For Those in Peril

FOR THOSE IN PERIL ON THE SEAPHOTOGRAPHS BY IKRAM NGADI

Women disembark from a Italian navel vessel in Port Augusta, Sicily, a few hours after being rescued at sea off the coast of Italy.

One year after the Lampedusa tragedy in which 366 people drowned in their desperate attempt to reach Europe, many thousands more have undertaken the same perilous journey. War and protracted crises, including Syria & the violent chaos engulfing Libya, have pushed an unprecedented number of people from their homes and take to the sea as the only option to reach Europe. Since January, more than 130,000 people have travelled the Central Mediterranean route from Northern Libya to reach Italy.

This is the most dangerous of all irregular migration journeys, not only due to the risk of dying at sea, but also for the extreme violence often experienced along the way at the hands of the illegal traffickers who control and profit from the desperation of those willing to risk everything, especially for the most vulnerable; women and children.

This summer an unprecedented number of people seeking refuge in Europe have arrived on Italian shores. According to UNHCR figures, more than 50% of refugee migrants are fleeing war and persecution, with Eritreans (29%) and Syrians (18%) the main nationalities recorded on arrival.

The flow of people making the perilous crossing nearly doubled between June and August. Despite the Italian Mare Nostrum Search and Rescue operation, at least 1,565 people have died at sea or have been reported missing, including 1,300 dead or missing since June.

FOR THOSE IN PERIL ON THE SEAPHOTOGRAPHS BY IKRAM NGADI

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MSF has been working in Italy with refugees and migrants since 2002, particularly on the island of Lampedusa from 2002 to 2013.

Today MSF supports the Italian health authorities by providing medical care to refugees, migrants and asylum seekers in the provinces of Ragusa and Siracusa in Sicily.

An Italian Red Cross volunteer cradles a one-month-old baby boy after the baby and

his mother disembarked in Sicily.

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Administering medical care in the MSF field clinic in the port of Augusta. Many of the migrants arrive in a bad state due to dehydration, lack of food or as a consequence of the violence they have experienced in Libya. The most common illnesses are Scabies (a result of migrants’ poor living conditions in

Libya), respiratory tract infections, cases of suspected TB, and trauma.

MSF has set up a field clinic in the port of Augusta, providing medical care to new arrivals. Urgent cases are taken directly to the hospital.

Italian authorities have set up a quarantine area for those suffering from Scabies so as not to contaminate others.

MSF has set up a field clinic in the port of Augusta, providing medical care to newly arrived migrants.

More than 300 mainly Eritreans and Gambians are directed to the transit camp after arrival in Sicily, Italy.

Mainly Eritrean and Gambian migrants on the quay a few hours after being rescued at sea. Sicily, Italy.

More than 300 people mainly Eritreans and Gambian are directed to the transit camp after arrival at the Port of Augusta, Sicily, Italy.

Four people died after a boat leaving Libya with a hundred people onboard sunk on its way to Italy. A rescue boat arrived in time to save most of the terrified passengers. This body was retrieved from the water.

Inside the MSF field clinic Port Augusta, Sicily, Italy

Cissé from Ivory Coast was on a vessel that sunk off the coast of Italy, killing four. After entering the Italian coastal

territory the boat started to take on water. Cissé held on to an empty

Jerrycan to keep himself afloat before being rescued by the Italian Mare

Nostrum Search and Rescue operation.

“I thought I was going to die. When I saw the Italian rescue boat I manage to

go towards it and they threw us life jackets before taking us onboard”

Landing of migrants at Port Augusta, mainly from Eritrean and Gambian, a few hours after being rescued at sea.

After landing people are directed to the transit camp where they are registered and given an arrival number.

A young Eritrean woman who was rescued at sea from a sinking vessel is relieved to have survived her terrifying journey across the Mediterranean Sea. She kisses the ground after disembarking at the Port Augusta in Sicily, Italy.

MSF clinic on the dockside of Port Augusta, Sicily, Italy.

A young man from Gambia prays inside the Port Augusta transit camp hours after being rescued at sea.

Young men, from Gambia, play football with a ball made out of plastic bags while others, seen in the background, are waiting to have their fingerprints taken. Upon landing, people usually stay in the port from between a few hours up to few days before being taken to different centres in Italy.

A young woman from Eritrea waits at the transit camp in the port of Augusta. She travelled to Italy with her husband but he was beaten and shot on the shoulder in front of her as they traversed Libya. She feels safe now she has reached Italy and is looking forward to her new life. She speaks four languages and is confident about the future.