“According to the Italian Ministry of Interior, 57,000 people have reached Italy by crossing the central Mediterranean Sea… in 2022.
“Over the same period, 1,283 people either died or went missing in the attempt to cross the sea, according to the International Organization for Migration.
“On Wednesday, an NGO-operated ship sailing in the Mediterranean reported having rescued 466 migrants over a period of two days at the end of August.”–African News https://www.africanews.com/2022/09/02/migrant-centre-in-lampedusa-overcrowded//
The Sailor from Lampedusa is a dramatization of real events. The focus in most of the media has been primarily on the tragedies and insurmountable odds faced by migrant refugees and the impact on the small community of Lampedusa, and rightly so. However, the immense challenges, physical, and psychological traumas faced by humanitarian doctors, as well as first responders in every other category, is often overlooked. The invaluable work performed by these unsung heroes is monumental tribute to the love of humanity. Unfortunately, their invaluable contributions are often buried in the sensational news coverage of dramatic events unfolding at sea. Their story is either missing or inadequately revealed. It is these angels of mercy that inspired my book, the Sailor from Lampedusa.–Michael Bellusc
Michael Bellusci 