‘This is my chance at a second life’, the slow and laborious aftermath of mass migrant rescue
We are standing on the huge deck of the Geo Barents rescue ship, where hundreds of people are waiting to start a new life.
The boat docked in Bari at breakfast time, pulling into the port accompanied by a police boat on one side and a coastguard vessel on the other. And about an hour later, people started disembarking.
The first were the very young, the sick and the injured. Then the rest of the children were led down.
All of them were given a temperature test at the bottom of the gangway; some were then put in the big water paper suits that we all remember from COVID. Everyone was presented with flip-flops and shoes by the Italian Red Cross.
But this disembarkation process is, unsurprisingly, slow and laborious. The Italian government wants to do everything it can to slow, and eventually reverse, the dramatic rise in migrants arriving on its shores.
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What is the Geo Barents rescue ship?
So the health examinations take time. After them come the security checks, the finger-printing and an array of other things. “Welcome to Italy, but don’t imagine we’re going to make it easy”.
Which is why, hours after the process started, there are still hundreds of people left milling around in the Geo Barents – killing time but getting gradually more frustrated, anxious and irritable.
Which makes it all the more striking when the music strikes up.
From the PA system at the front comes the strains of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. And alongside it, Mattia, one of the Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) staff, is singing along, waving his arms with gusto, imploring this room full of people to embrace opera.
At first, they look at him in some bewilderment. But then come smiles, and a few claps and before long people are on their feet applauding. Mattia, now a little sheepish, takes a bow.
It’s worked. People are now smiling and then, bustling through, comes Simon, a Belgian nurse who’s holding his trumpet. He smiles and starts playing and he plays really well. Everyone loves it.
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Aftermath of mass migrant rescue
Within 20 minutes, there is music being played through the system – I think it’s Egyptian pop – and people are dancing together. Don’t ever think that music doesn’t have the most extraordinary power.
The queue moves slowly. Hamdi, who we met in the hours after the rescue, comes and says hello. Eventually, his turn comes up and we follow his path. His friend, Elsaady, is in the group behind.
Hamdi walks up the stairs and waits to be called forward. Like everyone else, he’s wearing a surgical mask, issued by MSF but mandated by the Italian authorities, along with the clothes that were given to him when he got on the boat.
His kit included a black hat, which he wears all the time. But behind his mask, I can see he’s smiling.
He shows the MSF staff the numbered wristband given to all the survivors and they cross him off their list. And then he walks forward, out of the door and towards the gangplank
He tells me he’s happy, excited and “I feel like I’m home”. He’s a smart guy – multilingual and resourceful – and he’s researched enough to know that not everyone in Italy – or Europe – will welcome migrants like him.
“But this is my chance at a second life,” he insists. “I feel so good.”
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Who has migrated to the UK?
On board the mission to rescue 600 people from fishing boat
And with that, he’s off, down the gangplank and, as his foot touches the quay, into Europe.
The queue goes along, but always slowly. By 11pm, after more than 14 hours of disembarkation, there are still a hundred people left on board the Geo Barents. They look exhausted and so do the MSF workers.
This has been a voyage like no other – a rescue that has stretched the resources of the ship and the stamina of the MSF staff, who’ve had to care for more than 600 people by creating a makeshift refugee camp at sea.
Now, everyone is tired. It may be time to put some music on.
Apple has apologised for its new iPad Pro advert where it crushed cameras, books and musical instruments, saying it “missed the mark”.
The advert – shared online by Apple chief executive Tim Cook – also featured creative tools such as a record player and a metronome being crushed in an industrial press.
It was intended to show off the wide range of tools that the thinnest ever iPad can be used for.
But the advert came under fire, with actor Hugh Grant saying it showed the “destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley”.
In a statement, Apple’s vice president of marketing communications Tor Myhren said: “Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world.
“Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry.”
Songwriter Crispin Hunt called the advert “surprisingly tone-deaf” and said Apple “previously enabled and championed creativity”.
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Adam Singer, from advertising technology company AdQuick, called it the “(unintentional) perfect metaphor for today’s creative dark age”.
“Compress organic instruments, joyful/imperfect machines, tangible art, our entire physical reality into a soulless, postmodern, read-only device a multi-trillion dollar corporation controls what you do with,” he wrote on X.
Sales for iPads dropped 17% for January to March compared to the same period a year ago. The tablets currently account for just 6% of the company’s sales.
Thousands of pro-Palestine demonstrators protested in Malmo, Sweden on Thursday against Israel’s competing in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
Protesters waving green, white, black and red Palestinian flags packed the historic Stortorget square near Malmo’s 16th-century town hall before a planned march through the city for a rally in a park several miles from the Eurovision venue.
Police estimated that between 10,000 and 12,000 people took part. Among those in the crowd was Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
The march took place at the same time as Israel’s entrant – 20-year-old Eden Golan – was taking part in the final dress rehearsal for the second Eurovision semi-finals, in the Malmo arena.
During the march – which included families with young children, and people with dogs and bicycles – smoke canisters in the colours of the Palestinian flag were set off, with some protesters carrying signs displaying images of Gaza civilians who have been injured amid the Hamas-Israel conflict.
