In the early spring of 2011, in the middle of the conflict in
Libya, 72 desperate sub-Saharan men, women and children tried to
get to Lampedusa. Instead, they were left to die in a small,
overcrowded inflatable rubber dinghy as their calls for help
went unheeded. When things first started to go wrong and fuel
and food supplies were dwindling, a call was made from a
satellite phone to Father Zerai, a contact person whose number
they had been given in case of an emergency and who subsequently
notified the Italian coast guard. By that time, the boat was
drifting with little fuel left and taking in water. The phone
call enabled the Italian coast guard to establish the boat’s
location. A helicopter was sent to drop some drinking water and
food. The boat was now drifting in the middle of the
Mediterranean. Rough waters threw some people overboard and
currents sent the boat back to Libya. Fishing boats in the
vicinity ignored the vessel. On the 5th day at sea, people
started dying onboard. A large military vessel al