"They must know that many have not survived the journey they are about to take. We will never really know just how many lives were lost in this way. They must feel an excruciating level of fear, putting their lives and their families’ lives at risk. I’m just so sorry the world is putting these people through this."
Erna Rijnierse, an MSF doctor aboard our project with Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) rescue mission, has been recording her diary for the BBC Today programme.
I am working on MSF and MOAS's search and rescue boat in the Mediterranean rescuing and assisting people attempting to travel to Europe from North Africa.
I’m in Pozzallo, a small tourist town on the south coast of Sicily. In the past week, more than 700 people have arrived here – 373 on Tuesday, 300 on Friday and 100 on Sunday.
When I look at the sea, it no longer has the same meaning for me. When the sea is rough, I hope that they won’t set out, and I worry for those who have already left, whose fate we may never know.
