By Emily Matthews, Year 10
Non Assistance. Sounds like quite a serious title, doesn’t it?
Well, that’s because it is.
The movie Year Ten saw last Tuesday is on the problem of the refugee crisis in Europe. It focuses on the people trying to find refuge in Europe by crossing the dangerous waters of the Mediterranean, in under-equipped boats that are liable to sink, and what we can do to help.The state responses are either non-existent or secure, and, either way, they need our help. The movie encourages us to see what we can do, the small things that may save the lives of thousands of people, one step at a time, as they are forced to put their lives in danger time and time again. This movie shows the ways we can be engaged to help.
Non Assistance shines a spotlight on Seawatch, a group of committed individuals who use their boats to travel out to sea in search of groups of refugees in need of help. They give them water and life vests, then call the coastguard and get them to pick them up.
The conditions on the boats are dire. The boats are overcrowded, filled with people, often with pregnant women or children on board. There is little to no food and water, and many die on the crossing, or, if the boat capsizes, meet a watery grave at the bottom of the sea. They cross due to the horror of the Libyan Civil War (2014-present), where they take prisoners to detention centres. Many would rather risk their lives than turn back.
Each year, over a thousand drown or die in the sea. In June this year alone, one person died for every seven who crossed the sea. The statistics rise every year.
The situation is getting worse by the year.
