Direct updates and information from @MSF projects assisting #migrants and #refugees in #Europe. RT≠ endorsement
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You can call them names & tweet horrible xenophobic things about them but the truth remains; the only difference between you & them is luck.
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This is what it really means to rescue people at sea. Dedicated to those who say this is a taxi service. @guardiacostiera
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#MSF outraged as EU @eucopresident and @vonderleyen do not condemn violence against refugees, violent pushbacks and remain blind to human tragedy on Greek islands. History written as EU abandons basic human values and last bit of moral leadership.
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Kuichang fled #SouthSudan in 2014. Now she lives in Kule #refugee camp in #Ethiopia's Gambella region with her four children - twins and an older daughter and son.
Her twins were treated for malnutrition at #MSF’s Clinic in Gambella.
#WorldRefugeeDay #WorldRefugeeWeek
ALT © Susanne Doettling/MSF
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This woman should not have to tell you her most private and painful trauma for you to treat her with dignity and respect.
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BREAKING: After 14 days of unnecessary suffering all 356 people onboard #OceanViking will finally disembark to #Malta
While some #EU States finally stepped up with a humane response to this humanitarian disaster in the Med, a predictable disembarkation mechanism is needed now!
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Breaking: The time bomb exploded. #Moria camp burned to the ground after fires started last night. ~12,000 men women & children evacuated the camp and are on the streets bbc.com/news/world-europe-54…
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Over 50 survivors rescued by the Talia cargo ship were finally able to disembark last night. They had been left in limbo for days on a cattle ship the Captain described as “dangerous to human health.” 1/3 aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/m…
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The moment people on the #OceanViking found out they would finally be taken to a place of safety.
For these 356 men, women & children who had not only been stranded at sea for 14 days, but trapped in #Libya for months or even years, it was a moment of relief & happiness.
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🔴BREAKING! #SeaWatch4 has safely recovered ~150 vulnerable people from #MVLouiseMichel. As states delayed assistance to those in desperate need, @seawatch_intl & #MSF had no choice but respond. Despite still awaiting a place of safety for 201 survivors onboard. Now? Over to #EU.
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Simply cutting-and-pasting lockdown & mass quarantining models doesn't work & can be discriminatory. #Displaced people at risk should be evacuated whenever possible. And most of all, we need to safeguard access to healthcare for all. 8/8
msf.org/urgent-evacuation-sq…
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A survivor onboard the #OceanViking attempted suicide today, as increasingly desperate pleas from the ship for a place of safety go unanswered.
Requests for an urgent medical evacuation have also been ignored.
#Italy
#Malta
#Europe
Where are you?
🔴 The situation on #OceanViking is now extremely urgent. Many of the survivors are in acute mental distress, expressing the intent to inflict harm on themselves. One man attempted suicide today.
The safety of survivors & crew are under threat. We need a Place of Safety now.
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Most of our projects across the world have adapted to respond to #COVID19. In many of these locations, our teams work directly with very vulnerable groups such as #migrants, #asylumseekers, #IDPs & #refugees. 1/8 msf.org/covid-19-and-people-…
ALT ©Jorge Montoya/MSF
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CASE DISMISSED‼️
After 7 years of fallacious accusations, the Tribunal of Trapani in #Italy dismissed all the allegations against MSF and the other search and rescue #NGOs falsely accused of aiding and abetting illegal immigration in the #Mediterranean.
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What can we do to #protect #vulnerable populations? We must ensure #COVID19 isn't used as an excuse by countries to enforce further restrictive migration control policies & evade int'l obligations towards #refugees #asylumseekers & #migrants. Human rights must be safeguarded. 6/8
ALT A message of love from a rescued person on board the MSF and SOS MEDITERRANEE rescue ship, Ocean Viking, as they prepare to be transferred to the Armed Forces of Malta for disembarkation in Malta on 23 August, 2019. ©Hannah Wallace Bowman/MSF
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In many places, #COVID19 is being used as an excuse to punish people on the move & those that seek to care for them. At least 167 states have fully or partially closed their borders, and of those 57 states are making no exception for people seeking #asylum @UNHCR. 3/8
ALT MSF teams provide triage and consulation of patients with symptoms similar to COVID-19 in in Moira camp, Greece. ©Peter Casaer/MSF
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🔴BREAKING! #SeaWatch4 already has 201 survivors on board, denied a place of safety until now. Yet as #EU & maritime authorities again turn a deaf ear to the cries of people in distress at sea - & despite being over 4hrs away - the ship has altered course toward #MVLouiseMichel.
