By Abigail W. Adams
The crew of M/V Liberty Gracedishes out a breakfast of 720 eggs on Nov. 18 to the 236 Syrian refugees it rescued at sea the previous day. The
Syrian refugees were suffering from extreme dehydration, malnurishment, and exhaustion when the M/V Liberty Grace found them. (Photo courtesy Michael Tolley)
The Syrian civil war that has raged since 2011 has been labeled “the worst humanitarian crisis of the century” by the United Nations. In three years, Syria has seen one of the
worst chemical weapons attacks in history, over $31 billion in damage to its infrastructure, and over half of its population of 17.9 million displaced.
The U.N. reported in August that the death toll from the war had exceeded 191,000. There is no official statistic for the number of Syrian refugees who died after
fleeing the country en route to a better life. However, the U.N. refugee agency has called 2014 the deadliest year for refugees fleeing by way of sea – the tally in July was 800
deaths.
Due to the quick response of M/V Liberty Grace, under the command of Waldoboro resident Michael Tolley, 236 Syrian refugees will not be added to that tally.
On Nov. 17, Tolley and the crew of M/V Liberty Grace rescued 236 Syrian refugees that had been stranded at sea for almost a week and provided them with food, water,
medical attention, and safe passage to shore.
Michael Tolley with Besmella, a six-year-old Syrian refugee from Homs, on Nov. 18 aboard the M/V Liberty Grace The Liberty Grace rescued 236 Syrian refugees stranded at sea Nov. 17 and provided them with safe passage to shore. (Photo courtesy Messa, Besmella’s 5-year-old sister, taken with Tolley’s phone) |
The fishing trawler cramed with 236 Syrian refugees that had been stranded at sea for over a week before being rescued by M/V Liberty Grace on Nov. 17. After paying smugglers up to $6,000 for passage into France, the trawler and its passengers were abandoned by its captain and crew. (Photo courtesy Michael Tolley) |
Michael Tolley and M/V Liberty Grace
Michael Tolley is no stranger to international conflicts. The 1993 graduate of the Maine Maritime Academy has worked as a master mariner with the Merchant Marine since 2000,
delivering food aid to some of the most troubled regions of the world.
While working as captain aboard the M/V Harriett in 2009, he narrowly escaped attack by Somali pirates off the coast of Kenya (See “Waldoboro Captain Out-
maneuvers Somali Pirates,” LCN, Nov. 18, 2009). It was the first attempt by Somali pirates to attack a U.S.-flagged ship. Due to Tolley’s guidance and direction, it failed.
Tolley is now the captain of M/V Liberty Grace, a 623-foot bulk carrier owned by the Liberty Maritime Corporation. M/V Liberty Grace is capable of
holding up to 50,000 metric tons of wheat, corn, rice, or other grains, which it delivers to countries throughout Africa and Asia.
In the past year alone, M/V Liberty Grace has delivered food aid to Afghanistan, South Sudan, the Darfur region, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Syrian refugee
camps in Jordan. When Tolley is not navigating international waters to deliver desperately needed aid to war-torn countries, he is at home in Waldoboro with his wife and three
children.
War in Syria
The Syrian civil war began as a pro-democracy movement in March 2011. Inspired by the Arab Spring, the wave of uprisings in the Arab world in 2010-2011 against repressive
dictatorships, protestors took to the streets in Syria to demand the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, whose family has been in power since the 1970s.
Peaceful protests were brutally repressed, al-Assad’s opponents took up arms, and the conflict quickly escalated. The U.S. and Europe expressed support and provided
limited aid to the Syrian rebels that had formed The Free Syrian Army, a fragile coalition of militant groups fighting against al-Assad. However, Russia and China vetoed any
effort by the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions on al-Assad, or prompt him to relinquish his position so Syria could transition to a democratic government.
A report published by the Institute for the Study of War warned in 2012 that Islamic extremists were gaining prominence in The Free Syrian Army due to the lack of
outside support. In 2013, the former leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, capitalized on the chaos, consolidated forces, and captured large swaths of territory in
northern and eastern Syria under the name Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, now just the Islamic State.
