Coronavirus - Africa: Red Cross Red Crescent alarmed at increase in migrant drownings in Mediterranean.

M2 PRESSWIRE-July 10, 2020-: Coronavirus - Africa: Red Cross Red Crescent alarmed at increase in migrant drownings in Mediterranean

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RDATE:10072020

Red Crescent societies in Tunisia and Libya are seeing an increase in drownings on the shores of North Africa.

Warmer weather and relaxed COVID-19 lockdowns are thought to be behind an increase in numbers of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe.

Many are not surviving the perilous journey, with 20 per cent more people estimated to have died in June this year as opposed to last year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

IFRC President Francesco Rocca said:

"While Red Cross volunteers in Italy support those who have managed to survive the crossing, unfortunately on the other side of the Mediterranean, both Libyan and Tunisian Red Crescent volunteers are left to collect the bodies of those who didn't."

Libyan and Tunisian Red Crescent volunteers have the difficult task of finding the bodies of those who perish along the shoreline and transferring them with dignity to local hospitals. In the month of June alone, Red Crescent teams recovered 26 bodies in Libya and more than 30 in Tunisia.

President Rocca said:

"Each person who dies trying to cross that deadly stretch of water is more than just a statistic. They are someone who was full of hope for a better future, with family and friends who loved them, who likely faced countless hardships along the way only to have their life ended, we cannot forget this."

More than twice the number of people have arrived on the shores of Italy this year compared to the same time as last year, according to the UN. However, this does not paint the full picture of the situation. The Italian government has declared its ports unsafe since April due to COVID-19 and any disembarkation of migrants has either been prevented until they can be rerouted to other countries or has been substantially delayed...

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