“I’m really angry with Europe! A Europe that lets people drown, that seals itself off, that supports the so-called Libyan Coast Guard.”
Michael Schwickart from our great partner United4Rescue explains in his speech at the christening of SEA-EYE 4 why he is angry with Europe and why we all have to convert our anger into energy in order to rescue people from distress at sea, wherever Europe is not fulfilling its duty to do so.
We were very pleased that the Vice President of the Bundestag Claudia Roth spoke at the christening of the SEA-EYE 4 and found such clear words:
“I do not want to get used to people dying in the Mediterranean. Deaths that have turned into cruel normality, a normality that should never, that should never be normal. I don’t want to look away and ignore it, but I want to show my colours and raise my voice for humanity, which drowns every day.”
Alpha was rescued by the ALAN KURDI in the Mediterranean Sea on Dec. 29, 2018. He gave a stirring speech at the christening of the SEA-EYE 4. Listen to him! Listen as he shares his experiences and makes his demands. This goes above all to the address of the European Union.
Sophie, a crew member of the first ALAN KURDI rescue mission, recalls how she found Alpha Jor Barry, today’s patron of the SEA-EYE 4, between two storms on the high seas.
Sometimes you meet someone in the strangest and most difficult circumstances, but it is even during the most trying of times that strong friendships can develop.
In December 2018 I was baking traditional Austrian Christmas cookies when I received a call from the Sea-Eye crewing department. A crew member for the next rescue mission canceled and I was asked to step in. Instead of having cookies with my family after Christmas dinner, I was about to start my first sea rescue mission in the Mediterranean. I was very excited about the news. My family, however, was very worried because I was going to be at sea for so long and because they knew of the terrible reports about the so-called Libyan Coast Guard, infamous for their violent operations.
Two weeks later I flew to Spain to join the volunteer ranks among the crew aboard the ALAN KURDI. I remember this mission very well, but most of all I remember the people.
After casting off, the weather was very rough for two weeks with high waves that hit us left, right, and center and heaved us from one side to the other. The old but robust ALAN KURDI rolled and pitched in the winter gusts.
We celebrated Christmas on board with a tree carved from wood and a delicious meal. And although the whole crew got along well, a strange feeling remained. We knew that small boats have no chance in such rough weather and sink quickly.
But the second morning after the sea had calmed down I was woken up by my – now good friend – Daniel’s banging on my door: “There’s a boat!” I jumped out of bed and was ready for action in less than five minutes. The crew on watch had found a wooden boat with 17 people in distress, including many minors. We approached the boat with our rescue boats, distributed life jackets and brought the people to safety aboard the ALAN KURDI.
In the following days the weather worsened and a storm was brewing. The wooden boat would have capsized in a matter of minutes in this storm and everyone on board would have drowned. Their family members would never have heard from them again.
After taking the rescued on board, we began first aid and distributed water and food. Since our request to European maritime rescue coordination centers for a port of safety remained unanswered for days, we spent a lot of time with the rescued people. We got to know each other better, some talked a lot and wanted to share their stories, others were too traumatized to speak. But we grew closer and shared many precious moments that I will keep in my heart forever.
It was under these circumstances that I met my friend Alpha. From day one, I admired his spirit, optimistic attitude, humor and incredible wisdom given his young age. He told me: “All I want is to be free.” I am very happy to be able to call this young man my friend today.
I am also very pleased that Alpha accepted our invitation to be the official patron of our new rescue ship. He agreed to do us the honor of christening the SEA-EYE 4, which will soon be dispatched to the Mediterranean. The task of the new rescue ship will be to help people like Alpha who are looking for freedom and safety during the most difficult times of their lives.
I was overjoyed to see Alpha again in the days leading up to our christening, and to be reassured that he fully supports our work. It gives me the feeling that we are exactly on the right track.
The civil sea rescue organization Sea-Eye will officially christen its new, fourth rescue ship to be called SEA-EYE 4 on February 28, 2021 at 11 am. The christening will take place in a very small circle and following strict corona-protocols, in the shipyard. The new ship is currently still being converted into a rescue ship.
