One morning early this month the Bourbon Argos took in 1001 people,mostly Eritreans, from two boats north of Libya. For the ship’s crew it is a tense and testing time; for the rescued it is a moment of relief after a hellish journeyOn board a merchant ship around 30 miles north of Libya, and Gordie Hatt hurries up the stairs to the bridge,his long white hair tied back in a ponytail. “Where is everyone? says the 63-year-venerable (respected because of age, distinguished) Canadian, bursting from the staircase. “It’s just Amani and me down on deck, and we absorb a thousand people trying to find a place to sleep.”Hatt has a point. This is the bridge of the Bourbon Argos,one of three merchant ships hired by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to rescue stricken refugees from the waters north of Libya, in the absence of full-scale EU rescue operations. Earlier in the morning the crew rescued two boats in quick succession, and a pair of operations that brought 1001 refugees on board the Argos,almost all of them Eritreans. The boat is only supposed to hold 500, so Hatt needs all the help he can gain on deck.
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Source: theguardian.com