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Dear there,
On a gusty night in September, 76 people boarded a flimsy rubber boat and sailed into the pitch-black night of the Mediterranean Sea.
Onboard, a man from Mali named Ousmane* knew all too well the dangers they faced in the murky waters ahead—but they were nothing compared to the ones he had already endured in Libya.
Harsh winds and three-meter-high waves caused the boat to veer off course and become completely lost at sea until the Geo Barents, a Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) search and rescue (SAR) vessel in the Central Mediterranean, came to rescue them. Ousmane is one of thousands of people who have been rescued while adrift at sea by the Geo Barents, which has rescued 5,600 people since it first set sail in May 2021.
Like many who attempt the dangerous sea crossing between Libya and Italy each year, Ousmane had been forcibly displaced by violence in his hometown and had spent the previous six years scraping by in Algeria and Libya.
“My time in Libya had left me hopeless. I'd been treated like a dog, an animal with no feelings or rights.”
The first time he attempted to cross the Mediterranean was in 2021. After two days at sea, he and 30 others were intercepted by armed men and taken back to Libya, where the majority of migrants are victims of arbitrary detention, torture, and violence.
“They fed us once a day, and we had no choice but to drink the toilet water. Sick people were abandoned to die.”
Ousmane’s story is harrowing, but it is far from unique. Right now, there are more forcibly displaced people around the world than ever before in modern history, and each year, thousands risk everything to find freedom via the Mediterranean Sea.
“I made it through this journey, but I don't want any of my brothers to have to. I wish nobody else had to go through such pain and suffering.”
When emergencies arise, MSF is often the only organization to provide aid. We need to be there for people like Ousmane and to meet the growing medical needs of forcibly displaced people around the globe.
Juan Matias Gil
Search and Rescue Head of Mission
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières
P.S. If your year-end gift and our email have crossed paths, we apologize and sincerely thank you for your generosity!
*Name changed for privacy
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This email was sent from the U.S. section of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an international independent medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, and exclusion from health care.
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