A video on the rescue missions of the NGO Proactiva Open Arms (POA) opens with a newborn crying aboard a crammed migrant boat off Libya as it is approached by one of the organization's vessels. The first to be transferred aboard the NGO's 'Austral' shop is a young man on cardiac arrest whom volunteers are unable to resuscitate. Then the body of another newborn is found on the boat.
With 480 onboard, the NGO's vessels receives a new SOS call in the search-and-rescue area where it is operating off Libya. Three hours later, 575 people are crammed aboard the Austral in rough waters, with three-meter-high waves, as they search for a port of destination with noone coming to their rescue.The documentary was filmed just a handful of miles off Europe by Paula Palacio, a Spanish director whose work focuses on women's issues and immigration.
The feature called 'Cartas Mojadas' (wet letters) is produced by the Instituto de la Cinematografia y de las Artes Visuales (ICAA) and will be released by the end of the year. Yet because the humanitarian emergency can't wait, the director has decided to publish a video on Vimeo, to support Open Arms' work. The video is visible in this link https://vimeo.com/257872205.
'Not possible to continue to turn away from migrant crisis'
Palacio said it is urgent to act and ''for this reason we are presenting this video in the hope that it can mobilize the conscience of people and institutions that have the power to change things''.The director said the migrant crisis is ''a tragedy'' and ''it is not possible to continue to turn away.''The video was filmed during mission number 39 of the NGO last January amid the most serious migrant crisis in the area since World War Two as the 19-member crew of Open Arms attempts to assist women and children in poor health conditions as their requests for help are unheeded. A three-month-old baby died on the first night of the three-day ordeal.
Over the 15-day period during which the documentary was filmed, Open Arms nonetheless rescued 905 people. ''The video is a sort of preview of 'Cartas Mojadas', the documentary that has as a starting point the letters found on a beach that talk about the stories of women refugees who have been separated from their children as they were fleeing their home countries,' 'explained the filmmaker.
Ever since 2015, Palacio has been reporting the stories of these mothers and their efforts to communicate with their children as they talk in their letters about their difficult trip in search of a better future, of their efforts to integrate in their new countries and different cultures. The Morada Films crew and director have filmed in Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, Austria, Germany, France, Spain, Colombia, Somalia, Iraq, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Bangladesh.
