Caroline Willemen, former Head of Mission Belgium looks back into her many experiences working with MSF on various migration routes at EU borders and talks about the various forms of violence people on the move are victim of.
We call on the Greek authorities to end all violent border practices and ensure safe, humane, and dignified access to healthcare for people seeking protection in Greece.
MSF has repeatedly called for a permanent end to pushbacks at borders, for an independent monitoring system to be set up on the Aegean islands, and for search and rescue operations to be stepped up at sea.
MSF reports In Plain Sight and Death, Despair and Destitution document patterns of harm linked to migration policies aimed at deterrence. Medical data, patient testimonies, and field observations collected over time point to consistent accounts of violence and pushbacks at Europe’s sea borders.
The accounts we receive from patients and the medical data collected in the field point to repeated exposure to harm, distress, and barriers to accessing protection and healthcare.
What is now emerging publicly appears to confirm a stark reality that migrants and refugees have been describing for years: forced returns and denial of protection and healthcare,” says Christina Psarra, General Director, Doctors Without Borders Greece
“These are not isolated incidents, but patterns that our teams have reported over time. We have previously documented the human cost of these practices at sea and along Europe’s borders. 🧵
For years, people seeking protection in Greece have reported experiences of violence, forced returns, and denial of healthcare and protection. These accounts have too often been questioned or overlooked.
❗Recent reports highlighting violent practices and pushbacks at Greece’s borders reflect a situation that has been documented for years, both on land and at sea.
What if they didn’t need to run from hell?
After a critical rescue at the end of February 2024, we mourned those who lost their lives.
In tribute to the people we meet at sea, our former cultural mediator, Nejma, wrote this poem. 🖋️
📢Join our team! As a Deputy Logistics Coordinator, you'll support in designing, planning & implementing logistical strategies for SAR operations.
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“They took my mother and brother, and they beat us,” said Ahmed*.
We met him in 2024 after our team rescued him at sea. His harrowing testimony reflects patterns of violence and abuse against people attempting to cross the sea in search of a safer life.
We stand firmly with @en.sea-watch.org and crew of Aurora, who are detained and are now facing fines after rescuing 44 people who had been stranded on an oil platform for five days.
As we continue to witness deadly shipwrecks, Italian authorities are still penalising those who rescue lives at sea.
#Lebanon: Around 2pm Sunday, Israeli forces struck a densely populated area in Beirut, meters from Rafik Hariri Public Hospital, where MSF supports an ER doctor.
A mass-casualty influx followed. In the first hour: 4 killed, ~40 injured. More feared as rubble is cleared.
🚨Italy detains our rescue ship #Aurora despite 71 people missing since the horrific Easter shipwreck in the Mediterranean. After rescuing 44 people stranded for FIVE DAYS on an abandoned oil platform, we now face a fine of up to €10,000 ➡️ sea-watch.org/en/italy-det...
71 people are reported missing after a boat sank off Italy this weekend. Two bodies were recovered and 32 survivors were rescued by merchant ships.
These deaths are the result of political choices that block safe routes and criminalise rescues.
www.reuters.com/world/ships-...
In total, at least 104 people have died in the Mediterranean over the past three days after shipwrecks off the coasts of Tunisia, Greece, and Turkey.
Our thoughts are with them and their families.
We will keep being present at sea and speaking out until lives are no longer lost.
⚫️Another tragic and preventable deaths in the central Med‼️
Today, 19 bodies were brought to Lampedusa after a rescue by Italian Coast Guard.
They likely died from hypothermia and Europe’s policy of deterrence, obstruction of rescues and lack of safe routes.
MSF has been active and engaged in search and rescue operations in the central Mediterranean since 2015, rescuing more than 94,200 people.
In November 2025, MSF began operating Oyvon, a fast, small rescue boat that has so far rescued 68 people from distress at sea.
The detention in question was the third out of four imposed on the Geo Barents under Italy’s punitive Piantedosi decree.
"Yet, despite repeated court wins, humanitarian SAR actors still face ongoing administrative harassment and criminalisation, while people continue drowning due to Europe’s failed migration and rescue policies." said Juan Matías Gil, MSF SAR Representative.
2: orders from the Libyan Coast Guard requiring rescue vessels to leave rescue scenes - as occurred in this case and others, cannot be considered "coordination by the competent authority."
The court ruling declared the detention order unlawful and reaffirmed two critical principles.
1: the burden of proving violations lies with the Italian authorities, who failed to provide evidence for their accusations against the conduct of MSF crew aboard the Geo Barents. 🧵
The ruling reaffirms that saving lives at sea is a legal duty and that obstructing humanitarian rescue cannot be justified without evidence.
🟢Court win: The Italian court of Salerno annulled the third detention order against our SAR vessel Geo Barents, operated between 2021 and 2024.
Read the statement 👉 bit.ly/3NTqhSu
The decision, issued last week, required Malta to immediately coordinate a SAR operation for more than 100 people, including women and children, who were stranded on the Miskar gas platform and a nearby boat in the Maltese SAR region since 15 March.
Credits: Ville Maali / SOS MEDITERRANEE
For the second time in just over a year, UpRights and
StraLi, this time together with @msf.org and Pro Iura, have obtained urgent interim measures from the UN Human Rights Committee against #Malta for its failure to rescue people in distress in the #Mediterranean.
Read more tinyurl.com/sp8bya9z
🌊 We’re hiring an Engagement & Outreach Officer to organise events & public appearances that highlights our SAR work across Italy and Europe 🌍
Build networks, engage cultural figures, and coordinate impactful public activities. Apply now 👉🏽 searchandrescue.msf.org/jobs/engagem...
We are pleased to welcome Laura Leyser as the new Secretary General of MSF International as of 1 March 2026.
Since our founding in 1971, we’ve grown to a global movement delivering emergency medical care in over 70 countries. Thanks to our 7 million individual donors, we provide care where it’s needed.
