Save the crew
It’s not just about pulling people out of the water, which is one of the worst-case scenarios. "MSF provides life-saving care wherever we are, but there is something uniquely immediate and starkly confronting about finding people in distress at sea. I don’t believe we should let waves determine the fate of human beings."īarbara Deck | Medical project coordinator | Canada We need to be here to minimise loss of life. It is easy to say, 'People should not try and cross to Europe.' But, in my experience, most do not have an alternative. At the same time, I have been proud to see the resilience of my colleagues who are committed to preventing people from drowning. Over the past four years, I have seen European governments become more reluctant to take responsibility for vulnerable people on this border. I couldn’t bear to say anything about the reality of life in Libya or how hard the journey is. I have also worked in South Sudan and Cameroon, meeting people whose families had already fled to Libya. I remember seeing her there, mother and baby holding onto each other as the ship rolled beneath them, and asking myself: “In what kind of world does a person’s life begin on the floor of a rescue boat?"īy the time we were able to disembark her, we had done another six rescues and had 600 people on board.
There was no chance to medically evacuate her and she gave birth the next afternoon. The mother was rescued at midnight, going into labour shortly afterwards. During my sixth voyage, I ended up delivering a baby boy. "I was on board the MSF search and rescue ship Aquarius in 2016. Let’s just say, I am expecting the unexpected." Overall, I am trying to prepare myself for every scenario, but I don’t think you can ever really be fully ready. One of my roles on the ship will be infection prevention and control – making sure everyone has personal protective equipment and rigorously maintaining high standards of hygiene.
Of course, COVID-19 is something that we are taking very seriously. I will also be looking for women and children, and trying to stop any panic that can quickly destabilise the situation.
This is when I will conduct an initial triage of the people in distress, looking out for those who might be unconscious or have acute medical needs.Īpart from drowning or trauma-related injuries, signs of dehydration, exhaustion and fuel exposure will be a concern. Things will be different here.ĭuring a rescue, I will be on one of the small fast boats we deploy for “the first approach”. "I have just come from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where MSF has been working on COVID-19 and an Ebola outbreak.