Episode 55: The Libyan Coastguards shot at us

In this episode, we speak with Camilla from the refugee rescue organisation SOS Humanity.   She tells us about the time the so-called Libyan Coastguard shot at them, disrupting a rescue operation in the central Mediterranean, and causing the death of at least one person in early March 2024.     She also tells us how, after that ordeal, the Italian authorities then ordered the Humanity 1 rescue ship to sail for a port, thousands of miles away.    And how, when they finally reached land, the authorities tried to detain the ship because they apparently disobeyed the Libyan Coastguards.    --Get in touch---   Twitter: @FleetCivil   Mastodon: @[email protected]   Bluesky: @thecivilfleet.bsky.social   Instagram: thecivilfleet   [email protected]   civilfleet.com   Support:   ko-fi.com/civilfleet ---Show Notes---   For more on SOS Humanity, check out their website, here: sos-humanity.org/en/sos-humanity   You can donate to them here: sos-humanity.org/en/donate-now   Follow SOS Humanity on Twitter: @soshumanity_en   You can watch video footage of the Libyan Coastguard's interference of the Humanity 1 rescue, here: youtube.com/watch?v=ARLiTPf7kzc&t=7s&ab_channel=TheCivilFleet    Check out episode 31 of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more on the Humanity 1 rescue ship   Also, read more about SOS Humanity on The Civil Fleet news blog, here: thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/tag/SOS-Humanity   Ben mentions Mediterranea: Saving Humans and their rescue ship, the Mare Jonio. For more on them, check out episodes 18 and 47 of The Civil Fleet Podcast    Ben mentions a trip to Trapani and the Iuventa rescuers. Check out the previous episode of The Civil Fleet Podcast for more on that, and check out episodes 2, 24 and 36   Camilla mentions fellow refugee rescue organisation SOS Mediterranee. For more on them, see here: thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/tag/SOS-Mediterranee/     Fore more on the Libyan Coastguards, see here: thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/tag/Libyan-coastguard   And read this exclusive story on the EU continuing its support of the Libyan Coastguard despite its fears of human rights abuses: thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/2020/02/21/eu-to-continue-supporting-the-libyan-coastguard-despite-its-fears-of-human-rights-abuses/    And this 2020 investigation on how the EU's supposed training of the Libyan coastguard has only made things worse: thecivilfleet.wordpress.com/2020/06/20/sending-refugees-back-to-hell-with-eu-support/    Camilla mentions Alarm Phone. Want to know more about them? Check out episodes 48, 5 and 3.   Read about Italy's top court declaring Libya not to be a safe port: reuters.com/world/africa/returning-sea-migrants-libya-is-illegal-italys-top-court-says-2024-02-18/   Read about the Libyan Coastguards harassing MSF's rescue ship Geo Barents here: https://searchandrescue.msf.org/testimonies/eu-sponsored-shameful-abuses-in-the-central-mediterranean-must-end.html   And watch this video of another incident: https://twitter.com/MSF_Sea/status/1768986324139217156   Ben mentions the Pirate History Podcast. Check that out here: piratehistorypodcast.com   You can read SOS Humanity, Sea-Watch and Sea-Eye's joint statement on the detention of their ships in March 2024, here: sos-humanity.org/en/press/italy-escalates-the-obstruction-of-civil-search-and-rescue/