The Netflix film '23,000 Lives' sheds light on the dangerous work of the German non-governmental organization Jugend Rettet and the thousands of lives saved by their rescue ship, the Iuventa, in the Central Mediterranean Sea.
The documentary-style narrative focuses on the Iuventa's role as one of the most active civilian rescue vessels during a period of intense political debate surrounding migration in Europe. Volunteers aboard the ship regularly responded to critical medical emergencies, including dehydration, hypothermia, fuel burns caused by seawater-contaminated gasoline, circulatory collapse, near-drowning incidents, aspiration injuries, and complications from pregnancy.
Jugend Rettet openly stated that its mission was to mitigate the dangers of crossing the Mediterranean. "We never hid what we were doing. Our aim was simple: to make the crossing less deadly," the organization noted on its official website. "If that made a smuggler’s job marginally easier, and the border guard’s job of violent exclusion marginally harder, then so be it."
The NGO's rescue activities became a target within a broader campaign aimed at restricting migration routes into Europe. According to Jugend Rettet, accusations of NGOs collaborating with smugglers were amplified by state institutions, media outlets, private security contractors, and anti-immigration political groups, contributing to a contentious political climate surrounding the rescue operations.