Naval The Rescuer
‘For those in peril on the sea…’ is one of the most famous lines from the hymn sung on many Navy ships. And for Lieutenant Helen Edwards, the sentiments became all too real when she helped rescue refugees from the Mediterranean Like many people, I followed the refugee crisis in the news and was left feeling somewhat helpless by the images of rickety boats crowded with desperate families. But when the ship I was serving on was called upon to assist with the rescue effort, I came to understand this crisis in a new way.
I joined the Royal Navy in September 1990, when I was 17. It was an interesting time to sign up. Historically, women and men had worked separately, with only the men being allowed to actually go to sea. My training year was the first in which men and women were being taught together, and I couldn’t wait to go out there and prove myself.
After two years, I realised I wanted to do something that would challenge me mentally as well as physically, and I specialised in air traffic control – taking charge of the helicopters that launch off the ship. It’s a big responsibility: you’re in charge of the air space around the vessel, and the one tasked with keeping everyone safe in the sky.
Then last year, my ship, HMS Bulwark, was sent to the Med to help with the refugee crisis. Though we’d all watched reports of the escalating crisis on the news, I don’t think we knew what to expect as we stocked up with rations, blankets, warm clothing and water. As aviation officer, it was my job to co-ordinate the helicopters in the search and rescue effort. First thing in the morning the helicopters would take off, searching the water for refugee boats. When we saw them we would guide the rescue teams to the boats, and they would bring them to safety.
The boats were buckling under the weight of the men, women and children crowded together. They hadn’t just come from Syria, but from all over, travelling for many weeks and months to make this incredibly dangerous journey – not knowing how it would end.
Witnessing their sheer desperation was shocking. Knowing they were going to be saved, they would cry out for help, longing to get on to the landing craft that would bring them aboard. Because the boats were at risk of capsizing, we had to be very careful. Translators would repeat, ‘keep calm, keep calm’, until everyone was safe.
What I saw has left me with a different perspective on a crisis that we are now all too accustomed to hearing about. The journey is perilous, but refugees continue to travel thousands of miles to reach the relative safety of Europe. There are more people on the move now than at any time since the Second World War, and though their stories may not always make the headlines, I know they are desperate people doing whatever they can to save themselves.
‘Witnessing the sheer desperation of these families was shocking’ LIEUTENANT HELEN EDWARDS