Chapter 116: Overseas Immigrant Rescue Station
"Oh my God!" someone on the other side exclaimed after hearing the call: "Finally someone heard the call!"
Xiao Peng frowned slightly. Isn't this way of calling for help too unprofessional?
He picked up the intercom and said, "This is the Red Head Ship, calling the ship. Please state your ship number, longitude and latitude, and the danger you are in!"
After hearing what he said, the other party finally reacted: "This is the Red-tailed Parrot. We are in trouble. Please come and help rescue us as soon as possible."
Xiao Peng frowned and said, "What's the problem? Don't you have an AIS system on board? How can I know where your ship is? You need to identify yourself."
He must be more cautious. A ship without AIS cannot identify itself. What if it is pirates? Would he foolishly approach it and try to rob it?
Don't think pirates are only found in Somalia; they're also present in North Africa! They're relatively safe off the coast of Tunisia right now, but what about further east, off the coast of Libya? They're often plundered in the surrounding waters under the pretext of "protecting our nation's marine resources." Italian fishing boats are often taken back to Libya, along with their crews.
Moreover, such a situation is difficult to deal with. According to the current national situation in Libya, there is constant civil unrest and no stable regime. It is almost impossible to ask them to hand over the criminals. Moreover, this situation has a tendency to spread slowly to the whole of North Africa. Now their location is neither a fishing area nor a waterway, so Xiao Peng has to be cautious.
The person on the other end of the intercom also realized this and quickly introduced themselves: "We are from the 'Immigration Overseas Rescue Station'. Our identification number is XXXXX. You can check it out. We really need help right now!"
Xiao Peng turned to Pascal and asked, "Have you heard of the organization 'Immigrant Overseas Rescue Station'? Please contact them for me."
Pascal replied, "I know this organization exists not only in Italy, but also in southern European countries like France, Spain, and Greece. I'll contact them now to confirm."
He opened a website on his laptop, typed it in, and nodded, "That matches."
Xiao Peng then picked up the intercom: "Red-tailed Parrot, tell me your coordinates!"
A coordinate was reported over the walkie-talkie. Xiao Peng marked the location on the electronic nautical chart, adjusted the direction, and drove directly there.
"What exactly is this 'Immigrant Overseas Rescue Station' for?" Xiao Peng asked Pascal in confusion.
Pascal explained, "It's a charity. You should know about the Mediterranean refugee problem, right?"
Xiao Peng nodded: "Of course, I've lived in Marseille for so long, how could I not know?"
Beginning with the 2011 Tunisian uprising, the entire Arab world was plunged into turmoil, known as the "Afghan Spring." North Africa and the Middle East were in turmoil. Consequently, a large number of refugees poured into Europe via the Mediterranean, with at least two million crossing the Mediterranean each year.
There are three main refugee routes: one is through the Strait of Gibraltar into Spain; one is through the Strait of Tunisia into Italy; and the other is through Türkiye into Greece.
The Spanish route is the most difficult. This country maintains strict control over refugees. It's not like what some online intellectuals in China claim: "Spain's massive refugee take-in demonstrates its compassionate spirit." Basically, they repatriate refugees as they arrive.
This is understandable. If the efforts to take in more people are increased, the economic burden will increase and drag down the domestic economy. Moreover, conflicts between indigenous people and refugees will easily arise due to issues such as beliefs. However, if no one is taken in, it will cause controversy. Finally, Spain came up with a solution to take in fewer people, and those who are taken in are young and middle-aged people to alleviate the problem of labor shortage.
But these policies are basically unimplementable for Greece and Italy.
Let’s talk about Greece first.
When European powers dismantled the Ottoman Empire, they divided up almost all the islands along the Turkish coast. The biggest beneficiary was Greece. Standing on the Turkish coast and looking out to sea, you can see that almost all the islands visible to the naked eye belong to Greece. And now, they are the ones suffering the most.
For example, the Greek islands of Khosa and Lesbos are less than five kilometers from Turkey, and a rubber boat carrying a few dozen people can reach the other side in a matter of seconds. Every day, dozens of small boats carry refugees to Greece, a constant flow. Greece experiences a massive influx of refugees every year.
Italy's situation is similar to Greece's. Its Lampedusa Island is only 113 kilometers from the African coast. Every year, a large number of North African refugees come here by boat from Tunisia or Libya to enter Europe.
But the journey isn't always smooth, with thousands dying every year. In one instance, a fishing boat carrying nearly 400 refugees sank just a few hundred meters from Lampedusa's port. Islanders rushed to the rescue, but only managed to save a little over 20 people; ultimately, 366 people perished.
Italy is not without action. Their coast guard and navy have set up patrols to go deep into the international waters near Libya to intercept refugee boats, but this action has no effect. These smuggling boats are organized and they are well versed in the essence of "guerrilla warfare". When the enemy retreats, we advance. When the enemy advances, we retreat.
In fact, the entire Europe is now in a state of distress due to the refugee crisis! Almost all European countries have tightened their refugee policies, strengthened inspections and delayed entry, while not allowing refugee boats to enter the country and providing them with food to ensure that there will not be a humanitarian disaster.
Pascal said, "'Overseas Migrant Aid Station' is such an organization. They provide food aid and other assistance to refugees at sea. However, this is very controversial. Some say they are exacerbating the refugee problem, while others say they are true saints helping those in need."
Xiao Peng shrugged and said, "Your head follows your butt. You can't make everyone have the same opinion. The key is your own attitude."
"What's your attitude?" Pascal asked.
Xiao Peng grinned. "I don't have any opinions. I just know that when a ship receives a distress signal at sea, it's time to go help. This is a universally accepted rule on the oceans of the world. Buddy, put on your jacket and wear something warm. You'll be in trouble soon!"
Although the temperature was over 10 degrees Celsius, it was raining and windy at sea, so wearing a down jacket wasn't an exaggeration. In fact, Xiao Peng had prepared several lightweight down jackets to wear while in Sicily.
After hearing what Xiao Peng said, Pascal found his jacket and put it on, then asked curiously, "How did you know we were going to suffer?"
Xiao Peng said helplessly, "Dude, I can imagine what kind of problems the 'Immigrant Overseas Rescue Station' could encounter at sea. It must be a refugee ship!"
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