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THE IRISH NAVAL ship LÉ Eithne has rescued yet another batch of desperate migrants in the Mediterranean.
At 5pm today, the Italian Marine Rescue Coordination Centre tipped off the Irish crew about a small, inflatable rubber vessel in the LÉ Eithne’s area of patrol, 40 km off the coast of Tripoli.
The Irish naval officers located the craft, which was “in distress,” and successfully rescued all 113 men, women and children aboard.
The operation concluded at 8pm, after which the crew of the LÉ Eithne resumed their patrol off the coast of Libya, according to a Defence Forces statement tonight.
Among the migrants were a number of infants, including the one seen in this photo:
Since leaving Cork for the Mediterranean on 16 May, the LÉ Eithne has now completed five successful migrant rescue operations, bringing to safety a total of 756 people.
Their mission in the area is expected to last six months.
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As word spreads that rescue is at hand , Are the numbers going to keep increasing.
It seems like they are putting a bandage on, when really they need to address the issue.
Definitely Brian it is a case of putting a bandage on – but when it comes to “addressing the issue” I think most people think that the issue is simple.
Libya doesn’t care one bit about these people – and it’s in a complete mess. In general, comments to these stories follow the same narrative with very few people actually acknowledging that there’s no simple answer.
They are not even using boats now because of this. Pushing a dingy out because they know they will be picked up. Madness
756 lives saved well done!
poor souls……puts our problems into perspective that you would pay criminal gangs your life savings to get your loved ones to safety, including the very old. .the disabled and infants. …in saying that these countries of origin need to be stabilised to encourage these people to return or not want to flee in the first place
Great, just another 10,000,000 or so to go.
Yes, and good on them too. If someone waged war in my country I’d do the same
Except most aren’t Libyans.
Maybe most aren’t Lybians – but do you know where they are coming from?
Syrians (about 10%) are going in to central Africa and travelling north to Lybia (refugees)
Somalians (about 15%) are fleeing a country in conflict, where Al-Shabaab are running riot (yet another religious extremist group)
Eritreans (about 25%) are trying to avoid compulsory conscription and living in what has been described as “Africa’s North Korea” (supposed to be 18 months but they get forced into up to 10 years)
Nigreians (about 12%) – AI accuse their army of “countless acts of torture” and about 8000 deaths.
Gambia (about 10%) – their country is in pretty rubbish shape too. A failed coup last year, an unpopular president firing tons of people and expelling a load more just over the last few days.
Senegal (about 10%) govt have a major issue with ongoing conflict between the govt and the MFDC.
Mali (about 8%) – high level of lawlessness and insecurity continue.
So, yes, it’s true to say that most aren’t Lybians. But there also seems to be 2 problems with this assertion:
First, these refugees and migrants haven’t just been sitting in Tripoli trying to get a boat. They’re not all from Lybia – most are from countries in trouble and haven’t just decided to risk their life crossing the Mediterranean. Many have felt compelled to leave their lawless/damaged countries to cross into Lybia and risk running into extremist groups who have been rushing into the void of power in Lybia. 86 Eritrean refugees were kidnapped by ISIS in Lybia just yesterday.
Second, the suggestion that because they are not Lybians they aren’t fleeing anything.
Italy can’t accommodate all the Africans that want to relocate…
“Want” to relocate…they’re refugees.
Nope. Not all. Just as not all are economic migrants. Not all are refugees.
Allegedly….
Not all African either. Syrians are flying into central Africa and coming north to Libya from there.
Ah sure Ireland will take them
Will Ireland take them? It’s a falsity to assume that Ireland is under pressure from this – asylum status requests in Ireland are at relatively low levels.
In terms of applications to countries per 1000 people in those countries:
Sweden ~ 8.4
Hungary ~ 4.6
Austria ~ 3.5
Germany ~2.5
Ireland ~ 0.25
Ok the lives are now saved, the big question is where are these people going now? Will we be forced to take more of these people in?
Fantastic work by the naval service
How terrifying for those poor people. I hope they’re safe now.
Are they rescuing or patrolling the waters stopping illegal immigration?
These people should be housed in the countries who hosted these wars and provided arms to rebels in the so called guise of democracy.
Jaysus a sensible comment in the Journal, watch it or you’ll be thrown out
The UN needs to get cracking on a lasting solution to this humanitarian crises. Otherwise, the situation will only worsen. The countries of origin of these souls must take responsibility for its fleeing citizens, by making a monthly financial contribution to a UN operated fund specifically set up to provide subsistence for refugees.
