A human rights activist, biologist, and and one of the German captains of the German migrant rescue organization Sea Watch that has saved the lives of many migrants in the Mediterranean in maritime distress on their dangerous route to safety in Europe has turned down Paris’s highest civilian award, the Grand Vermei accusing the city of hypocrisy over the treatment of migrants.
Pia Klemp, 35, captained the Iuventa for the German charity Youth Rescue before working with nongovernmental organization Sea Watch in 2017. Between August 2016 and August 2017 the Iuventa formerly a fishing vessel, is estimated to have saved 14,000 people from a watery grave off the coast of Libya.
The socialist mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, had announced on July 12th her wish to award the Grand Vermeil medal (the highest grade of decorations) to the two German Sea Watch captains, Carola Rackete and Pia Klemp, for their repeated bravery in bringing migrants to shore despite Italian efforts to stop them.
For years, authorities there have railed against work by rescue organizations like Sea Watch that pick up stranded migrants fleeing the Libyan coast for Europe. More recently, Italy's populist Interior Minister Matteo Salvini introduced a controversial security decree banning NGO migrant ships from entering Italian ports. As a result, on August 2 2017 the Italian authorities “pre-emptively” seized the ship while it was docked in Lampedusa and, without providing any evidence, accused Klemp and her team of aiding human trafficking.
Carola Rackete was arrested in Italy at the end of June before being released for having forcibly landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa and landed the 40 migrants who had been on her boat for more than two weeks. A broad support movement had been expressed, and some 1.4 million euros had been collected in a few days via the internet to pay its legal costs and finance the continuation of the activities of the German NGO.
Now Pia Klemp, from Bonn, Germany, who is also the executive director of Aquascope, an organization that works to combat illegal fishing. for her efforts, is getting ready to stand trial and reportedly faces up to 20 years in prison in Italy, for plucking desperate people out of the water in an act of humanity, but the hardline anti-immigrant government accused her of assisting illegal immigration.
Originally a biologist she joined Sea Shepherd because direct action is now the only way left to deal with the illegal activities on our oceans that are sanctioned by filthy greedy governments. It’s unusual for a woman to be a boat captain. According to Sea Shepherd, only one percent of the boats in the world are captained by women.
Whilst on Sea Shepard duty as the ship’s captain she started rescuing migrants lost on the high seas.
She said that she believed that saving drowning people is a duty: “For every captain this is the duty,” she told Sea Watch. “Apart from that it should be self understandable for overprivileged Europeans like us.” On her Facebook page late on Tuesday night she explained why she refused the decoration of the City of Paris, citing the city’s treatment of refugees and telling Mayor Anne Hidalgo that the city was brimming with hypocrisy.
Klemp's refusal to accept the medal comes on the heels of a 19-day standoff between a Spanish rescue ship called Open Arms and the Italian government. On Tuesday an Italian court ordered the seizure of the ship and the evacuation of everyone onboard on Lampedusa. Five countries belonging to the European Union have agreed to accept the migrants.
Both the German and French governments have criticized Italy over the treatment of migrants, Klemp and Rackete. Salvini's retort is that the EU's other 27 member countries should open their borders to welcome the influx.
"Paris, I love you. I love you for all the free and solidarian people that live in you. Fighting for their freedom everyday, standing shoulder to shoulder, distributing blankets, friendship and solidarity. I love you for those who are sharing their homes, love and struggles everyday - regardless of their nationality, regardless if they have papers or not.
Madame Hidalgo, you want to award me a medal for my solidarian action in the Mediterranean Sea, because our crews 'work to rescue migrants from difficult conditions on a daily basis'. At the same time your police is stealing blankets from people that you force to live on the streets, while you raid protests and criminalize people that are standing up for rights of migrants and asylum seekers. You want to give me a medal for actions that you fight in your own ramparts. I am sure you won't be surprised that I decline the medaille Grand Vermeil.
Paris, I'm not a humanitarian. I am not there to 'aid'. I stand with you in solidarity. We do not need medals. We do not need authorities deciding about who is a 'hero' and who is 'illegal'. In fact they are in no position to make this call, because we are all equal.
What we need are freedom and rights. It is time we call out hypocrite honorings and fill the void with social justice. It is time we cast all medals into spearheads of revolution!
Documents and housing for all!
Freedom of movement and residence!
Pia Klemp August 2019
"Paris, je t’aime. Je t’aime pour tous les gens libres et solidaires qui vivent en ton sein. Des gens qui se battent pour la liberté chaque jour, debout, bras dessus bras dessous, distribuant des couvertures, de l’amitié et de la solidarité. Je t’aime pour ceux qui partagent leur logement, leur amour et leurs luttes chaque jour, sans se soucier de la nationalité des personnes ni de savoir si elles ont des papiers ou pas.
Madame Hidalgo, vous voulez me décorer pour mon action solidaire en mer Méditerranée, parce que nos équipages « travaillent quotidiennement à sauver des migrants dans des conditions difficiles ». Simultanément votre police vole les couvertures de gens contraints de vivre dans la rue, pendant que vous réprimez des manifestations et criminalisez des personnes qui défendent les droits des migrants et des demandeurs d’asile. Vous voulez me donner une médaille pour des actions que vous combattez à l’intérieur de vos propres remparts. Je suis sûre que vous ne serez pas surprise de me voir refuser votre médaille Grand Vermeil.
Paris, je ne suis pas une humanitaire. Je ne suis pas là pour « aider ». Je suis solidaire à tes côtés. Nous n’avons pas besoin de médailles. Nous n’avons pas besoin de pouvoirs décidant qui est un « héro » et qui est « illégal ». En fait, il n’y a pas lieu de faire cela, car nous sommes tous égaux.
Ce dont nous avons besoin, c’est de liberté et de droits. Il est temps de dénoncer les honneurs hypocrites et de combler le vide par la justice sociale. Il est temps que toutes les médailles soient lancées comme des fers de lance de la révolution!
Papiers et logements pour toutes et tous!
Liberté de circulation et d'installation!
Pia KLEMP, 20 août 2019
For updates on the Iuventa 10 or to donate to their legal fight, visit their website: iuventa10.org/en.
and here is a link to Sea Watch where you can sign a petition to free fellow captain Carola Rackete:
https://sea-watch.org/en/
Why I fight for solidarity - Pia Klemp
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