On August 29th, 2020, the Louise Michel sent out a distressed call. The migrant rescue ship created and funded by British street artist Banksy, was overflown with migrants and stuck in the Mediterranean with no port to call home.
According to the coastguard, a ship was sent out from Lampedusa, a southern Italian island. The ship took 49 migrants onboard of which were “those considered most vulnerable;” 32 women and 13 children. The Louise Michel had a total of 219 migrants aboard, rescued off the coast of Libya since Thursday.
The Louise Michel which has a crew of 10, issued tweets on Saturday night calling for help from Germany, Italy, and Malta. One tweet states “We are reaching a state of emergency. We need immediate assistance.” The ship was holding the body bag of a deceased migrant. In further tweets, the ship said they were stranded and capable of no movement. “But above all due to Europe ignoring our emergency calls for immediate assistance.”
Italy’s coastguard came to the ship’s rescue, as well as the Sicilian charity boat, the Marie Jonio offering help.
Source: Reuters
Picture Source: Al Jazeera
