- Title: Rescued migrants enjoy music on MSF vessel in the Mediterranean
- Date: 26th March 2023
- Summary: AT SEA (MARCH 25, 2023) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS PAINTING ON BOARD OF THE DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS (MSF) VESSEL GEO BARENTS MIGRANT HANGING PAINTING ON PILLAR (SOUNDBITE) (English) MIGRANT FROM BANGLADESH, ABDULLAH AL-MAMUN (27), SAYING: "Right now, my feelings... I'm feeling so good, you know? When I was in Libya that time was so hard. My feeling is very sad but right now I'm feeling good." VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS ON BOARD OF VESSEL (SOUNDBITE) (English) MIGRANT FROM BANGLADESH, ABDULLAH AL-MAMUN (27), SAYING: "People are dying in the ocean. So if they (Italian government) make it very easier people can cross very easy and they will not die. There is no risking of their life." VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS WATCHING SUNSET MIGRANTS ON BOARD THE SHIP MSF COORDINATOR SPEAKING ON STAGE (English): "LIVE FROM GEO BARENTS: TOSEEF!" VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS APPLAUDING VARIOUS OF MIGRANT FROM PAKISTAN WHO USED TO SING AT WEDDINGS SINGING MIGRANTS APPLAUDING ANOTHER MIGRANT SINGING RAP VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS APPLAUDING MIGRANTS MAKING MUSIC
- Embargoed: 9th April 2023 09:30
- Keywords: ITALY MIGRANTS MSF music rescue ship rescued migrants
- Location: AT SEA
- City: AT SEA
- Country: At Sea
- Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001035126032023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:More than a hundred migrants listened to music on Saturday evening (March 25) on board of the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) vessel Geo Barents as they waited to arrive in Italy.
A migrant from Pakistan, Toseef, who used to sing at weddings, sang a love song and dedicated it to his wife who was still in Pakistan.
Some 190 migrants were rescued by MSF off the coast of Libya early on Friday (March 24).
People from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Eritrea, Syria and Palestine, were rescued from a wooden boat approximately 20 hours after they departed from Zawiya in Libya.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government is forcing migrant rescue ships to dock further and further north along Italy's coastline, meaning long journeys that raise their operating costs and strain their ability to continue saving lives.
Forcing NGO ships to reach ever-more distant ports increases costs at a time when budgets are stretched by inflation and higher fuel costs following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The new docking destinations policy adds to a December decree, which forces NGO ships to request and head to a port "without delay" after each rescue, rather than continue looking for boats in distress.
(Production: Darrin Zammit Lupi) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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