The christening will be inaugurated by Bundestag Vice-President and Sea-Eye member Claudia Roth. Representatives of United4Rescue, the alliance for the support of civil sea rescue, which made the purchase and conversion of the rescue ship possible through substantial financial support will also be present on site.
Survivor names the ship SEA-EYE 4
The new ship’s patron, Alpha Jor Barry, is now 18 years old and is one of the first 17 people who were rescued by the ALAN KURDI vessel, just a few days after Christmas on December 29, 2018. Two years and two months later he stands at the side of Vice President of the Bundestag Claudia Roth to christen the fourth rescue ship of the Regensburg based civil sea rescue organization Sea-Eye.
“If the ALAN KURDI hadn’t found me back then, I wouldn’t be alive anymore. A storm was approaching that we would not have survived in our tiny wooden boat. I am very pleased that Sea-Eye is bringing a larger ship into operations to save even more people. I know what it means to be adrift in a small boat on high seas. My wish for anyone in this situation is that there be someone who comes to their rescue,” says Alpha Jor Barry, patron of SEA -EYE 4.
The christening will be inaugurated by Claudia Roth, who has been a Sea-Eye member for years and who has been supporting the NGO regularly with appeals for donations.
“The christening of the SEA-EYE 4 in times like these is an important sign of solidarity, humanity and practical advocacy for human rights. Wherever the European governments fail to meet their responsibility, it is the civil sea rescuers who uphold the fundamental values of the European Union and human rights,” says Claudia Roth, Vice President of the Bundestag and Sea-Eye member.
Michael Schwickart, deputy chairman of United4Rescue adds: “More than 700 organizations that our United4Rescue alliance brings together stand behind the SEA-EYE 4, as well as thousands of donors who refuse to stand idly by while people are drowning. We are also sending this second alliance ship to sea as a joint effort together with many different parties.”
The few selected guests and visitors had to present valid negative corona tests, since there is great concern about potential outbreaks that would bring the shipyard work to a standstill. The shipyard crew, who have been converting the ship into a well equipped rescue ship for months, follows the ceremony wearing a protective mask and adhering to minimum distance rules.
Patron Alpha Jor Barry and Sea-Eye
The ALAN KURDI, Sea-Eye’s third rescue ship, rescued the young man from distress at sea on December 29, 2018. Alpha Jor Barry had fled Libya, a country of civil war. Together with 16 other people he found himself in a small, unseaworthy boat in distress in the Mediterranean Sea, while a storm was brewing. The little wooden boat could never have reached a place of safety on its own.
Jan Ribbeck, deputy chairman, and Sophie Weidenhiller, now Sea-Eye’s spokeswoman, were part of the rescue team when Alpha was rescued. Both have kept in touch to this day and support Alpha in his new life in Europe. They decided to ask him, having been among the first who were rescued from the third Sea-Eye ship, to be the one to carry out the christening of the fourth rescue ship.
“Alpha and I stayed in contact beyond the rescue mission at the end of 2018. A friendship has developed that means a lot to me and I am delighted that he is now christening our fourth rescue ship,” says Jan Ribbeck, board member of Sea-Eye e. V. “Alpha is living proof of what we would lose if we gave up operations and civil sea rescue in the central Mediterranean came to a complete standstill,” adds Ribbeck.
Shipyard work on the SEA-EYE 4
The SEA-EYE 4 is the fourth and largest rescue ship that Sea-Eye has sent on a rescue mission so far. She is the second alliance ship that has largely been financed by the civil sea rescue alliance United4Rescue, which was initiated by the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). Since October 2020, the SEA-EYE 4 has been converted into a rescue ship by hundreds of volunteers and is scheduled to start rescue operations in spring.
The corona pandemic is currently leading to delays due to delivery difficulties and additional costs for the joint project by Sea-Eye and United4Rescue. While United4Rescue is already collecting donations for the first mission of the alliance ship, Sea-Eye also is in need of more donations to complete the complex overhauling.
169 dead in the Mediterranean in 2021
“The fact that 169 people drowned in the central Mediterranean during this year already is a blatant failure of European humanitarian responsibility. The EU and the German federal government have an obligation to take an active role in protecting human rights and international law, instead of accepting further deaths.
