon.
