Daniel Trilling
Sun 26 Apr 2020
Clampdowns on refugees and the rhetoric of ‘We look after our own’ are no substitute for protection from the pandemic
Refugees at a makeshift camp bordering the Moria camp in Lesbos, Greece, April 2020. Photograph: Manolis Lagoutaris/AFP via Getty Images
For almost six years now, a network of volunteers in Europe and Africa have been providing a service that some of the world’s wealthiest countries have chosen not to. When migrants get into distress in the Mediterranean, they can call Alarm Phone’s emergency number; the call is relayed by a team of people spread across France, Tunisia, Italy, Germany, the UK, Morocco and elsewhere to the coastguard service nearest the boat.