There is still no European-funded state-sponsored civil sea rescue, there are still no safe passages and still no permanent and solidary distribution mechanism for rescued people in Europe. The constant harassment against sea rescue organizations and the criminalization of the rescuers are unbearable against this background. Anyone who protects and monitors human rights must be able to rely on the support of the Bundestag and the federal government.
My greatest respect and thanks go to the many committed people at sea who bravely and unwaveringly work every day to save human lives. Today is a great day for civil society, solidarity and human rights,” said Claudia Roth during the christening of SEA-EYE 4.
In 2021 alone, 169 people have already died while fleeing across the Mediterranean, according to the IOM. The EU member states continue to rely on isolation and thus create and enforce the deadliest border in the world. At the same time, the EU is investigating its own border protection agency FRONTEX for serious human rights violations.
According to an article published on January 31 in the Times of Malta, refugees in the country are subjected to physical violence, mental abuse, and even torture under the Maltese detention system.
Those who are being detained in the Lyster barracks and Safi detention center have alerted the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) with disturbing reports about the abuse.
The Maltese authorities however, denied having been informed about these severe abuse cases and negated that such abuse is taking place in their detention centers, despite EASO officials stating that they had informed the authorities immediately.
The reports by people who had fled countries like Libya and were held captive in Maltese detention centers include being beaten, being denied medical care, having broken teeth as a result of physical violence, and even being tortured by electrocution.
The Council of Europe‘s committee tasked with the prevention of torture (CPT) presented their findings from a six-day visit in September 2020 to the Maltese authorities stating that „(…) the delegation’s preliminary findings were presented to the Maltese authorities, along with some observations for immediate action. A full report on the visit will be transmitted to the Maltese authorities in due course.“
However, as the eye-witness reports clearly show, Malta hasn’t taken any steps to stop these grave human rights violations since they were first alerted by EASO and CPT officials.
Sea-Eye is appalled by this situation. We have had to bring rescued people to Malta in the past since it was considered a place of safety, and we express our utmost concern about these conditions. These reports about the grave abuse of people seeking shelter are horrifying and untenable and we demand it stop immediately!
One of the people who was disembarked to Malta from a Sea-Eye rescue ship is Joseph*, who is currently still living in the country.
He says the following about his personal experiences in Malta: „I was thrown out of the camps with no reason. At that time it was winter, just imagine that at that time I didn’t know anyone here in Malta. I had to sleep out with my bag in the cold. There is many things happening here in Malta. Immigrants here are not in good condition but they don’t have the voice, even [if] they do, who cares. They give condition on protection which is a human right.“
”Europe could do so much better – why don‘t we? Why don‘t we care about the people – like Joseph says?”, asks Sophie Weidenhiller, spokesperson for Sea-Eye.
Sea-Eye refuses to accept that people who have fled wars, torture and violence are then subjected to the same kind of maltreatment and abuse by European authorities. We most strongly oppose all human rights violations – whether they happen outside or inside of Europe. We will continue to stand up for human rights whenever and wherever it is necessary.
Joseph* originally fled violence and prosecution in Central Africa, ended up being abused in war-torn Libya and was eventually rescued from distress at sea in the Mediterranean by Sea-Eye and disembarked in Malta.
*The name and sensitive details of his story have been redacted for his safety.
The photos in this article are symbolic images.
The Italian coast guard has been detaining the Sea-Eye rescue ship ALAN KURDI in Olbia (Sardinia) for three months. Sea-Eye filed a lawsuit against the detention on January 5, 2021 at the administrative court in Cagliari. The court should now decide on the legality of the detention in an urgent procedure. It was the second detention of the ship following a rescue operation last year. In September the ALAN KURDI crew rescued 133 people, including 62 minors.
The Italian Coast Guard argues, among other things, that the ship has too few toilets on board. They claim the holding tanks are too small and that there are too many life jackets on board. The same politically motivated arguments are used by the coast guard against other German rescue ships.
