Private migrant rescue missions should not serve as an excuse for governments to sit back and abdicate their responsibilities, according to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. He was interviewed by Vice News for a feature on the Migrant Offshore Aid Station, MOAS, which is a privately funded migrant rescue mission.
The interviewer asked the PM if this was a case of private companies stepping in where governments were unwilling to thread, similar to what happened with private military contractors in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. “I think that what private individuals do in order to give a signal is very important but I for one think that states should not abdicate their responsibilities, on this issue definitely. So whatever resources private companies and NGOs would devote to all this, it should not be an excuse for any government not to do anything,” Dr Muscat replied.
Asked if the EU should fund such missions in a form of outsourcing of services, Dr Muscat said: “When it comes to saving lives and the crucial role of security and safety at sea it would be too easy for some people just to write checks for someone else to do what is definitely a core function of the state.”
In the 12-minute feature, MOAS founder Chris Catrambone, who along with his wife Regina spent $8 million out of their own money on the migrant rescue mission, says MOAS is acting as a plug to fill in the gap left open by EU governments. Regina Catrambone says $8 million is not a “crazy investment” because the money is being used to save lives. “We did what we could do with our resources. I wish I had more.”
Private Military Companies (PMC) in Iraq and Afghanistan are best known for the lucrative contracts given by the US government and the lack of accountability in the field. However, Mr Catrambone insists that MOAS is nothing like that. He describes the mission as completely humanitarian and asserts that, “just because one may be the smartest person in the room does not mean that they are trying to turn a profit every minute.”
Mr Catrambone, who “made his fortune working with PMCs contractors during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” says “MOAS is only going to continue to grow until we are not needed any more and that day is the day when no one is dying at sea anymore.”