To: David Cameron
Reinstate funding for Mare Nostrum to stop refugees drowning at sea
Last Autumn the UK cut funding for the Mare Nostrum search-and-rescue operations by the Italian Navy and Air Force that saved an estimated 150,000 people in one year, in an attempt to discourage refugees making the crossing. The Italian government ended the operation in November. Since then, it has been replaced by the EU's far more limited Frontex program, which only patrols within 30 miles of the border, and does not have a search-and-rescue mission. Thousands of lives can be saved by re-instating Mare Nostrum. So far an estimated 2,500 people have died this summer. The tragic picture of Aylan Kurdi washed up in the beach in Turkey is a tragic reminder of how precious lives will be lost if we do not put in the right infrastructure to rescue refugees at sea.
Refugees are not refugees by choice they are fleeing their home because it is no longer safe to be there.
Refugees are not refugees by choice they are fleeing their home because it is no longer safe to be there.
Why is this important?
Every human life matters. Providing funding to Mare Nostrum would ensure that people are rescued at sea when they fall from rickety dinghies and boats trying to make the crossing in a desperate attempt for a better life. Lives were lost this summer because Mare Nostrum was no longer in operation as it lost its funding. Funding Mare Nostrum would be a simple and quick way to ensure that more lives are not lost. It's not the answer to the refugee crisis, but it can prevent more lives like Aylan and Galib Kurdi being tragically lost.
