At sea, a shelter for shipwrecked people

May 18, 2018

Credits: Le Temps

Victoria never stopped believing in her lucky star. Even after spending more than eight hours on a dinghy in the middle of the Mediterranean, before being rescued by an NGO and then transferred to the humanitarian ship Aquarius. Like this 21-year-old Nigerian women, many others are likely to try to reach Europe by sea. They are also the ones who pay the highest price, especially when the path of exile is tortuous and goes through Libya. This Sunday, Victoria's lucky star arrived at dawn in the form of a small sailboat named Astral. The rescue operated by the NGO ProActiva Open Arms probably saved her life, as well as the one of other 104 people on the boat that drifted 25 nautical miles (46 kilometers) northeast of Tripoli.