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#MSF understands the serious challenges presented by #COVID19. But safeguarding the well-being of those in your own country & upholding your international obligations towards #refugees, #asylumseekers & #migrants are not mutually exclusive principles. 7/8 msf.org/eu-states-use-covid-…
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Closing country borders “discriminates and stigmatises a part of the population and prevents those fleeing violence [from] having access to a system of protection and security” – MSF’s Dr. Isabel Beltran #Mexico #COVID19 4/8 doctorswithoutborders.org/wh…
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But, if you live in a makeshift camp or detention centre, how can you be asked to protect yourself when you don't have easy access to water or soap? Or self-isolate when you live in cramped tents side by side with 10 other people? 2/8 msf.org/covid-19-complicates…
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#MSF is preparing for an urgent return to sea.
This time, onboard #SeaWatch4
Why?
🔴Because no human being should be left to drown.
🔴Because nobody should be forced back to abuse & suffering in #Libya.
🔴Because #EU policies of non-assistance are abandoning people to die.
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🟢 BREAKING
Since this morning, survivors aboard #GeoBarents are not 254 anymore, but 255. At 11:31 am Fatima* gave birth to little *Ali. She was rescued in the morning of Tuesday 6 Dec from an unstable rubber boat travelling with 90 ppl on board, among whom her other 3 children
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Nobody gets on a boat like this because they've heard that the UK will give them £36.95 a week
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BREAKING: The #Aquarius has rescued 2 boats in distress today, one in cooperation with @openarms_fund. With 290+ people safely on board from these 2 rescues, we are now on our way to take a transfer of more survivors from an earlier Italian coastguard rescue. Photos: Anthony Jean
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BREAKING: the Italian authorities have assigned the port of Taranto, south #Italy, as a place of safety to the #OceanViking.
We’re relieved that the 176 survivors will reach safety without unnecessary delay & we urge the #EU leaders to agree on a stable disembarkation mechanism
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🙌🏼 After 7 unnecessary days of waiting finally our 471 survivors will disembark in the port of Augusta in Italy!
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Let's be clear, when you see people on boats like this in the #Mediterranean you have only two options: you rescue them or you rescue them.
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We dread to think what would have happened to this baby if #Aquarius had not been in the #Mediterranean today...
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REMINDER: Walls do not stop people moving. Walls simply make desperate journeys more dangerous and smugglers infinitely more wealthy.
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We can argue about policies or codes or pull factors but the truth remains: people in boats like this 100% need to be rescued.
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🔴BREAKING:
#MSF announces the resumption of search & rescue operations with @SOSMedIntl and condemns the criminal inaction of European governments msf.org/msf-resumes-search-a…
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2,012 #people were rescued on the #Mediterranean today, the vast majority by NGOs. Why are we at sea? To save lives. It's just that simple.
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UPDATE: This morning we rescued 85 people. Almost half of them were minors traveling alone – and a concerning percentage between the ages of 13 and 15 years old.
The #OceanViking now has a total of 170 rescued people on board.
#BactAtSea
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BREAKING: the #OceanViking has set sail for its first rescue mission in the Central #Mediterranean
@MSF_sea and @SosMEDIntl are now #BackAtSea, because every human life is worth saving.
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Nope, not even those you call "economic migrants" deserve to drown at sea or be tortured/raped/abused in #Libya.
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Terrible news from #Moria on #Lesbos #Greece where the media are reporting that a mother and child have died after a fire broke out. No one can call this an accident! This is the direct result of trapping 13,000 people in a space meant for 3,000! keeptalkinggreece.com/2019/0…
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#MSF is urgently relaunching its #SAR activities in the central #Mediterranean to save lives. Our return to sea is the direct result of #Europe’s reckless policies of non-assistance at sea, condemning people to die. We won't stay silent in the face of this manmade disaster!
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⚫️ BREAKING NEWS
Italian authorities came on board the #GeoBarents and notified our team that the ship is being detained and a fine would be applied. We are currently assessing what legal actions we can take to contest.
❌ This is not acceptable!
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🔴BREAKING! At first light today, @seawatch_intl & #MSF teams rescued 97 people from an overcrowded rubber boat. The men, women & children in distress were spotted in international waters, some 30 nautical miles from #Libya. All survivors are now safely on board #SeaWatch4.
