The odyssey of the migrant rescue ship Aquarius offers a new example of the violence of Europe-wide immigration policies, and not only those of the far-right in power in Italy, writes Mediapart co-editor Carine Fouteau. For the migrants onboard the Aquarius, who will eventually arrive in a state of exhaustion in Spain, the ship’s long and deviated route for a safe haven is yet further confirmation that they and others like them are simply considered as a burden by European countries – if, that is, they manage to arrive alive on the continent’s shores.
On board the Aquarius, now heading to Spain, the odyssey continues. The crew, members of SOS Méditerranée, the Franco-German NGO which charters the boat for its operations to rescue migrants attempting the treacherous crossing of the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, detailed on their Twitter account that the migrants they are carrying onboard are suffering from exhaustion and shock, while a number are also ill.
