Photos: Twitter – Sara Alonso Esparza

Video footage taken on board the Aquarius rescue ship shows African migrants in a joyful mood, despite the depletion of supplies on the ship and the ongoing stand-off between Malta and Italy over which of them should welcome it.

Spanish journalist Sara Alonso Esparza, who is on board the ship, uploaded videos on Twitter showing a group of women singing on deck and another group praying.

“Meanwhile, beyond politics, these Nigerian women sing on deck,” the journalist tweeted. “They feel free for the first time in a long while…life goes on.”

There are an estimated 629 migrants on board the ship, which is run by the search and rescue NGO SOS Méditerranée, including 123 unaccompanied minors, 11 children and seven pregnant women.

The migrants, who were picked up from different boats in Libyan waters, hail from several African countries – including Nigeria, Morocco, Sierra Leone, Algeria and Sudan.

Aloys Vimard, project coordinator of Doctor Without Borders aboard the ship, said the Aquarius only has enough food, water and medical supplies to last them two days.

“Tonight, we won’t have enough food for all of these people,” he said. “I don’t know what will happen afterwards, but we believe the safety of refugees should come before any political considerations.”

Vimard said the migrants were all dehydrated when they were rescued and many bore signs of violence suffered at the hands of human traffickers, but they have since been fed and rehydrated.

Spanish newspaper El País, which has a journalist on board the Aquarius, spoke to one of the migrants – a 20-year-old Nigerian man called Kevin.

“Kevin was in a boat some 50 miles off Tripoli, but the boat’s keel broke and it started to sink,” the report reads. “They started distributing life jackets amongst each other, but people started panicking to get a jacket for themselves, and then the accident happened. Suddenly, there were 40 people in the water in the dead of night – a hellish nightmare because [the Aquarius] ship was busy helping out another ship in the vicinity.”

Kevin said he felt as though he had been plunged into a movie and that he was living out the last moments of his life.

“I never thought I would survive, but God has everything in order,” he said.

What do you make of this developing situation?

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]