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Those we rescue at sea have names, faces, families, friends, dreams, strengths & flaws. They're more than numbers & the #EU has to do more.
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How many boats do you see & not report to the NGOs who could have rescued them?
How many people have you watched die without alerting the world to what reality looks in the #Med?
What happens to the people you facilitate the Libyan Coast Guard in trapping & forcing back to Libya?
Ruthless people smugglers put dozens of people in danger today. Thankfully a Frontex plane saw the overcrowded boat near Libyan coast and issued mayday call. We also alerted all national rescue centres. 102 people were rescued by Libyan Coast Guard. Sadly, 2 bodies were recovered
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❗️ After nearly 7 days stranded at sea, the 659 survivors are exhausted and exposed to the heat. Their psychological well-being is at stake after the tragic experience they went through. This situation cannot last any longer. They need a place of safety, now.
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🔴BREAKING! Finally relief for survivors on board today! They have just heard the news they have a place of safety in #Palermo, Sicily; on the 11th day after the first #SeaWatch4 rescue in the #Mediterranean. The 353 people will be transferred to a ship for quarantine tomorrow.
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UPDATE: the #OceanViking has just been assigned #Messina in Sicily as a place of safety to disembark 213 survivors rescued in the central Mediterranean this week.
As weather deteriorates, we hope the people rescued by #OpenArms and #AitaMari will soon be allowed to disembark too.
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🟢UPDATE
The detention of the Geo Barents has been suspended by the court of #Salerno!
The ship is free to rescue lives!
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Yes, we also rescue young men aged 18-45. We call them humans, some of the most inspiring humans on this planet.
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Doesnt matter if he's an asylum seeker, a refugee, an economic migrant or a jedi knight. He was vulnerable at sea & didn't deserve to drown.
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"Let's be very clear, there is no question as to the cause of this fire: it's the years-long orchestration of human suffering and violence produced by European and Greek migration policies that are to blame." Aurelie Ponthieu, @MSF advisor on displacement
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BREAKING: The Italian authorities have just offered #OceanViking a Place of Safety.
Six days since the first rescue, @MSF_Sea & @SOSMedIntl are relieved that the 82 rescued people onboard will soon disembark in Lampedusa.
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Meet Aubrey. She's the youngest on board the #Prudence & today is her 1st birthday! Happy Birthday little one, may the worst be behind you.
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Those we rescue have names, faces, families, friends, dreams, strengths & flaws. They're more than numbers & simply don't deserve to drown.
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Last night #OceanViking performed a second critical rescue after 8 hrs of searching. Fifty people, including 10 children & a baby, were on an overcrowded wooden boat in dire weather conditions in the Maltese search & rescue region. All are now safe on board.
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"Sorry refugees - this is not Europe." Yesterday’s attack on MSF’s clinic in #Moria is a sign of a growing anti-migrant, anti-humanitarian aggression that's unacceptable: fires, threats, abuse and throwing stones into a pediatric clinic – where will the authorities draw the line?
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BREAKING: @MSF has annouced that we will no longer seek funding from the EU or Member States in response to dangerous migration policies.
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We've just completed a night rescue of 27 survivors from a small boat after an alert from @alarm_phone.
There are several young children in this group who should never have had to face this ordeal.
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Over 90 people have lost their lives in international water after leaving from Libya on an overcrowded boat many days ago.
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BREAKING: In their third operation in three days, @MSF_Sea and @SOSMedIntl teams have just rescued 81 people from an unseaworthy rubber boat. The distress case was located in international waters off the coast of Libya.
There are now 251 rescued people onboard the #OceanViking
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There is a new NGO ship in the #centralMed!
In the past week, the #LouiseMichel already assisted #SeaWatch4 in two operations, and rescued 89 people itself.
As states outsource and abdicate their responsibilities, #MSF welcomes a new lifesaving asset to this deadly sea border.
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Noone should be forced to shower in subzero temperatures in the snow. These people urgently need a solution #Serbia
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#BREAKING: MSF just rescued 189 people from an overcrowded, double deck wooden boat. There was limited oxygen on the lower deck. Everyone is safe on board the #GeoBarents which now has 214 people.
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BREAKING: The #OceanViking has just completed the rescue of a rubber boat in distress in international waters off the coast of #Libya. All are safe on board.
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Yes, we also rescue young men aged 18-35. We call them humans, some of the most inspiring humans on this planet.
