The ship Geo Barents, which sails under the Norwegian flag, rescued 254 people from fragile boats in the Mediterranean in the first week of December.
The ship is operated by Doctors Without Borders, and the Norwegian doctor Salah Dasuki was on board during the dramatic rescue operation.
Among the 254 refugees and migrants was a heavily pregnant woman. Dasuki says that the woman had traveled from Guinea, north to Libya and on to the Mediterranean in an inflatable boat.
Prolonged labor
The Norwegian doctor Salah Dasuki has worked in the Mediterranean for many years Photo: Private
– The birth was demanding and took a long time. The boy was born the day after the rescue. Mother had her period around the time the child was born, says Dasuki.
He was on board the ship during the birth, and is still docked in Italy. Dasuki has worked on the Mediterranean for many years.
– Mother and child are in good health now. They were evacuated to the Italian island of Lampedusa, and then on to Sicily, says Dasuki.
Many refugees and migrants embark on the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean in smaller boats. Photo: Doctors Without Borders
Geo Barents received permission to dock in Salerno in Italy.
– Now it’s quieter days, after we got everyone off the ship and on to other places, says Dasuki.
The rescue ship Geo Barents Victory flies the Norwegian flag and is operated by Doctors Without Borders. Photo: Doctors Without Borders
Accuse the organizations
Unlike in November, when ships with migrants were not allowed to dock in Italy as a result of a conflict with the new right-wing government, things went faster this time.
Salerno and Bari have been named as ports that could receive them after authorities said all reception centers in Sicily were full.
The Italian government accuses the organizations that operate the foreign vessels of encouraging migrants to embark on the dangerous flight across the Mediterranean.
Three boys look out over the Mediterranean after being rescued. Photo: Doctors Without Borders
But there are still migrants who arrive without help from the organisations. Earlier in December, a fishing boat came to the coast of Sicily with over 400 migrants, who were rescued by the Italian coast guard and brought to Reggio Calabria.
Bad medical condition
At about the same time, the rescue ship Humanity 1 docked in Bari with 261 people on board. There were 93 minors here, most of them alone. Many of the migrants bear marks of torture, while others say they have been sexually abused, according to the Humanity 1 crew.
– The medical condition of many is very bad. I don’t quite know how to describe it, nurse Maria on board Humanity 1 tells the Italian news agency ANSA.
Also among those rescued by this ship were several pregnant women. Several people were dehydrated and malnourished.
Increasing numbers
According to the International Organization for Migration, close to a hundred thousand refugees and migrants have arrived in Italy this year. The numbers of refugees and migrants traveling this route have increased.
As late as Christmas Eve, the German rescue ship Sea-Eye 4 docked in Livorno with 108 migrants and refugees on board. Among the 108, there were 13 unaccompanied minors. The Italian authorities are still making it challenging for the rescue ships, among other things by redirecting them to ports further away.
Hundreds of thousands still embark on the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean. Photo: Doctors Without Borders