From its base in Syria, the Islamic State launched an offensive against Iraq in June and is making a move for Baghdad. In Syria alone, 3.2 million people have fled
the region to escape the violence. On Nov. 17, Michael Tolley met 236 of them.
The rescue
According to a report written by Tolley, the M/V Liberty Grace was headed for Galveston, Texas from the Suez Canal when it was notified by the Italian coast guard of a
fishing trawler adrift 120 nautical miles southeast of Sicily. That fishing trawler contained 168 men, 28 women, and 40 children, some infants, who had been stranded at sea for
over a week.
The severely dehydrated, malnourished, exhausted, and ill individuals that Tolley found at sea were, at one time, members of Syria’s middle class. “Our impression
was that if we had met these people under any other circumstance, they could have been our neighbors,” Tolley told The Lincoln County News in an email.
Well-educated and with professional backgrounds, they had paid smugglers in Turkey $3,000 to $6,000 to secure their passage to France. They departed Turkey on Nov.
9; however, once at sea, the smugglers abandoned them.
They were set on a course to Italy while the captain and crew of the trawler returned to Turkey on speedboats. Some passengers reported that they had not eaten for
five days.
The last boat of Syrian refugees being ferried from the M/V Liberty Grace to Sicily by the Italian Coast Guard on Nov. 18. The Syrian refugees
were attempting to reach France before being stranded at sea by their smugglers. They were rescued by the M/V Liberty Grace on Nov. 17. (Photo courtesy Michael Tolley)
At 9:10 a.m. Nov. 17, the M/V Liberty Grace was by their side. Once the refugees were on board, Tolley’s 20-member crew scrambled to provide food, water,
clothing, blankets, and medical attention to the Syrian refugees. Tolley said one of his guests, Yehya Bkdaleya, had previously lived in Florida, and became his right-hand man
in organizing the refugees aboard the ship.
Another Syrian refugee was previously a surgeon and helped Tolley tend to those suffering from high fevers. Water hoses were run on deck to fill and refill the water
bottles that had been distributed; soap and shampoo were handed out; women and children were given the empty rooms; and 50 pounds of spaghetti, 80 pounds of ground beef, 45
pounds of chicken, and gallons of soup were prepared for dinner.
One of the Syrian families that had been rescued by the M/V Liberty Grace on Nov. 17 after spending a week adrift at sea. The officers and crew of
M/V Liberty Grace felt a special affinity for the Syrians they rescued. (Photo courtesy Michael Tolley)
Tolley recounted how he was about to tell a family from Homs, one of the most battered cities in Syria’s civil war, that there were no more private rooms and they
would have to sleep on deck.
“I started to say that I am completely out of rooms,” Tolley said, “and I glanced at their children, and, for a moment, I saw my own children.” Morhave and Rouba and
their daughters, Besmella and Messa, were given Tolley’s room for the night.
On Nov. 18, after a breakfast of 720 eggs, 80 loaves of bread, oatmeal, cereal, and milk, the Liberty Grace arrived at the Grace to Porto Empedocle in Sicily. The
Italian coast guard helped ferry Tolley’s guests to shore, where they were greeted by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the Red Cross, and medical volunteers.
Despite leaving everything behind besides a small duffle bag, many of the Syrian refugees tried to offer gifts to the crew of Liberty Grace. Those crew
members now know the Arabic word for thank you – shoukran – because it was said to them so many times.
“We aboard have all been affected by this gift that the Liberty Grace was given,” Tolley said. He recounted how a crew member’s eyes were opened and the
stereotypical image of Middle Eastern Muslims was shattered by spending time with the refugees. “Having spent a day and a half with these people sharing our home, you soon
realize that these people are us.”
Tolley’s aid to the Syrian refugees will not end Nov. 18. Inspired by the people he met, Tolley plans to contact Maine’s senators when he returns to encourage them
to address the humanitarian crisis created by Syria’s civil war.
“I believe there are no accidents,” Tolley said, “and that we (the officers and crew of the Grace) are truly the lucky ones to have come across these
wonderful people. Now I believe we have a responsibility to help our friends we left behind in Sicily.”