Most recently, the Italian Coast Guard refused to conduct further inspections to end the detention. The argument put forward was that the declarations by the German flag state administration and the classification society were “no clear proof and evidence” that the ship’s complaints had been resolved. “For purely political reasons, the coast guard deliberately takes a fundamentally opposite stance to its German colleagues and thus creates an unsolvable situation. That is why we can practically do nothing else than to sue again,“ says Gorden Isler, chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.
With regard to the legal proceedings of the sea rescue organization Sea-Watch, whose complaint against the arrest of two rescue ships was referred to the European Court of Justice by the administrative court in Palermo on December 23, 2020, Isler continues: “We fear that our case will also be referred to the ECJ. A process lasting several years would cause great problems and raise fundamental questions. A blocked ship also costs a lot of money. These are donations that we would rather invest in equipping our new rescue ship SEA-EYE 4 in order to save human lives, instead of arguing in court about politically motivated bogus arguments.“
Last August Sea-Eye protested for the first time against the detention of the ALAN KURDI on May 5th. To date, however, there is still no trial date in this matter.
The Berlin regional court has issued an interim injunction against the former deputy federal chairman and chairman of the AfD faction in the Berlin House of Representatives, Georg Pazderski. The injunction prohibits him from alleging that Sea-Eye’s civil sea rescuers had brought the assassin of Nice to Europe. Pazderski had claimed this in a post published on Facebook in early November. The content was shared thousands of times and subsequently the Regensburg sea rescuers received many hate-messages, allegations and even death threats.
On the same day, Sea-Eye had made it clear that this allegation was counterfactual and filed a criminal complaint for all applicable criminal offenses against the AfD politician.
Prior to Pazderski’s publication the Italian interior minister had already confirmed that the murderer of Nice had arrived in Lampedusa on his own in a small rubber dinghy filled with around two dozen people. Even before Pazderski’s lie, the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reconstructed how the assassin got to Europe.
“We must therefore assume that it was Pazderski’s intention to take advantage of the situation and the consternation of the afflicted people in a targeted manner in order to elevate his political profile, to grab for attention and to incite hate against Sea-Eye. His abuse of this immeasurable human suffering grants society a clear view of the character of this politician,” said Gorden Isler, Chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.
In addition, Sea-Eye also took action under civil law against Georg Pazderski. At the request of the Düsseldorf lawyer Jeremias Mameghani, the Berlin district court already issued an injunction against the AfD politician in November, according to which he was not allowed to repeat this claim under threat of a fine of up to € 250,000 or arrest for contempt. According to Mameghani, this decision could only be delivered to Pazderski now, as his private address first had to be determined and there had apparently been delays in court due to the Corona-pandemic.
Sea-Eye will continue to fight against hate and agitation directed at their sea rescuers.
“We are working closely with the Regensburg police and we will report every single criminal offense,” says Gorden Isler, chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.
The aid organizations Sea-Eye and MOAS have agreed to a close collaboration aboard the SEA-EYE 4 with the aim of carrying out search and rescue missions in the central Mediterranean Sea. The SEA-EYE 4 is a 48 year old offshore supply vessel (built in 1972, 55 m long, 11 m wide). Sea-Eye acquired the ship with significant support of the United4Rescue alliance and is currently converting it into a rescue ship.
The common goal of both organizations is to conduct joint operations to save more lives together and to raise awareness for the people who continue to die in the Mediterranean as a result of the EU’s isolationist policy.
“We firmly believe that nobody deserves to die at sea in search of safety, that’s why we founded MOAS in 2013: to save lives. We are very happy about this partnership with Sea-Eye, to share our knowledge and expertise on SAR operations.
Between 2014 and 2017, with our missions in the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea, MOAS rescued more than 40,000 people. Now, together with our partners, we want to rescue as many people at risk as possible. Civil society strongly believes that the implementation of #SafeAndLegalRoutes of migration is important to avoid further deaths at sea,” says Regina Catrambone, Director of MOAS.
“We are proud to bring the MOAS sea rescuers back into action on our ship. This is a milestone for Sea-Eye. Our operational cooperation has one main goal: to save more lives together. Between 2016 and 2017, the Sea-Eye and MOAS crews had met during a rescue mission. Now we are working jointly aboard the SEA-EYE 4,” says Gorden Isler, Chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.
