Rome (NEV), 5 July 2017 – Saving lives. At sea or by airlift. The meeting held on board the “Phoenix” ship of the NGO “Migrant Offshore Aid Station” (MOAS), which has been engaged in the search and rescue (SAR) of migrants in the central Mediterranean since 2014, discussed about migration and the complexity of the current situation, and above all, how to prevent deaths at sea and regulate the journeys.
On 3 July 2017, Alberto Mallardo and Ivana Abrignani, operators of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy (FCEI) working in Lampedusa with the Mediterranean Hope project, together with the new Mayor of Lampedusa, Salvatore Martello, the parish priest of the island, Father Carmelo La Magra and the Lampedusa Solidarity Forum, were invited on board of the Phoenix vessel by the founder and director of the MOAS project, Regina Catrambone, who from the very beginning has been supportive of the Humanitarian Corridors project implemented by FCEI from Lebanon, together with the Waldensian Board and the Community of Sant’Egidio.
To her guests Catrambone explained the SAR procedures at sea expressing her absolute support in the actions of the Italian Coast Guard and other forces engaged in SAR operations in the central Mediterranean.
“In the discussion, all sides expressed the need to implement alternative solutions to the journeys of hope, such as that of the Humanitarian Corridors,” said Mallardo, reminding everyone that France has also welcomed the possibility of an alternative route for migrants, which prevents them from becoming victims of human trafficking.