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📢 "MSF team, MSF team RESCUE COMPLETE"
❗ A rescue is completed only when the survivors disembark in a place of safety.
🟢 After days of unjustified wait, our survivors are now all in a place of safety!
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🙌 After almost 5 unnecessary days of waiting, our 314 survivors will disembark in the port of #Taranto in Italy!
What a relief after all the traumatic experiences they went through.
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#Aquarius has formal permission from Maltese authorities to enter port of Valletta. #MSF relieved place of safety found for 141 people rescued on #Mediterranean. People rescued at sea must be disembarked in place of safety without delay in line with international and maritime law
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You can call them names / tweet xenophobic things about them but to us they're just humans; some of the most inspiring humans on the planet.
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Nobody gets on an overcrowded death boat like this so that they can have a bigger TV. Enough about pull factors, let's talk about the PUSH!
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87 people, including two very small children, are safe on the #GeoBarents after fleeing #Libya by sea early this morning. Our teams spotted their overcrowded rubber boat and were able to bring everyone quickly on board.
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BREAKING: @MSF_Sea & @SOSMedIntl have just rescued 50 people from a boat in distress in intl. waters off the coast of #Libya. The rescue took nearly three hours to complete. 12 children under the age of 18 & one pregnant woman are among those now safely onboard the #OceanViking
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❗MSF has been forced to end operations on our rescue vessel, Geo Barents, due to restrictive Italian laws and policies.
Since June 2021, the ship saved 12,675 lives in the Central Mediterranean.
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🔴 101 people have been rescued around 7.30AM by #GeoBarents from a boat in distress northwest of Libya after an alert issued by @alarm_phone. Among the survivors, there are 4 young children and a pregnant woman. Everyone on-board is now safe.
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🔴BREAKING! For 353 men, women & children on board #SeaWatch4, their gruelling #Mediterranean crossing is over.
We say goodbye.
We wish them the best.
We feel deeply sad that this was their reality; vulnerable people again forced to sea, risking their lives, in search of safety.
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UPDATE: 356 survivors rescued in the #Mediterranean are now being transferred from the #OceanViking to #Malta on board a maltese military vessel.
After nearly 2 weeks stranded at sea, a coalition of #EU countries finally stepped up to grant them a place of #safety
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BREAKING: In a challenging operation, the #OceanViking has just rescued 92 people, incl. pregnant women & babies, from an overcrowded rubber boat 30 NM from the coast of #Libya. Many of the survivors were suffering from hypothermia & seasickness, extremely weak & covered in fuel
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You can call them names, say xenophobic things about them & insult their religion but the truth remains: these people could easily be you.
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BREAKING: #MSF & @SOSMedIntl teams have just rescued 48 people from a wooden boat in distress, 53 NM from the coast of #Libya. Women, very young children & a newborn are among the survivors now safely onboard the #Ocean Viking, now heading to investigate another possible case.
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BREAKING: @SOSMedIntl and @MSF_Sea just completed a critical rescue. Minutes after lifejackets were distributed, a rubber tube on the fragile boat burst, causing people to fall into the water. All 105 people are now safely on the #OceanViking, where the total onboard is now 356.
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🔴#BreakingNews: after a distress call from @alarm_phone, confirmed by #Seabird , this afternoon 99 survivors were rescued by the #GeoBarents at approx 30 miles from the Libyan shores. At the bottom of the overcrowded wooden boat, 10 people were found dead.
Photo ©Candida Lobes
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The #GeoBarents needs to disembark 322 rescued people in a Place of Safety now!
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Early this morning, MSF teams on the #GeoBarents spotted and aided a rubber boat drifting at sea with 80 ppl on board after receiving an alert from @alarm_phone. Women and children, 6 of whom are under the age of 4, are also among them. They are all safe now on the Geo Barents.
ALT ©Anna_Pantelia
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BREAKING: Early this morning 112 people were rescued from a deflating rubber boat 34 nautical miles from the #Libyan coast by @SOSMedIntl & #MSF teams. They include 24 women, 3 of them pregnant, & 38 children, the youngest 3 months old. All are now safely on board #OceanViking
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Among those rescued overnight are unaccompanied Syrian brothers aged 13 & 17. It's frankly miraculous that we found their boat in the dark.
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This morning the #GeoBarents spotted a wooden boat in distress. 100 people were crammed on two levels, but are now safe on board. After 8 rescues there are 558 survivors with us.
©@elliddy
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