The Prime Minister rightly described the AFM personnel who took part in the rescue of some 250 migrants as “heroes”. He is right. They are heroes and they deserve the praise and admiration of every human being the world over, who has a heart.

But we must put this into context. The Armed Forces of Malta have been saving lives for years. Before the AFM took delivery of its state of the art King Air aircraft, our pilots were out day after day, night after night, straining their eyes to look for any signs of life in the Mediterranean sea in the (by comparison) clunky and antiquated Islanders. At the same time, the Maritime Squadron would scramble and await news from their eyes in the sky to direct them to the scene of distress. It is only if you have joined the AFM on such missions, that you can truly appreciate what they have done, summer after summer, year in, year out.

Members of the AFM have learned on the job. The first thing they do is try to calm migrants about boats – they know for a fact that if the people of the vessel see a ship, they all run over to one side to shout and try to wave to get attention. And that is where tragedy strikes – the hugely overcrowded boats tip to one side, sometimes even as the AFM patrol vessel is only a matter of metres away. Many of those who get dumped in the water cannot swim. As instinct takes over, people in the water ignore any warnings and simply think of themselves, they just want to get out of the deep blue water that threatens to tear away their dreams of reaching Europe.

One has to actually see the faces of those who are rescued. Soulless and terrified eyes.  Harrowing looks on faces as they realise that they have escaped death, being pulled out of the water. Looks of horror as they realized they have lost children, wives, husbands and siblings in that horrific few seconds it takes a boat to flip over.

At the same time, one must listen to the stories of our servicemen. Some have recounted instances where they have been sent out to sea to respond to a distress call when there are waves as high as houses. Some have admitted that they have been so terrified on occasion that they have lost control of their bladder reflex. This is true heroism. These are the silent heroes who do this as a matter of course. These are the guys that risk their own lives to try and save the lives of people they don’t know. They risk their lives to save people that they know a lot of Maltese people do not want them to. They do it out of duty. They do it because it is their job. But most of all, they do it because they are human. Go and speak to any AFM serviceman who is involved in Search and Rescue, whether pilots, winchmen or seamen and they will all tell you the same thing. People are people. A life is a life. They do it because they are the only hope that boat people in distress have of survival. Each and every one of them deserves a medal – at the very, very least.