Since 2014 MOAS was the first aid organization to actively conduct rescue operations in the central Mediterranean with the objective of saving people from drowning. The joint missions with the SEA-EYE 4 are planned to start in February 2021. The operational schedules for the missions will be devised together in the coming weeks. MOAS will support Sea-Eye with professional staff, joint search and rescue training, strategic expertise and an international donation campaign.
This year, the Covid19 pandemic in particular has worsened the situation for people who are fleeing and seeking protection, as many countries closed their borders. Mediterranean countries such as Malta, Italy, Greece and Spain continue to be left alone by other EU member states when it comes to accommodating refugees. Germany was painfully slow to meet its commitments to accept refugees in 2020. The German minister of transport and the German minister of the interior even tried to prevent German civil sea rescue ships from continuing operations. State level sea rescue efforts are still not in sight. Of all the people who drowned this year in the Mediterranean Sea, more than 700 people drowned in the Central part of the Mediterranean alone.
“We are resuming SAR operations with the intent of saving as many lives as possible of those seeking protection from war, torture and famine on board of unseaworthy boats. Although we cannot put an end to the instability and ongoing conflicts which force people to leave their countries, we do have a chance to reduce the number of deaths at sea by providing assistance to those who, in their desperation, continue to attempt the Mediterranean crossing,” continues Regina Catrambone.
“The joint missions with the SEA-EYE 4 are planned to start in February 2021. The deployment plans for this will be devised together in the coming weeks,” says Jan Ribbeck, board member and manager of operations at Sea-Eye e. V.
The coalition for sea rescue United4Rescue, which now has more than 660 coalition partners, wants to finance the purchase and, to a large extent, the overhaul of the new rescue ship SEA-EYE 4.
The former offshore supply-vessel (built in 1972, 55 m long, 11 m wide) is currently being converted into a rescue ship and is operated by the sea rescue organization Sea-Eye e. V. The SEA-EYE 4 is significantly larger than the ALAN KURDI, Sea-Eye’s current rescue ship. Sea-Eye has saved the lives of around 15,000 people in the Mediterranean since the beginning of 2016.
“We are very grateful to United4Rescue. Without the support of the coalition, buying such a large ship would have remained inconceivable to us,” says Gorden Isler, Chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.
“Since our first campaign for Sea-Watch we have received a lot of support, so we decided: We will send another ship!” says Sandra Bils, founding member of United4Rescue. “Almost every day we receive terrible news of unanswered emergency calls and ship accidents in the Mediterranean. It cannot be that there aren’t enough rescue ships available.”
No safe passage
The member states of the European Union ignore their duty to rescue at sea. They refuse to fulfil their state and humanitarian duty in the Mediterranean. Because there are hardly any safe and legal escape routes, many people continue to attempt the life-threatening passage across the Mediterranean. The operational area is very large and there are only a handful of rescue ships – another civilian rescue ship is therefore urgently needed.
In addition, civil sea rescue is repeatedly blocked for political reasons and subjected to bureaucratic harassment. United4Rescue also supports rescue organizations in meeting new technical requirements or in freeing the detained ships by legal means.
Due to its size and equipment, the SEA-EYE 4 will be able to accommodate and supply significantly more people than the previous Sea-Eye ships. But before the fourth ship of the Regensburg Sea Rescue organization is operational, extensive shipyard work is required.
United4Rescue finances the purchase and renovation of the SEA-EYE 4
United4Rescue wants to finance the overhauling of the rescue ship in addition to the purchase price. The coalition plans to contribute a total of € 434,000.00 to the project. In order to be able to send the SEA-EYE 4 on its first mission as quickly as possible, United4Rescue has started a donation campaign on the website www.wesendaship.org.
“Together with partners like United4Rescue we are on the right track. But in order to fully equip the SEA-EYE 4 and send it on a mission, we need further support,” says Isler.
“The necessity for our coalition sending another ship is actually a scandal. It is absurd, no, a testimony to Europe’s failure to fulfil its obligation to save people. We will not stand idly by this political failure,” said Bils.
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© Katarzyna Gmitrzak & sea-eye.org
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