Miguel Roldán came to our school, IES La Rosaleda, in order to tell us about his story first hand. 

 

This Spanish fireman has been accused of trafficking in people and faces 20 years in prison after saving thousands of illegal migrants in rescue operations.

 

In June 2017, he and his colleagues from the German NGO Jugen Rettet rescued over 5000 thousand people from dying in the Mediterranean sea, but Italian authorities seized the boat, stopped the rescue missions and started an investigation. They were accused of people smuggling and facilitating illegal immigration.

 

According to this brave man, it seems to be that the investigation will end in summer and if there is a trial, he hopes not, it will be at the end of  the year. 

 

Over 90 students were listening to his story, paying attention to every word and they were so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop. It caused a great impact on all of us.

 

“Even just one minute spent in jail for saving lives would be too much”, he told us and we can't agree more. 

 

We are sure everything will turn out well in the end. Anyway, we wish him the best of luck. It is unbelievable to think, just even for a moment, that he could go to prison for preventing people from drowning at sea; for saving lives. 

 

 

 

The most important thing we can do, Miguel told us, is to empathize with all these people who are escaping war and misery.
Let's help him by spreading his story and what is happening in the Mediterranean sea.