Paolo Pellegrin Eritrean migrants are seen 15 nautical miles off the Libyan coast. July 27, 2015.
"In July of 2015, I was commissioned by The New York Times Magazine to photograph the migration crisis across the
(...) Mediterranean Sea. That summer alone, at least a quarter-million people had made the journey to southern Europe from Africa and the Middle-East, escaping destitution, war, despots, general lawlessness and other dire circumstances in hopes of obtaining the freedom to start a new life.
At the time this image was taken, I was on a ship called 'Bourbon Argos.' Operated by Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders), it patrolled the waters off of the Libyan coast searching for boats carrying migrants in need of rescuing. We encountered two wooden boats bearing a total of 733 Eritrean migrants: They had been at sea for 6 hours, their supplies were quickly depleting, and the boat was beginning to leak. They told us of a third vessel that had left Libya with them. (It was rescued the following day with 13 casualties.) Although now safely onboard the rescue boat, these travelers would undoubtedly face many challenges ahead."
- Paolo Pellegrin © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos
