Jump to content
The World News Media

Shipwrecked Migrant Survivors Haunted by Children’s Cries: ‘At This Point I Only Tried to Pray’


TheWorldNewsOrg

Recommended Posts

  • Member

POZZALLO, Sicily (AP) — It was the cries of children — and the moment they decided they must save themselves — that haunt the survivors of a shipwreck that claimed hundreds of lives.

Two Eritreans who arrived safely in Sicily told The Associated Press on Sunday how the sea kept seeping into their rickety fishing boat despite all efforts to bail the water out. Eventually, the sea prevailed.

Between 400 and 550 on their smugglers’ boat didn’t make it, part of the estimated 700 migrants who perished inMediterranean Sea shipwrecks over three days last week in the deadliest known tally in over a year, as calm weather and sunny skies increased smuggling crossings from Libya.

This undated image made available Monday, May 30, 2016 by the Italian Navy Marina Militare shows migrants being rescued at sea. Survivor accounts have pushed to more than 700 the number of migrants feared dead in Mediterranean Sea shipwrecks over three days in the past week, even as rescue ships saved thousands of others in daring operations. (Italian Navy via AP)

Migrants being rescued at sea. Survivor accounts have pushed to more than 700 the number of migrants feared dead in Mediterranean Sea shipwrecks over three days in the past week, even as rescue ships saved thousands of others in daring operations. (Italian Navy via AP)

“When the morning came, I saw how the children were crying and the women,” Habtom Tekle, a 27-year-old Eritrean, told the AP through an interpreter. “At this point I only tried to pray. Everybody was trying to take the water out of boat.”

The rickety wooden boat without an engine was being towed by another smugglers’ boat laden with hundreds of other migrants, signaling the increasing desperation of the smugglers. Once the second boat started sinking Thursday, the commander on the first boat ordered the tow line cut, apparently to keep his boat from sinking as well, according to Italian police interviews of survivors.

The line, at full tension, whipped back, fatally slashing the neck of a female migrant, police said.

By then, Filmon Selomon, a 21-year-old Eritrean, had plunged into the sea. He told the Associated Press that knew he could only save himself.

“I started to cry when I saw the situation and when I found the ship without an engine. There were many women and children,” he said. “Water was coming in from everywhere, top, bottom.”

Tekle described people holding onto each other, some dragging others underwater, as the boat was sinking.

“For me, it was very shocking,” he said through an interpreter.

Police put the number below deck at 300 and said they all perished as the boat sank. Some 200 more plunged into the sea, but only 90 of those were saved, along with 500 from the first boat.

In this photo taken Sunday, May 29, 2016 migrant receive first aid as they disembark from the Italian Navy Vega vessel, in Reggio Calabria, southern Italy, after being rescued in the Mediterranean Sea off the coasts of Libya. Survivor accounts have pushed to more than 700 the number of migrants feared dead in Mediterranean Sea shipwrecks over three days in the past week, even as rescue ships saved thousands of others in daring operations. (AP Photo/Adriana Sapone)

Migrants receive first aid as they disembark from the Italian Navy Vega vessel, in Reggio Calabria, southern Italy, after being rescued in the Mediterranean Sea off the coasts of Libya. (AP Photo/Adriana Sapone)

A 17-year-old Eritrean, Mohammed Ali Imam, who arrived on Sicily five days ago in another rescue, told the AP that one of the survivors told him that the second boat started taking on water when the first boat ran out of fuel.

Italian police said survivors identified the commander of the tow boat as a 28-year-old Sudanese man, who has been arrested and faces possible charges for the deaths. Three other smugglers involved in other crossings also were arrested, police announced.

Italian police tallies indicate some 400 died. But Carlotta Sami, spokeswoman in Italy for UNHCR, put the number of migrants and refugees missing in that incident at 550 based on a higher tally of 670 people on board the second boat. She said 15 bodies were recovered, while 70 survivors were plucked from the sea and 25 swam to the other boat.

Sami said many of the survivors have been traumatized by the shipwrecks.

Most of the people on board were Eritrean, according to Save the Children, including many women and children. One of the survivors included a 4-year-old girl whose mother had been killed in a traffic accident in Libya just days before embarking, said Giovanna Di Benedetto, a Save the Children spokeswoman in Italy.

The UNHCR’s Sami also said estimated 100 people are missing from another smugglers’ boat that capsized Wednesday off the coast of Libya, captured in dramatic footage by Italian rescuers. And in a third shipwreck on Friday, Sami said 135 people were rescued, 45 bodies were recovered and an unknown numbers of migrants were still missing.

Because the bodies went missing in the open sea, it is impossible to verify the numbers who died. Humanitarian organizations and investigating authorities typically rely on survivors’ accounts to piece together what happened.

“The situation is really worsening in the last week,” said Di Benedetto.

Survivors of Thursday’s sinking were taken to the Italian ports of Taranto on the mainland and Pozzallo in Sicily.

This undated image made available Monday, May 30, 2016 by the Italian Navy Marina Militare shows migrants being rescued at sea. Survivor accounts have pushed to more than 700 the number of migrants feared dead in Mediterranean Sea shipwrecks over three days in the past week, even as rescue ships saved thousands of others in daring operations. (Italian Navy via AP)

Migrants being rescued at sea.  (Italian Navy via AP)

Italy’s southern islands are the main destinations for countless numbers of smuggling boats launched from the shores of lawless Libya each week packed with people seeking jobs and safety in Europe. Hundreds of migrants drown each year attempting the dangerous Mediterranean Sea crossing.

