There have been many calls from the Spanish authorities on the VHF radio today to notify mariners of a bunch of people (~60) in a black rubber raft that departed from Morocco and headed towards Spain. There are three types of emergency signals on the radio, all of which are always broadcast three times in succession. In order of severity, securitè ( informational) , pan pan(significant health threat), and mayday (immediate danger of loss of life).
I'm not sure of the policy of why they don't just go and immediately rescue them. It may be that they can't take action until they are in Spanish waters. But I can't imagine rolling the dice of being and choosing to be in a raft with all the ship traffic in this area. Wherever they're coming from must be pretty bleak. I'll have to read up on this as I also heard many of these calls last fall when I was coming through the Med in the opposite direction.
Refugees: usually from war torn countries or countries with despotic governments/dictatorships. Further to the east, the main country for a while has been Syria.
ReplyDeleteIt's a really big issue in Europe and many people say they should be left to drown. Honestly, that's a common public stance. These people pay everything they own to get a place on an unseaworthy boat in the hope that they can give their children some safety - there have been boats with children without their parents because they couldn't afford to go too - but the people organising the boats are profiteers and aren't worried about whether their passengers make it or not.