Meet the Cork nurse spending Christmas saving lives at sea
discusses her adventures with MSF on MV Aquarius, which recently
rescued 320 refugees in the Med. Despite the travails, there is still a festive spirit onboard.
I am currently in the Straits of Malta onboard the MV Aquarius, a search and rescue ship run by Médecins Sans Frontières in collaboration with SOS Mediterannee. The sea is rough, with 3.5m walls of water driven by strong winds slamming into the ship, crashing over the bulkheads and onto the decks. We have 320 rescued people onboard, most of whom have been treated for seasickness among many other conditions in the last 36 hours, and the atmosphere onboard is calm, unlike the wild weather. It has been a busy and intense time responding to boats in distress.
People often tell us they had no other option but to undertake the deadly sea crossing to Europe. They tell us they are fleeing violence, war, persecution, and poverty in their home countries. Almost everyone rescued in these waters has passed through Libya, where they have been held in arbitrary detention for prolonged periods in unsanitary and inhumane conditions. The people have been exposed to alarming levels of violence and exploitation and the burns, wounds, and scars on many of their bodies tell their own story. It is evident that the push factors are strong, and to risk life and limb on the dangerous sea crossing is the only escape.
Migration in the Mediterranean is very political but MSF, as a humanitarian organisation, cannot stand back and watch from the shore as thousands of men, women, and children drown at sea.
We know that the search and rescue which is facilitated by our partners at sea, SOS Mediterannee, and the Marine crew of MV Aquarius is not the ultimate solution, but is a concrete measure that can save lives and reduce the number of people dying senselessly in the short term.
We also know that current European governments’ policies of interceptions of migrant boats at sea and returns to Libya is not the solution either. We have had some access to detention centres run by the UN-backed government in Libya and we have seen firsthand the absolutely horrific conditions people are trying to leave behind. Attempts to keep the suffering of refugees and migrants out of sight and out of mind is not the answer.
Operation Sophia, of which Ireland is a part, involves the training of the fractious Libyan coast guard to perform interceptions of migrant boats at sea and return people to Libya where many end up back in the same horrific conditions they have attempted to leave in the first place. This is an inhumane approach to ‘migration management’.
We are here to save the lives of people found at sea in the Mediterranean through quality rescue operations, providing medical care, and advocating for the humanity of those rescued people. The workload is intense. With two nurses, a midwife, and a doctor onboard, we are on the go from the crack of dawn and often through the night. We are prepared to provide basic medical care and to respond to life-threatening emergency situations such as drowning, hypothermia, severe dehydration, severe fuel burns, and thermic burns, severe trauma including gunshot wounds and fractures, spinal injuries, obstetric and psychiatric emergencies.
The team recently had a critical rescue whereby a boat fell apart as a rescue was commencing and 40 people were in the sea without lifejackets. One man, who was pulled from the water unconscious, not breathing, was successfully resuscitated by the team and transferred from the ship to a hospital in Italy by helicopter. It can never be anticipated what a given day will bring.
Among the main illnesses that we are seeing in the rescued people are severe skin infections, malnutrition, pneumonia, violence-related trauma, and fuel burns. These are directly related to the overcrowded, unsanitary, and desperate living conditions in places of captivity in Libya, and to the journey undertaken to escape indefinite detention.
All are preventable.
As well as my medical and support activities, I have additional responsibilities as the focal point for vulnerable persons. This involves the flagging, documenting, and referral of those among the rescued population who are defined as vulnerable, such as unaccompanied minors, victims of torture, survivors of sexual violence, disabled people, people with psychiatric illness, or people suspected of being trafficked.
My goal is to identify people who may need particular support once they are on land. I love this aspect of my work as it offers me the privilege of speaking with people from all walks of life, to support them, to be present to listen to their extraordinary and often harrowing stories, and to work towards ensuring additional support for them on land.
On my very first day patrolling international waters, I was woken at 6am to prepare for a rescue. Wearing my personal protection equipment, lifejacket, and helmet, anticipation was high. As the sun rose in the distance and the skies lightened, it was confirmed that the rubber boat we had seen on the radar had capsized. When the Aquarius passed the capsized and deflated boat, it was noted that there was no marking on it to communicate that these people had been rescued.
An indescribable feeling washed over me. It was difficult not knowing the fate of these people. Immediately, we were en route to another boat.
My first rescue involved an inflatable boat with 113 people onboard. Although I had heard a lot about the search and rescue mission, nothing could prepare me for my first experience of seeing so many people in distress onboard an inflatable boat which was unworthy of the sea and of the weather. People were straddled all along the sides and packed deep in the boat. Everybody was wet and terrified.
Nobody wore a lifejacket.
I was struck by the enormity of the journey and the level of suffering that leads a person to take the decision to undertake this dangerous sea crossing in the dark of night.
Within 24 hours we had 454 rescued people onboard, including 79 women, six of whom were pregnant, and 101 children under 18. These people came from 27 nations, including Syria, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Palestine, Eritrea, Libya, and Somalia. I was extremely happy to work around the clock, and to have these people out of the elements and safely onboard.
Christmas came to cabin 11 yesterday as I hung the decorations I bought at the last port call, which has created a lovely Christmas atmosphere in my cabin that reminds me of home.
I managed to send Christmas cards early this year while in the port of Sicily; knowing that by the time of my next port call, it would be too late to send them. The challenge was in finding Christmas cards in November and a postbox close to the dock.
In the mess where the team enjoys meals together, the root of a dodgy looking Christmas tree is held between bottles of cooking oil, the branches fixed to the ceiling with several strands of sellotape, and a finger puppet of a witch with a broom is sitting on top. Christmas carols have been blasting out of the cabin of the midwife when rescued people have disembarked and we are scrubbing the decks.
Yesterday there were mince pies in the mess, again courtesy of our midwife who apparently is in the Christmas spirit.
I have a large family and many friends that I will miss too much this Christmas as I will continue to be at sea on the search and rescue mission. It is not an easy time to be away from home at all. Fortunately, my special family at home understands me well, support me always, and realize that this is a worthy way for me to spend my Christmas. The needs of this population at sea far outweigh my own need to be at home and while I will miss home enormously, it will be a joy to spend Christmas with the team and with the rescued people onboard the Aquarius.
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