Tekle and Selomon both fled mandatory, open-ended conscription in Eritrea. Tekle has been on the move for six years, spending time in Egypt, Israel, Uganda and Sudan before heading to Libya to take the risky sea journey to Italy.

“I want to tell the world this way is dangerous for us. Because my brother, sister, family will lose their lives in this channel,” Tekle said as he waited to have his arrival in Italy recorded. “Please help us to have freedom in our country. I don’t want to stay here or any place. I want my county with freedom.”

Read more stories from TheBlaze

Libertarians Select 2016 Ticket on Wild Convention Day, Party Chairman Candidate Strips on Stage (Seriously)

‘So Sickening’: What Vandals Have Done to Calif. Vietnam War Memorial to the Missing Is a Painful Sight

Trump Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski Offers Bizarre Response When Asked if Trump Offices Are Being Bugged

‘Enough is Enough’: Feinstein Unequivocally Defends Clinton, Urges Media to Drop Email Controversy

‘Unfair’: Listen to Dem Lawmaker Explain Why Students Shouldn’t Be Forced to Learn Declaration of Independence

Source

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Views 257
  • Replies 0
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...




  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Popular Contributors

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • It appears to me that this is a key aspect of the 2030 initiative ideology. While the Rothschilds were indeed influential individuals who were able to sway governments, much like present-day billionaires, the true impetus for change stems from the omnipotent forces (Satan) shaping our world. In this case, there is a false God of this world. However, what drives action within a political framework? Power! What is unfolding before our eyes in today's world? The relentless struggle for power. The overwhelming tide of people rising. We cannot underestimate the direct and sinister influence of Satan in all of this. However, it is up to individuals to decide how they choose to worship God. Satanism, as a form of religion, cannot be regarded as a true religion. Consequently, just as ancient practices of child sacrifice had a place in God's world, such sacrifices would never be accepted by the True God of our universe. Despite the promising 2030 initiative for those involved, it is unfortunately disintegrating due to the actions of certain individuals in positions of authority. A recent incident serves as a glaring example, involving a conflict between peaceful Muslims and a Jewish representative that unfolded just this week. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/11/us-delegation-saudi-arabia-kippah?ref=upstract.com Saudi Arabia was among the countries that agreed to the initiative signed by approximately 179 nations in or around 1994. However, this initiative is now being undermined by the devil himself, who is sowing discord among the delegates due to the ongoing Jewish-Hamas (Palestine) conflict. Fostering antisemitism. What kind of sacrifice does Satan accept with the death of babies and children in places like Gaza, Ukraine, and other conflicts around the world, whether in the past or present, that God wouldn't? Whatever personal experiences we may have had with well-known individuals, true Christians understand that current events were foretold long ago, and nothing can prevent them from unfolding. What we are witnessing is the result of Satan's wrath upon humanity, as was predicted. A true religion will not involve itself in the politics of this world, as it is aware of the many detrimental factors associated with such engagement. It understands the true intentions of Satan for this world and wisely chooses to stay unaffected by them.
    • This idea that Satan can put Jews in power implies that God doesn't want Jews in power. But that would also imply that God only wants "Christians" including Hitler, Biden, Pol Pot, Chiang Kai-Shek, etc. 
    • @Mic Drop, I don't buy it. I watched the movie. It has all the hallmarks of the anti-semitic tropes that began to rise precipitously on social media during the last few years - pre-current-Gaza-war. And it has similarities to the same anti-semitic tropes that began to rise in Europe in the 900's to 1100's. It was back in the 500s AD/CE that many Khazars failed to take or keep land they fought for around what's now Ukraine and southern Russia. Khazars with a view to regaining power were still being driven out into the 900's. And therefore they migrated to what's now called Eastern Europe. It's also true that many of their groups converted to Judaism after settling in Eastern Europe. It's possibly also true that they could be hired as mercenaries even after their own designs on empire had dwindled.  But I think the film takes advantage of the fact that so few historical records have ever been considered reliable by the West when it comes to these regions. So it's easy to fill the vacuum with some very old antisemitic claims, fables, rumors, etc..  The mention of Eisenhower in the movie was kind of a giveaway, too. It's like, Oh NO! The United States had a Jew in power once. How on earth could THAT have happened? Could it be . . . SATAN??" Trying to tie a connection back to Babylonian Child Sacrifice Black Magick, Secret Satanism, and Baal worship has long been a trope for those who need to think that no Jews like the Rothschilds and Eisenhowers (????) etc would not have been able to get into power in otherwise "Christian" nations without help from Satan.    Does child sacrifice actually work to gain power?? Does drinking blood? Does pedophilia??? (also mentioned in the movie) Yes, it's an evil world and many people have evil ideologies based on greed and lust and ego. But how exactly does child sacrifice or pedophilia or drinking blood produce a more powerful nation or cabal of some kind? To me that's a giveaway that the authors know that the appeal will be to people who don't really care about actual historical evidence. Also, the author(s) of the video proved that they have not done much homework, but are just trying to fill that supposed knowledge gap by grasping at old paranoid and prejudicial premises. (BTW, my mother and grandmother, in 1941 and 1942, sat next to Dwight Eisenhower's mother at an assembly of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Eisenhower family had been involved in a couple of "Christian" religions and a couple of them associated with IBSA and JWs for many years.)
  • Members

    • Jw.Org1976

      Jw.Org1976 0

      Member
      Joined:
      Last active:
  • Recent Status Updates

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      65.4k
    • Total Posts
      158.9k
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      17,669
    • Most Online
      1,592

    Newest Member
    Miracle Pete
    Joined
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Service Confirmation Terms of Use Privacy Policy Guidelines We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.