Proem-Aid

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Proem-Aid ('Professional Emergency Aid') [1] is a Spanish NGO which operates in the Mediterranean Sea with the aims of aiding and rescuing those in distress on the water. It was formed by a group of emergency service workers who volunteered their time and expertise, and initially operated off Lesbos beginning in December 2015 [2] [3] [4] before also starting an operation in the central Mediterranean in September 2017.

Contents

Projects and vessels

Since 2016 the organisation has collaborated with the Sea-Watch organisation to run the LifeLine project. [5]

Proem-Aid intend to use their ship Life (which was renamed from Seefuchs on being donated to PROEM in 2018) for training volunteers and to raise awareness of the problems faced by refugees. [6] [7] [8] In November 2020 Proem-Aid sold the ship Life. [9]

In 2021 Proem-Aid acquired the ship Alan Kurdi from the humanitarian organization Sea-Eye. [5] [8] As of December 2020, the Alan Kurdi had been non-operational and moored in the port of Olbia, and subject to ongoing legal proceedings, [10] but in May 2021, the vessel was released from detention in Olbia and was reported to be headed for Burriana for scheduled maintenance. [11] In July 2021, the Italian humanitarian NGO, 'RESQ - People Saving People' announced that they had acquired and were preparing to start operating the Alan Kurdi, now renamed RESQ PEOPLE . [12]

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Proactiva Open Arms (POA) is a Spanish NGO devoted to search and rescue (SAR) at sea. Set up in October 2015, it carried out its first rescue action that same month from its base on the Greek island of Lesbos.

Mediterranea Saving Humans APS is a "civil society platform" making connections between existing networks and individuals and a "non governmental project". Though it is similar to the many NGOs operating in the Mediterranean it is not actually an NGO, it brings together heterogeneous organizations and individuals, secular and religious, social and cultural, unions and political, who have decided to take a stand against the deaths and the human rights violations committed daily in the Mediterranean Sea. It was founded in 2018 to keep watch of the situation in the Mediterranean sea and to save lives in difficulty after the majority of other NGOs were not able to act due the legal obstacles created by the Italian authorities. The group coordinates the search and rescue operations of the ships Mare Jonio and Alex which sail under the Italian flag. The project also has the support of the German association Sea-Watch and the Spanish Proactiva Open Arms. It has carried out several search and rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean Sea with the ship Mare Jonio. Recognition of the work of Mediterranea has come from Pope Francis.

Sea-Eye is a German non-governmental organization headquartered in Regensburg. It participates in the rescue of migrants in distress in the Mediterranean, in particular by having chartered the ships Sea-Eye and Seefuchs/ Sea Fox until August 2017, then the Alan Kurdi and since August 2020 the Sea-Eye 4. In June 2021, Sea-Eye received honorary citizenship from the mayor of Palermo.

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borderline-europe - human rights without borders e. V. is a non-governmental organisation which, through independent investigations and public relations work, advocates the protection of human rights, especially at the EU's external borders. It is based in Berlin and has two branches, on the islands of Sicily and Lesbos. The organisation was founded in 2007 by Judith Gleitze, Harald Glöde, Stefan Schmidt and Elias Bierdel. In 2012 borderline-europe was awarded the Aachen Peace Prize. Its founding was at least partly a response to the 2004 case of the German rescue ship ‘Cap Anamur’ in which, after the rescue of 37 men in distress at sea, the ship's captain, Stefan Schmidt, and the organisation's chairman, Elias Bierdel were arrested and held in Italy before being acquitted, 5 years later, of aiding and abetting irregular entry.

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<i>Life</i> (ship)

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The ship Mare Jonio was originally constructed as a tugboat in 1972. Operating on behalf of Mediterranea Saving Humans (MSH), Mare Jonio has been active in a Search and Rescue (SAR) role rescuing shipwrecked refugees in the Mediterranean Sea since October 2018. The project also has the support of the German association Sea-Watch and the Spanish Proactiva Open Arms. The ship is owned by Alessandro Metz through Idra Social Shipping SRL and is managed by Augustea Imprese Marittime e di Salvataggi SpA of Genoa, Italy; Mare Jonio sails under the Italian flag.

The ship Eleonore, or Mission Eleonore, is a former fishing vessel which was operated on the Mediterranean Sea by the German NGO Mission Lifeline for the rescue of shipwrecked refugees. Following the confiscation in summer 2018 of their previous rescue ship Lifeline, Eleonore sailed for a single mission which ended with the confiscation of Eleonore in turn. In the one mission undertaken, Eleonore rescued 104 people from drowning.

Humanitarian Pilots Initiative (HPI) is an NGO with charitable aims, with registered headquarters in Rehetobel, Switzerland. Its stated aim is to provide a focus for 'committed pilots and supporters who use their abilities for humanitarian purposes – regardless of politics, religion, ethnicity or nationality'.

SAROBMED, the Search and Rescue Observatory for the Mediterranean, was a consortium of researchers, civil society groups, and other organisations with interests in the field of cross-border maritime migration. The focus was in particular on providing a monitoring system for refugee travel in the Mediterranean Sea.

ResQ-People Saving People is an Italian NGO with the aim of improving the lot of refugees and migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy. It was formed in Milan and from an early stage aspired to support a rescue ship sailing off the Italian coast.

References

  1. Criminalising humanity act.wemove.eu, accessed 16 June 2021
  2. James Badcock Refugee children on Lesbos helped to face fear of drowning 25 July 2017 www.bbc.co.uk, accessed 16 June 2021
  3. Mytilene, Lesvos, Greece - 05.03.2016 Björn Kietzmann | photojournalism, accessed 16 June 2021
  4. Greek court acquits Spanish firefighters, Danish NGO members of smuggling refugees 7 May 2018 www.keeptalkinggreece.com, accessed 16 June 2021
  5. 1 2 Mediterranean project www.proemaid.org, accessed 16 June 2021
  6. Proyecto #Life www.proemaid.org, accessed 7 June 2021
  7. "2019 update - NGO ships involved in search and rescue in the Mediterranean and criminal investigations". European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  8. 1 2 June 2020 update - NGO ships involved in search and rescue in the Mediterranean and legal proceedings against them 19 June 2020, fra.europa.eu, accessed 16 June 2021
  9. Desembarcan 15.000 kilos de hachís en el centro de Huelva (tr. "15,000 kilograms of hashish are landed in Huelva") diariodehuelva.es, accessed 16 May 2023
  10. December 2020 update - NGO ships involved in search and rescue in the Mediterranean and legal proceedings against them 18 December 2020, fra.europa.eu, accessed 16 June 2021
  11. RESQ PEOPLE, Cargo Ship 6 May 2021, www.vesseltracker.com, accessed 28 July 2021
  12. ABBIAMO LA NAVE! VI PRESENTIAMO LA RESQ PEOPLE! 20 July 2021 resq.it, accessed 26 July 2021