A Northern Irish charity is heading back to sea in late January to carry out search and rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean.
Refugee Rescue, set up by Belfast musician Joby Fox, is resuming its life-saving operations having gained an international reputation for working tirelessly saving the lives of thousands of people off the Greek island of Lesbos.
Last year Refugee Rescue was involved in saving almost 1,000 migrants. Since 2015 they have rescued over 16,000 people including families and children. They are now fundraising for essential maintenance and repairs ahead of their next mission.
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The organisation was formed by Joby, from West Belfast, and others in response to the need for a humanitarian search and rescue asset on the Aegean Sea when thousands of people were arriving on the island by boat, having been displaced by war, conflict, and persecution.
Back in November 2015, Jude Bennet and Joby were deeply moved by reports from the Mediterranean depicting the horrendous situation on Europe’s Southern shores.
Feeling compelled to offer whatever help they could, along with a small team, they left Northern Ireland to start volunteering on Lesbos. That winter, they saw the situation becoming more and more hazardous, with the weather worsening and boats capsizing.
They saw rescuers on the beaches and on rescue boats forced to choose who to save, as there were so many people in the water. Soon they realised that first emergency help onshore at landings could only do so much.
Refugee Rescue was later forced to suspend operations in the North Shore of Lesbos due to the deteriorating security and political situation in the area.
In 2021, Refugee Rescue resumed operations, this time, in the Central Mediterranean route. The organisation partnered with the German NGO Sea-Eye, who operate the SEA EYE 4, a ship that has been specially fitted for search and rescue with an onboard hospital and emergency accommodation.
The ship patrols waters in the Central Mediterranean, where 1,377 were reported missing whilst trying to cross to Europe in 2022.
With their fast rescue boat Mo Chara (Irish name for My Friend), Refugee Rescue launch from the ship to bring people safely on board.
Refugee Rescue Co-founder, Joby Fox, said: “Our presence on the SEA EYE 4 ensures the capacity to rapidly deploy fast RHIBs [Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat] with vital search and rescue personnel on board.
“The partnership is a testament to good co-operation on the basis of our joint humanitarian ethos”.
Refugee Rescue and Sea-Eye are part of a fleet of civil search and rescue ships that are acting in response to a gap in efforts to save lives in the Mediterranean.
Many of the people they rescue are crossing from war-torn Libya, often traveling there from other parts of the world including West Africa, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
A male refugee who was rescued last year said: “In Libya I’ve been robbed at gunpoint, shot at, taken advantage of… some have been sent to prison, kidnapped or sold.
“On the boat at sea every minute is an emotion and sometimes you feel like your body is about to give up… we headed north but we had no idea of the accurate direction.”
As part of their fundraising campaign, Refugee Rescue are auctioning an original oil painting on canvas of a rubber boat at sea by artist Dan Hemmings.
The campaign will run across their social media channels - @refugeerescueteam (Instagram) and Refugee Rescue / 'Mo Chara' (Facebook) and on their website refugeerescue.org.
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