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Green politician helps as a paramedic in sea rescue in the Mediterranean: "People were soaked in petrol"

2023-01-07T06:00:11.457Z


Green politician helps as a paramedic in sea rescue in the Mediterranean: "People were soaked in petrol" Created: 2023-01-07 06:53 By: Katrin Woitsch Andreas Krahl was a paramedic on board the Sea-Eye to save migrants from drowning. © JOHANNES GAEVERT/Sea-Eye Andreas Krahl was on board the Sea-Eye as a paramedic over Christmas to save refugees from drowning in the Mediterranean. What he experi


Green politician helps as a paramedic in sea rescue in the Mediterranean: "People were soaked in petrol"

Created: 2023-01-07 06:53

By: Katrin Woitsch

Andreas Krahl was a paramedic on board the Sea-Eye to save migrants from drowning.

© JOHANNES GAEVERT/Sea-Eye

Andreas Krahl was on board the Sea-Eye as a paramedic over Christmas to save refugees from drowning in the Mediterranean.

What he experienced there he will never be able to hide again, he says.

Munich – Andreas Krahl is not only a member of the state parliament for the Greens, but also a paramedic.

The 33-year-old from Murnauer spent Christmas on a ship belonging to the Regensburg aid organization Sea-Eye.

He helped save 108 people from drowning.

They were emotional days, he says.

What he experienced off the Libyan coast will also have an impact on his work as a politician.

They spent Christmas on the Mediterranean to rescue refugees.

How difficult is it to find your way back into everyday life afterwards?

Krahl:

Relatively difficult.

The help there is very immediate.

What you do takes on a whole different meaning.

How did you prepare for the assignment?

Krahl:

I am a paramedic and intensive care worker, I can rely on this training.

I've been on Sea-Eye 4 before, so I knew the area there.

But preparing for the rescues is difficult.

We had two assignments – both cannot be compared.

Migrants sat 'in a mixture of petrol, vomit and urine' for six days

How did the migrants travel?

Krahl:

First we discovered a dinghy with 3 to 4 meter high waves, there were 63 people on board.

People were out for a day.

The second rescue was even more emotional.

45 people sat on a fiberglass boat that was about three times the size of a rowing boat on Lake Staffelsee.

They had already been on the road for six days.

The people were soaked in gasoline when we got them on board.

They had sat in a mixture of gasoline, vomit and urine for days.

Emotional farewell: In the port of Livorno, Andreas Krahl hugs a man who came on board with severe hypothermia.

He gave him medical care for days.

© Sea-Eye

What condition were they in?

Krahl:

Physically, the main problem was hypothermia, some only had a body temperature of 34.3 degrees.

That means mortal danger.

Many also struggled with dehydration.

The mixture of petrol and salt water left 18 people with severe to moderate skin burns.

In the end we ran out of bandages.

The three seriously injured were taken directly to a burn center in the port of Livorno.

I worked in Murnau in the severe fire intensive care unit.

The worst is yet to come for the people, with two the burns could be life-threatening.

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Italy passed a decree a few days ago, according to which civil sea rescuers are only allowed one rescue per mission.

What would that have meant for your mission?

Krahl:

That was the official instruction we received from Malta on our mission.

It said: pass the second boat.

Of course that wasn't an option.

After all, we don't drive past an accident without helping.

(By the way: Our Bayern newsletter informs you about all the important stories from Bavaria. Register here.)

Cooperation with Italy is light and shadow

How did the cooperation with Italy go?

Krahl:

You have to make a clear distinction.

The sea rescue center in Rome assigned us Livorno in northern Italy as a safe port.

This meant that we had to sail past dozens of Italian ports for days with seriously injured and traumatized people.

And at the same time it meant that we couldn't be in the operational area for five more days.

The help from the authorities and aid organizations in Livorno was exemplary.

When we arrived there was immediate medical attention and food for the rescued.

How emotional was the arrival at the port?

Krahl:

Very emotional.

Especially saying goodbye to one of my problem children – a man from Bangladesh who spent a night in a kind of semi-coma due to hypothermia.

I knew he had no idea how close it was for him.

And also not of what he still has in front of him.

The future for the rescued in Europe is not that rosy.

Will the mission flow into your political work?

Krahl:

Not only in political work, in my whole life.

I can't hide that anymore.

I think this experience puts me in a different position to discussing with critics who claim that the situation in the Mediterranean is not that dangerous.

"Rescue at sea is and will remain a national obligation!"

Have you been attacked for your work?

Krahl:

Not so far.

There was a voice that expressed displeasure that I missed a parliamentary session because of this.

But I'm over it.

I believe that if colleagues in the state parliament can run law firms parallel to their mandate, it should be fitting that I take care of chemical burns for people fleeing once a year.

It is my belief that the rescue ships must sail.

Many aid organizations lack donations for the missions.

How should politics support?

Krahl:

Sea rescue is and will remain a national obligation!

Germany must also face up to this responsibility.

The Federal Government has now initiated financial support for civil sea rescue for the first time.

It wants to make two million euros available annually for the “United4Rescue” alliance.

At least that's a start.

We need to get the missions secured.

What do you expect from the EU?

Krahl:

There is not enough support from the European Union.

Just because Italy has three national borders by the sea, it shouldn't alone have to bear the responsibility for the movement of refugees across the Mediterranean.

It is the duty of every EU Member State to help.

Countries like Hungary are completely evading responsibility.

I also expect more from Germany.

The Sea-Eye 4 and many other rescue ships fly the German flag.

I believe that an approach to Sicily as a safe haven would be possible again if Italy received more help from the EU.

The interview was conducted by Katrin Woitsch.

You can always read all the news from all over Bavaria with us.

News and stories from Bavaria can now also be found on our brand new Facebook page Merkur Bayern.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-01-07

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