Libya and other North African Arab nations need to do more and engage with UN and international aid agencies to take more effective measures to assist refugees entering their territories, instead of facilitating transit to the Mediterranean for onward passage to Europe.
In the event that the Government’s of the refugees’ countries of origin don’t “play ball”, a UN agency should be empowered to sequester, under agreements with the International Banking system, say 5% per annum from the bank accounts of government officials, company directors and individuals with passports from countries in question, containing deposits of, say, in excess of $20,000.
UN has the power to action such an initiative and G7 needs to place this top of Agenda for next meeting, otherwise the misery will continue for these unfortunates. Europe and especially Italy is at breaking point dealing with this humanitarian crisis.
It’s hard to have confidence in any side truly addressing this issue.
Official numbers of Syrian refugees registered in Jordan ~ 660,000
Numbers dead from Syrian conflict ~ 220,000
Expected cost of Jordan’s response plan ~ $2.9bn
Amount raised for that in international appeal ~ 19%
WFP needing to cut funding to food support to refugees
No real pressure being put on Turkey to get it’s borders in order
It seems to me that there is very little being done internationally on this issue at all.
@Tony Canning You need to check or explain your figs. Ex. The US has just laid out a 3 yr. aid to Jordan plan of at least 1 Billion annualy. Thats over 33% of you 2.9Bill. projected need.
I would expect the remainder would be more than made up by Europe and others.
If not feel free to canvas oil rich Saudi Arabia and Qatar and also Kuwait- the big 3 terror funding states who are causing the misery.
–”The United States has provided economic and military aid, respectively, to Jordan since 1951 and
1957. Total U.S. aid to Jordan through FY2015 amounted to approximately $15.83 billion. On
February 3, 2015, the Obama Administration and the Jordanian government signed a nonbinding,
three-year memorandum of understanding (MOU), in which the United States pledges to provide
the kingdom with $1 billion annually in total U.S. foreign assistance, subject to the approval of
Congress, from FY2015 through FY2017.
https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33546.pdf
I’m afraid it’s you who need to check your facts Patrick. the aid plan you refer to is completely separate to the SPECIFIC JRP to which I’m referring. in terms of your imagination: no it’s not as simple as that. the international response to trying to raise specifically for the JRP has been sitting at
@Tony Cunning. Nonsense! Your’e doing the imagining. The monies are going into Jordan’s coffers so no need for crying the blues.
Patrick, do you know what ringfencing is? you can simplify it all you want but there is a Jordan Response Plan which is specifically targeting the refugee crisis. This is COMPLETELY seperate to Jordan’s receipt of development and military aid. Completely. I’m CERTAIN that with your googling skills you have already found that. It’s available for anyone to clearly see if they check so either you are trying to present me as a liar or you are being willfully ignorant. On top of that you insult any reader’s ability to look into it themselves.
Send them to Sweden. They’re the one country who seemingly can’t get enough cultural enrichment.
Who is paying for all this
Yeah imagine if you found out that some of the money spent on saving your fellow human beings was coming out your pocket Briain. Must be a very disturbing prospect for you.
What’s the cost of not paying for it ?
Look at that lazy baby in the pictures. Leeching off poor Brian.
True Brian, some people will argue from the emotive position, this of course dodges the fact that someone DOES pay for it, so as our economic crisis bit our deaths in hospitals went up. Suicide rates went way up, and even the higher figures are a fraud. Less money for educating our kids etc.
But lets keep the pretence that there is a money tree and no one has to pay for the money we provide to alleviate wars we don’t start or fight in.
Some Core EU countries supported the destruction of Libya and Syria and should pay the relevant EU costs.
Foreign policy has a price too.
The ship should be dropping them back on the beaches of North Africa, a message has to be sent out for their sake and ours, we can not take the intire continent of africa.
Fair play. Getting it done.
796 people that would have otherwise drowned to death in the same sea that we go for cheap package holidays to. Can we please start to address as a nation and as part of a bloc the vast vast inequality between us and them. It is a pathetic statistic that there are more obese people in the world than those malnourished and that those that are overweight are overwhelmingly in the EU and USA. Those Le Eithne sailors have my utmost respect and gratitude
Obesity is also malnutrition
Ya,,,,,,let’s right this stat and endeavour to get the numbers of malnourished back up in line with the obesity figures. Good man
The old paddys getting played ,
A fisherman goes to a river. Catches fish. News at 10.
Terribly distressing news.
Doing a great job but sure there all officers
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