Thread by @CaoimheButterly

Safe Passage (a thread)

In 2017 a decommissioned Irish Navy ship, the LE Aisling, was sold by public auction to a private buyer. One year later it was re-sold, at over six times the price for which it was bought, to the Libyan Navy, and re-named Al Karama (which means Dignity).

The head of the Libyan Navy was recently implicated in the bombing of a detention centre which killed 44 refugees and people seeking safety and dignity. The Libyan Coast Guard, which receives EU funding & military training, has perpetuated ongoing human rights violations at sea.

Refugees and migrants- women, men and children- are subjected to systematic, extreme abuse in Libyan detention centers.Torture, gender-based sexual violence, extortion and slavery are regularly documented realities of those who flee Libya by sea.

When the LE Aisling was sold two years ago, it was obviously not known where the ship would end up. But it's present use is a glimpse into the cynical loop of EU migration policies that abdicate responsibility for the lives of those seeking refuge.

The Irish Naval Service needs to be re-deployed to the Mediterranean Sea, with a Search and Rescue mandate. Those on board the Irish Naval ships, for over three years, did vital, empathetic, life-saving work. That work needs to continue.

#SafePassage
#MigrationIsAnActOfCourage

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