Thank you very much for eloquently putting together some of the Lampedusa survivors eyewitness account on October 3, 2013. As you have clearly stated, there are now more questions than answers to this horrific tragedy that befell on our young brothers and sister, who were unquestionably lured to the lion's den.
The eyewitness account of the survivors regarding the Italian coast guard authority's attitude toward these migrant is mind boggling, to say the least. I don't know at this time if this is something due to some personal or racial issues toward "poor African immigrants" or due to some written policies in dealing with African migrants. Or, moreover, was this some sort of conspiracy (or a pre-planned agenda) on that particular boat that carried such a high number of Eritreans? I am sure some of the coast guard authorities in Tunisia, or in the Mediterranean (manned by US) or even in Lampedusa must have known that particular boat was carrying a high number of Eritreans. And when it capsized , the way the news wave hit the air with phrases such as "refugees mostly Eritreans" and "mostly Eritrean refugees escaping repressive regime" were faster than lightning and it begs explanation. Actually this reminds me of that miniscule Forto incidence and how the Western media, especially Al-jazeera reacted. This western media puppet had allegedly received information from sources outside Eritrea before the misguided Forto rats had even attempted their misguided adventure. That's right! Reminisce on that!!!
While the important task of identifying the bodies and repatriating the
remains to their homeland for a final resting place is at the forefront of
all the efforts exerted by the families of the victims of the Lampedusa
boat tragedy, important questions are being raised by the survivors that
will need further and thorough investigation. The causes that made the boat
to sink, the lack and delay of efforts by the Italians to rescue the
migrants that border on sheer negligence, and other serious allegations by
the survivors, compel us to call for an immediate investigation to get to
the bottom of the causes that led to the horrific loss of hundreds of lives.
Here is a brief account of the survivors on what transpired on 3 October
2013
1.
The boat carrying some 521 migrants had arrived near the coast of
Lampedusa Island on 3rd October at around 2 AM in the morning. The weather
was smooth throughout the journey and they did not encounter any high waves
until they switched off the engine some distance from the Island. Maximum 5
Kms (but many say around 1Km). There are two questions that can be raised
from this important sequence of events:
1.
The Italian Coast Guard has the capacity to intercept incoming boats
from as far away as 50 km from the coast, get a concise
coordinates of the
boat and its bearing, and the Italian Coast Guard, on many occasions, had
sailed tens of Kms to intercept migrant boats. So, why couldn't the
Italian Coast Guard detect a boat that had sailed and was standing
still for at least half an hour within a stone throw from its shores?
2.
A lot of the survivors are claiming seeing two small speed boats
flashing red emergency lights come within 50 meters of their
boat, circled
around it twice, and left without providing any assistance. Why?
Where did
these speed boats come from? Who dispatched them? Are there any
recordings
of the communication between these speed boats and the Italian
Coast Guard?
Were these boats not detectable on the Italian Coast Guard’s
radar systems?
These critical unanswered questions necessitate further investigating by
all concerned authorities.
1.
The captain and co-captain of the boat, who are said to be Tunisians,
flashed their flashlight for an indefinite period of time until the battery
died. Between 2:30 AM and 3:00 AM on the 3rd of October, the captain
realised that there was a leak and the boat was take in water. Without
consulting all the migrants who were helping him fix the motor of the boat,
he held a blanket in his hand, dowsed it with benzine and lit it such that
a fireball was created. Almost immediately, he dropped the fireball from
his hand as the fire threatened to overwhelm him. The migrants who were
sitting close to where he dropped the thrown fireball panicked and ran
towards the other side of the extremely overcrowded boat. This immediately
caused the boat to tip first towards its side for few minutes and then it
completely capsized. Some of the migrants reported that this process took
less than a minute. Mayhem ensued as most of the migrants did not have any
knowledge of the sea and could not swim. They were all cast into the deep
sea, which is approximately 50 meters in depth.
2.
The boat remained upside down for about 30-60 minutes. Assuming that the
highest point of the boat had touched the seafloor, the migrants who were
initially thrown into the sea made their way back to the ship and started
climbing onto the capsized vessel. Soon after, the boat sank completely
leaving those on top of it to their own devices. It was reported that the
majority did not know how to swim, and those who did were grabbed by those
who could not swim. In the ensuing cries for help, it was impossible to
save all those who were not able to swim or those who could not set
themselves free.
3.
Those who managed to swim away from the horrific scene started to swim
to the shore but the waves were moving against them and thus depleted their
energy. The first survivors to reach land said it took them about 4-4.5
hours. They were first noticed by private in the fisher area, who
witnessed the horrific scenes of bodies washing up onto the island’s shore.
The fishers threw safety floating devices to the survivors and sought help
from the Coast Guard.
4.
The private fisher (with his companions) who raised the alarm around 7:30
AM in the morning said the Coast Guard took 50 minutes to arrive at the
scene. If the coast guard were following their standard operating
protocols, it should not have taken them more than approximately 12 minutes
to reach the scene. What was the cause of the delay? Additionally, how many
more lives could have been saved had there not been a delay and departure
from standard protocol by the Italian Coast Guard.
These and many other questions into the conduct of the Italian authorities
calls for in depth investigation and follow up.
Note: Times given by the survivors is approximate, since no one looked what
time it was during those chaotic hours where they were fighting for their
lives.
Concerned Eritreans in Lampedusa
Received on Fri Oct 18 2013 - 12:59:38 EDT