Angela Caponnetto, spent a week on board the “Aquarius” ship, run by the Franco-German organization SOS Méditerranée in partnership with Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors without
Borders).
Shortly after their departure from the Sicilian port of Catania, the ship heads for a stretch of sea 20 miles to the east of Sabratha, Libya. During the journey, they encounter an Irish Navy ship with 129 refugees, including 40 unaccompanied minors on board.They had been rescued as they were sailing on a wooden punt.The refugees were transferred to the “Aquarius”.
Once on board, migrants ask advice about which country to choose to restart their lives. Almost everyone thinks that Italy is very close to the coast from which they departed, and they are shocked when they learn that at least one more day of sailing awaits them.
