ROME-- Medecins Sans Frontières criticised European politicians during a hearing at the Senate’s Defence Commission on Tuesday, accusing them, not the NGOs, of collaborating with Libyan traffickers.

 The President of Medecins sans Frontieres Italy, Loris De Filippi, completely rejected claims that NGOs are complicit in human trafficking in the Mediterranean.

 He emphasised that NGOs are the only service being offered at present to tackle the immense humanitarian crisis since the closure of Mare Nostrum 2014.

 “The end of Mare Nostrum, and its substitution with the much more limited operation, Frontex’s Triton, has not decreased the boat journeys, but brought about the tragic death in only one day of around 900 people, on April 18 2015. Exactly two years later, it was only the presence of humanitarian organisations that avoided such a tragedy from happening again, and saved more than 8000 people in the space of a few days.”

 It’s therefore necessary that the government provide a concrete solution to the problem at hand, such as an official, and state funded, search and rescue mission. De Filippi stressed that the work that NGOs are currently undertaking is unsustainable- what’s expected of them is far beyond the realms of what is possible using only private donations.

 He accused the government not only of being inadequate, but also advocating with their actions, a “deliberate and unprecedented non-intervention policy in the face of saving people in danger.”

 Not only are they not intervening, but they are also criminalising the work of NGOs, which De Filippi described as “shameful”- not only because of the impact it has on public opinion and, in turn, the success of the search and rescue missions, but also because it teaches future generations not to be compassionate.

 He criticised in particular their use of the word “taxi” to describe the service provided by the humanitarian organisations, as these politicians have never endured the subhuman conditions of these fishing boats, and they should be ashamed of themselves for belittling the passage in such a way.

 Looking forward, the MSF president stressed the urgent need for a Europe wide response, which will provide official search and rescue methods for the thousands of migrants who are in danger at sea everyday. 

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