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«Why did no one come to rescue us when we entered Italian waters? Help arrived after 3-4 hours.” This was said by Mamozai Nigeena, a 26-year-old Afghan who survived the Cutro shipwreck, testifying at the trial about the delays in the rescue of the gulet Summer Love whose shipwreck, on 26 February 2023, cost the lives of 94 people. “I was on board with my husband. There were more than 180 people. Before leaving, the traffickers had told us that there were few of us, but instead there were a lot of us,” she said.
The journey and the ruthlessness of traffickers
«They forced us to throw away our suitcases – he explained – the sea was not as calm as when we left. There were women and children screaming. A bad situation.” Recalling the exciting moments, he described the ruthlessness of the transfer: «None of the passengers was equipped with a life jacket; the only safety devices were at the exclusive disposal of traffickers.”
The sighting from above: helicopter or plane?
Responding to questions from the plaintiff’s lawyer Enrico Calabrese, the girl reported having heard the noise of a helicopter and seen someone taking photos from the ship’s porthole. On this detail, the lawyer Francesco Vetere, defender of Lieutenant Colonel Alberto Lippolis, asked if it could be a plane. «I lived in Afghanistan – the answer – and I can understand the difference between a helicopter and a plane. These are not just my words, but those of many others who have declared the same thing.”
The impact and sinking of the boat
«At the sight of some lights approaching – said the witness, retracing the approach to the coast – the traffickers got scared thinking it was the police and veered sharply. That’s when the boat broke. Windows, wood and the boat broke. The children were screaming. My husband called the emergency number. But only after several hours did help arrive, about 3 or 4 hours later. I don’t know why they didn’t come to help us. If the boat had entered Italian waters, why didn’t they come to save us?”.
Life today and broken promises
Today Mamozai Nigeena lives in Hamburg. She said she was followed by a psychologist due to the heavy trauma she suffered. Judge Scibona, allowing her to speak freely, collected her outburst: «We remained alive, but they made us many promises that were never implemented. I was left alone in a refugee camp in Germany, we didn’t see anything from Italy.”
The other testimonies
Nabila and Adiba Ander, two Afghan sisters living in Germany, lost a brother in the massacre. «He had waited more than ten years for this moment – says one of them – We saw the video that our brother was arriving, we were happy. My mother had prepared a feast and cooked for him. Then the shipwreck happened. Our mother now wants to kill herself because of the pain she is experiencing.”
Solarino: an event that really struck me
At the end of the hearing Valeria Solarino, accompanied by Francesca Corbo of Amnesty International Italy, spoke with the reporters. «It’s the first time – he explained – that I have entered a courtroom. I decided to do it today, with Amnesty International following the trial of the Cutro massacre. It is an event that struck me greatly and today, three years later, I am struck by the fact that audio and video recordings were prohibited in the courtroom, a violation of the right to information. We follow every news story with morbid curiosity while 94 people, including 34 minors, perhaps no longer make the news.”