Migration from Libya to Europe, latest news

In just three days and in six separate search operations, it  439 migrants was trying to enter Europe by boat via the Mediterranean Sea rescued,  the MSFreporter said.

The Geo Barnets ship, which is part of the Médecins Sans Frontières rescue team, said that after two requests for a safe place were ignored and rejected by Maltese authorities, Médecins Sans Frontières asked Italian authorities for a safe port to land.

Geo Barnets began its seventh search in the central Mediterranean on January 14, off the coast of Sicily and heading south to the Libyan Rescue Zone. Between January 19 and 21, their sea-monitoring teams responded to numerous calls from several moving boats, and managed to bring everyone safe to Geo Barnets.

Among the 439 survivors are many from Eritrea, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sudan and Egypt. The majority are male and 112 are young, most of whom are unaccompanied. There are also 9 women and three new born babies among them. Everyone has fled Libya and traveled for hours, endangering their lives in non-navigable boats.

  Médecins Sans Frontières teams provide medical care and psychological assistance to all passengers. Some survivors needed medical attention for mild to moderate symptoms of hypothermia, body aches and seasickness due to unfavorable weather conditions in the past few days. Several people are also receiving medical treatment for malnutrition.

Hager Sadullah, a psychologist at Doctors Without Borders on the Geo Barnets Ship, says many people are suffering from mental illness along their routes and countries of origin after surviving traumatic events in Libya, and their mental health is deteriorating.

Geo Barnets's medical team experts say living conditions on the ship could potentially make the symptoms worse: Anxiety and stress are on the rise due to uncertainty about their future. Their trauma treatment process begins only when the survivors are in a safe and secure environment on land.

Every year, thousands of people try to enter Europe via Libya, using non-standard boats. Many of them lose their lives, those who survive, if they get lucky and are not persecuted and extorted by criminal groups, they reach Europe.

_{Source and Credit: MSF, NT, MM}