WE ARE NOT LOOKING AWAY IN THE
MEDITERRANEAN SEA.
OUR MISSION
At least 20.000 people are confirmed to have drowned in the Central Mediterranean since 2014, with a much higher number estimated dead. These men, women, and children lost their lives fleeing the horrors of war, and seeking a better life in safety and freedom from fear. This is not a natural disaster, but a man-made crisis: Many more could have survived, but in the name of “migration control” Coast Guards are kept inactive in ports while commercial vessels are deterred from doing the right thing and getting people out of the water. Instead of discouraging people from fleeing, this policy just increases the death toll, all while rendering highly-capable naval vessels and aircraft useless. HPI as a civil, non-profit, and non-governmental actor has decided to step in and try to fill this dangerous gap as much as possible.
OVER 20`000 PEOPLE ARE CONFIRMED TO HAVE DROWNED IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA SINCE 2014. WE NEED TO ACT NOW.
WHAT WE CAN DO
To that end, HPI has since 2016 been jointly operating a civil monitoring mission with the German organization Sea-Watch. Its goals are to:
Monitor the Central Mediterranean for boats in distress, and inform competent rescue coordination centers, as well as vessels in the vicinity, about their presence;
Document human rights violations carried out on the high seas for public awareness and eventual prosecution;
WHAT WE CAN DO
Ensure compliance with national and international legal obligations by both state and non-state actors through a permanent operational presence.
In short, our goal is to ensure that nobody is left behind to die on a flimsy rubber boat in the Mediterranean, a hundred miles or more from the next shore. In addition, the Central Mediterranean must never become a black hole. Citizens need access to independent information on what is happening at their borders. Because even for states, compliance with the law is not optional.
...Saving lives at sea must remain the key priority for all and UNHCR commends the action of all those involved in the many rescue operations that take place between Europe and North Africa...
...HPIs operation Moonbird is one such NGO structure that seeks to provide support to Search and Rescue (SAR) operations through the important asset of a plane which identifies and reports boats in distress in the area...
Kahin Ismail
UNHCR Malta, 4th July 2017
MILESTONES
What we do makes a big difference: In almost 2.000 h of operation since 2016, our crews were involved in locating more than 25.000 people in distress, and alerting national authorities and nearby vessels to their fate. Unfortunately, we have also been forced to witness egregious crimes: Botched or even sabotaged rescue operations, people getting killed, many more being forced back to Libya in blatant violation of the non-refoulement principle.
But against this stand countless instances where our mere presence ensured that laws were respected and people in danger taken to safety. This real difference is why, even after more than five years, we still launch flights every week. We do hope that soon our effort will become unnecessary again, with governments finally returning to their legal commitments to saving lives at sea. Until then, we will keep flying. Donate for this project, if you want to join us in this effort.
HPI kann nur mit der Unterstützung von Spenden abheben. Das Geld wird hauptsächlich für den Treibstoff, die Flugzeugmiete und die Landegebühren gebraucht. Alle Mitglieder von HPI arbeiten ehrenamtlich.
• Eine Flugstunde kostet 240 Franken
• HPI fliegt etwa 6 bis 8 Stunden täglich (=ca. 8000 km2 Meeresfläche)
• HPI fliegt etwa 40 Stunden in der Woche (=320 000 km2 Meeresfläche)
In jeder Flugstunde kann etwa die Hälfte der Fläche des Kantons St. Gallen abgesucht werden.