Pietro Bartolo – an Italian doctor; since 1993, he has been managing a specialized medical care center on the most southern Italian island of Lampedusa, which became a destination for illegal immigration. The center he manages is responsible for saving lives and providing health care for immigrants from Africa and the Middle East, who reach the island through the Mediterranean Sea. Bartolo leads a team of doctors and rescuers present on the island, i.e. public health services, medical staff of the Red Cross, the organization “Doctors without Borders” and volunteers taking part in rescue operations on the sea and on the island. Since 1993, Pietro Bartolo has provided medical assistance and comprehensive support for over 250,000 immigrants. He is a witness to the suffering of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children in the era of the growing migratory wave associated with the humanitarian crisis in Africa and the
Middle East.