Always the same. The same old story
About the killing of 3 young sisters
On August 23rd, 2025, the Italian authorities told us that 14 people had been medically evacuated ("med evac") and were arriving within 20 minutes at Favaloro pier, which is the place where rescued people on the move are disembarked. The delay might seem tight but this is how it works on the island. However, they never mentioned they came from a shipwreck with 68 survivors[1].
Nadir is a civil search and rescue (SAR) ship operated by RESQSHIP. Following an alert by Alarm Phone, a hotline for people on the move in distress, they started searching for a distress case in the Libyan SAR zone. When they arrived on scene, at 1AM, on August 23rd, the boat was already sinking. The boat passengers asked for life-saving jackets many times and it was hard to keep track of the number of people on the boat - which was so overcrowded. Children were first rescued; many people were taken out of the boat hold. All the survivors were very weak, they had to be lifted out of the boat. At some point, approximately half of the passengers were rescued and safe on Nadir, and the sinking boat was less crowded. Then and only then, someone without a life jacket was spotted, immerged in the water. She is the first of three girls who lost their life on this tragic journey. The second girl was found in the water as well. The third girl was moved along the tubes but already deceased too. It turned out that these three girls were sisters. This is not Fate or bad luck, but the consequences of decades of violent and racist border policies.
Based on survivor testimonies, several hours before the rescue operation from Nadir, a big wave suddenly surged and pushed 3 people into the water. However, some passengers reported that 2 people managed to board again. As a result, it is unknown whether 1 or 3 people went missing, neither the conditions of their death - either due to the aforementioned wave or, as some people on the move said, because of an alleged shooting at the boat at sea.
While the Nadir rescue ship was sailing back to Lampedusa, the Italian Coast Guards reached them in order to "med evac" 14 people, including two children aged 6 and 16 as well as pregnant women. Nevertheless, one should remember that the remaining family members who lost 3 of their own were given no time for praying and/or grieving, upon arrival on land: when survivors are disembarked in Lampedusa, they are questioned by Frontex and other organizations, they pass by a medical triage and they go onto the buses which will drive them to the Lampedusa hotspot. Hence, whilst at sea, the three little bodies were treated with as much care as possible, with all the respect they deserve, whereas a few hours later, so little care was observed when the dead girls were taken out of Nadir, at the commercial pier, after all of the survivors were gone.
So, YES, this is the nth shipwrek. And, YES, the story is different. But, truth be told, the story is so much the same too.
On the one hand, one could wonder about the rights of the people on the move who have survived this horrific journey. One could also wonder about the empathy of the people who are supposed to welcome, care and protect these survivors. When survivors started to set foot on the pier, Frontex agents were positioned before the medical triage, against all rules and laws; survivors were asked questions before having a chance to eat a snack, drink water or rest, without having an idea to whom they are talking. Moreover, civil society organisations, albeit authorized to provide first comforting elements (such as tea and shoes) on the pier, were not allowed to get close to the Red Cross buses, which were behind the pier gate and which would bring survivors to the Lampedusa hotspot. It was said that Frontex agents had the priority to ask questions whereas:1) They were doing the interviews before the pier gate, near the triage (as explained above)2) Survivors spent a long period of time (up to 30 minutes) waiting alone in the buses.
On the other hand, due to the timing of the disembarkment, light was shed on many of the paradoxes of Lampedusa: just a few minutes before the arrival of Nadir with 68 survivors from a shipwreck, the traghetto to Porto Empedocle left the same pier with its usual bunch of tourists going back home. In addition to this, a boat full of tourists happily dancing and whistling was sailing back to the port of Lampedusa while, at the very same time, the dead bodies of these three kids were unloaded from the NGO rescue boat to the undertakers vehicle.
The next day, Nadir crew were questioned by authorities in the frame of the ongoing investigation. In the meanwhile, the Lampedusa Solidarity Forum, organized a commomeration in the following days to commemorate the girls whose life was violently taken. We decided to silently walk to the Porta dell'Europa since the three sisters, alongside their family, were hoping to pursue their dreams in Europe. We lit candles, we prayed, we sat and shared thoughts; our own way to pay respect to them.
"Never forget, never forgive"
Never forget this story, their stories. Never forgive this system which keeps killing instead of granting freedom of movement