There was also a banner done in the style of Eurovision with the word “genocide” on it – an accusation vigorously denied by Israel amid the war with Hamas.
Security in Malmo is high, and extra police have been drafted in from neighbouring Denmark and Norway.
During an earlier rehearsal on Tuesday, Golan was met with boos and cries of “Free Palestine,” and an audience member appeared to have a Palestinian flag removed from them in the auditorium.
The EBU has said only flags that represent countries taking part, and the rainbow flag, can be brought to the event.
They have said they will remove any other “flags, symbols, clothing, items and banners being used for the likely purpose of instrumentalising the TV shows”.
Israel’s Eden Golan with Hurricane for Israel. Pic: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU
The 20-year-old singer performed her song Hurricane while flanked by five backing dancers and centred around a large wheel-like prop in the centre of the stage.
Earlier lyric changes
The song has been tweaked three times, after an initial version titled October Rain was ruled too political by the EBU who believed some lyrics referred to the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel.
Some still believe that some lyrics in the current song – including “Dancin’ in the storm… I’m still broken from this hurricane,” still refer to attacks which killed over 1,000 people and resulted in hundreds of hostages being taken.
In the run-up to the competition – which is the world’s largest live music event – there have been calls for Israel to be banned over their ongoing ground offensive in Gaza.
However, the EBU – which says it is an apolitical organisation – has ruled that Israel can take part as they say it has not broken any broadcasting rules.
The EBU has also condemned harassment and abuse of artists competing in the show and said they form no part of the decision-making process. As it stands no performer has withdrawn from the contest.
Pic: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU
More than 34,000 people have been killed, and over 77,000 have been injured in Gaza since the conflict began, according to Gaza’s Hamas-led health ministry.
The second-semi finals
The run-through came ahead of the second semi-final this evening, which will choose the final 10 acts to go into the Grand Final.
Other acts taking part in the semi-final tonight include Norway’s Gate, San Marino’s band Megara, Switzerland’s Nemo and Danish entrant Saba, – all of whom called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the “safe return” of Israeli hostages in a joint statement in March.
The UK’s act, Olly Alexander, and Ireland’s Bambie Thug were also part of the joint statement. Both performed in the first semi-final on Tuesday and will be performing in the final.
The artists rejected calls from Palestinian groups to boycott the music contest, saying they “firmly believe in the unifying power of music”.
Golan, who has been performing since she was nine years old, left Israel when she was six to live in Russia with her family, but returned when she was 18.
She told ITV News she could not have asked “for a better year to be representing my country” earlier this week.
The Grand Final will see 26 countries battle it out on Saturday night.
Sky News will be in Malmo with updates, a live blog, and all the biggest news from the contest as it happens.
World
Club World Cup: FIFA threatened with legal action by players and leagues over new men’s competition
FIFA has been warned of a threatened mass revolt and legal action by the world’s footballers and leagues over its new men’s Club World Cup amid welfare concerns.
A letter has been sent by global players’ union FIFPRO and the World Leagues Forum to FIFA president Gianni Infantino demanding the 32-team competition is not played as planned in June and July next year.
Chelsea and Manchester City have qualified for the event, lined up for the United States as part of Mr Infantino’s expansion of FIFA competitions. The union fears this has congested the calendar and endangered the health of players.
Sky News revealed in December concerns from players in England that they are being asked to play too many games with a threat of legal action against football authorities.
Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez. Both teams have already qualified for the Club World Cup. Pic: Reuters
That has now been stepped up to the global level ahead of key FIFA meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, next week.
FIFPRO Acting General Secretary Stephane Burchkalter and WLA counterpart Jerome Perlemuter wrote to Mr Infantino last week to warn legal advice has been commissioned ahead of potential action against FIFA to force them to resolve concerns.
In a letter obtained by Sky News, they wrote: “We shall be compelled to advise our members on the options available to them, both individually and collectively, to proactively safeguard their interests.”
FIFA, the governing body for world football, has also expanded the World Cup for national teams – growing from 32 to 48 teams for the 2026 edition in North America.
The FIFPRO and WLF letter added: “FIFA has continually and consistently made unilateral decisions that benefit its own competitions and commercial interests, while negatively affecting national leagues and players.
“Over a significant period, FIFA has ignored repeated attempts by leagues and unions to engage on this issue.
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Analysis: ‘Packed’ football calendar
They added: “As a result of FIFA’s recent strategy of expanding its own competitions, the calendar is now beyond saturation, to the point that national leagues are unable to properly organise their competitions, resulting in economic harm, whereas players are being pushed beyond their limits, with significant injury risks and impacts on their welfare and fundamental rights.
“Leagues and players cannot simply be expected to ‘adapt’ to FIFA’s decisions, which are driven by FIFA’s business strategy.
“We have reached the point where this situation must immediately be addressed both from a procedural and substantive perspective.”
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The Club World Cup is set to be staged every four years, replacing the little-regarded annual seven-team event that City won the final version of in December.
After a three-team group stage, there will be another four matches up to the final.
The competition is taking the quadrennial slot used up to 2017 for the now-defunct, eight-country Confederations Cup that served as a World Cup test event.
Sky News has contacted FIFA for comment.
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