The crew of the Geo Barents, the Médécins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders or MSF) rescue ship in the central Mediterranean Sea, had just brought on board a 7-month-pregnant Syrian woman when a voice crackled over the walkie-talkie: small boat fast approaching.
As an observer on the ship, I ran to the bridge and watched a Libyan coast guard patrol boat—built in Italy with support from the European Commission—speed towards the MSF team as it was taking the remaining people off what had been a severely overcrowded wooden boat.
The Libyan coast guards demanded an immediate stop to the rescue operation and threatened to open fire, but eventually agreed to let them finish the rescue before leaving the area.
When we arrived in Genoa, Italy three days later to disembark the rescued people, the Italian authorities ordered the Geo Barents detained at port for 60 days.
The order was based on the same twisted logic the Italian government has used repeatedly since early 2023 to obstruct humanitarians from rescuing people on overcrowded, unseaworthy boats in distress: alleged failure to comply with instructions from unreliable and often dangerous Libyan coast guards.
Just ten days ago, a judge lifted a previous 60-day detention order leveled at the Geo Barents by Italian authorities based on the even more specious argument that MSF had contributed to creating a dangerous situation by rescuing dozens of people from the water at night. The judge concluded the rescue had been “urgent and unavoidable” and the detention jeopardized the organization’s humanitarian objectives.
I witnessed the crew’s professionalism and dedication when they rescued 206 people, including many women and children, in two operations on September 19. In conversations with rescued people from Syria, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Egypt, I heard shocking details of the violence they experienced in Libya. Many attempted the sea crossing more than once—some many times—and had been detained in nightmarish Libyan detention centers following interceptions.
They were fortunate to be rescued by MSF and taken to a place of safety. How many people might drown at sea or be intercepted by Libyan forces while the Geo Barents is detained at port again? The Italian government and the European Union should stop supporting the cycle that traps people in extreme abuse in Libya and should enable, rather than obstruct, rescue at sea.
