2020 Aurora Humanitarians, former German captain Klaus Vogel and French anthropologist Sophie Beau are Co-founders of SOS Méditerranée, a civil sea rescue association, which operates in the Mediterranean Sea in international waters north of Libya, saving refugees and illegal migrants stranded in the Mediterranean Sea. Since the start of the rescue operation in 2015, SOS Méditerranée has saved more than 29,000 lives.

Despite the deteriorating political context, Sophie, Klaus and all the volunteers of SOS Méditerranée are unwavering in their commitment to saving lives. “We find ourselves caught in this extreme political instrumentalization of an over-mediatized issue, which should above all be humanitarian. The law of the sea and that of refugees is extremely clear and without appeal. It’s a human rights issue,” emphasize the activists.

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