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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/04/syrian-refugee-rescued-in-tiny-dinghy-off-libyan-coast
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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Syrian refugee rescued from tiny dinghy off Libyan coast | Syrian refugee rescued from tiny dinghy off Libyan coast |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| A Syrian refugee has been saved at sea after he set out solo in a tiny rubber boat from Libya, where he said he had been working as practically a slave for three years. | A Syrian refugee has been saved at sea after he set out solo in a tiny rubber boat from Libya, where he said he had been working as practically a slave for three years. |
| Riccardo Gatti, the chief of mission on board the Proactiva Open Arms rescue ship, which patrols an area outside Libyan territorial waters for migrant boats in distress, said it was about to head to Malta when one of the volunteers with the non-governmental organisation looked through binoculars and “saw something, a silhouette, on the horizon,” about two miles (3km) away. | Riccardo Gatti, the chief of mission on board the Proactiva Open Arms rescue ship, which patrols an area outside Libyan territorial waters for migrant boats in distress, said it was about to head to Malta when one of the volunteers with the non-governmental organisation looked through binoculars and “saw something, a silhouette, on the horizon,” about two miles (3km) away. |
| The 30-year-old man, identified only as Sami, was alone in a 3-metre (10ft)(3m) rubber dinghy, “like the kind you use at the beach, with a motor, dates [for food] and spare batteries,” Gatti said, adding that the man cried “I’m Syrian, I’m Syrian” before collapsing. “We gave him something to eat and let him shower, let him sleep,” Gatti said. | The 30-year-old man, identified only as Sami, was alone in a 3-metre (10ft)(3m) rubber dinghy, “like the kind you use at the beach, with a motor, dates [for food] and spare batteries,” Gatti said, adding that the man cried “I’m Syrian, I’m Syrian” before collapsing. “We gave him something to eat and let him shower, let him sleep,” Gatti said. |
| The man, who was described as being in good medical condition, was taken to a migrant processing centre on the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa. | The man, who was described as being in good medical condition, was taken to a migrant processing centre on the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa. |
| Gatti said the man told them he had worked as a nurse in three hospitals in Libya after fleeing the Syrian war in hopes of reaching his Palestinian girlfriend who lives in Sweden. The man lived inside the hospital, unlike most of the hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers and other refugees who are kept in miserable conditions in Libyan detention facilities until they can secure passage aboard a smugglers’ boat toward Europe. | Gatti said the man told them he had worked as a nurse in three hospitals in Libya after fleeing the Syrian war in hopes of reaching his Palestinian girlfriend who lives in Sweden. The man lived inside the hospital, unlike most of the hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers and other refugees who are kept in miserable conditions in Libyan detention facilities until they can secure passage aboard a smugglers’ boat toward Europe. |
| Muammar Gaddafi was ousted as president in 2011 after more than 40 years in power. But deep division between his supporters and adversaries persisted. An internationally recognised National Transitional Council took over, but quickly succumbed to schism, particularly between east and west. | Muammar Gaddafi was ousted as president in 2011 after more than 40 years in power. But deep division between his supporters and adversaries persisted. An internationally recognised National Transitional Council took over, but quickly succumbed to schism, particularly between east and west. |
| The transitional authorities found it impossible to extend their writ across the whole country, which was splintering into myriad factions: former regime loyalists, revolutionary brigades, local militia, Islamists, old army units, tribes, people trafficking gangs. | The transitional authorities found it impossible to extend their writ across the whole country, which was splintering into myriad factions: former regime loyalists, revolutionary brigades, local militia, Islamists, old army units, tribes, people trafficking gangs. |
| A General National Congress was elected in 2012 and established itself in Tripoli. But when a national parliament was elected in 2014, the GNC refused to accept the result; the new body had to install itself in the eastern city of Tobruk. Libya now effectively had two governments - the former buttressed by Islamist militias in its Tripoli stronghold, the latter supported by Khalifa Haftar, a renegade army colonel now head of the armed forces. | A General National Congress was elected in 2012 and established itself in Tripoli. But when a national parliament was elected in 2014, the GNC refused to accept the result; the new body had to install itself in the eastern city of Tobruk. Libya now effectively had two governments - the former buttressed by Islamist militias in its Tripoli stronghold, the latter supported by Khalifa Haftar, a renegade army colonel now head of the armed forces. |
| Libya has become too unsafe for diplomats and most aid workers. The UN pulled its staff out in 2014 and foreign embassies followed suit. Tripoli international airport is largely destroyed by fighting. | Libya has become too unsafe for diplomats and most aid workers. The UN pulled its staff out in 2014 and foreign embassies followed suit. Tripoli international airport is largely destroyed by fighting. |
| The conflict has killed 5,000, ruined the economy, driven half a million from their homes and trapped hundreds of thousands of migrants seeking to get north to Europe in a nightmarish network of brutal camps. Diplomatic attempts at reconciliation have proven fruitless thus far. | The conflict has killed 5,000, ruined the economy, driven half a million from their homes and trapped hundreds of thousands of migrants seeking to get north to Europe in a nightmarish network of brutal camps. Diplomatic attempts at reconciliation have proven fruitless thus far. |
| “He rarely left the hospital. He said there was a hunt on for Syrians, since they are believed to have more money [than other migrants] or do better paid work,” Gatti said. | “He rarely left the hospital. He said there was a hunt on for Syrians, since they are believed to have more money [than other migrants] or do better paid work,” Gatti said. |
| The man said Islamist militias made him fear for his life, with Gatti reporting that he said: “They kill you in the street if you ask for a glass of water.” | The man said Islamist militias made him fear for his life, with Gatti reporting that he said: “They kill you in the street if you ask for a glass of water.” |
| ”He thought he would try something crazy”, Gatti said, so he bought the boat from a youth and spent a week scouting for an isolated stretch of beach not controlled by militias. | ”He thought he would try something crazy”, Gatti said, so he bought the boat from a youth and spent a week scouting for an isolated stretch of beach not controlled by militias. |
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