Banksy-funded migrant rescue boat calls for urgent help in Mediterranean
Issued on: 29/08/2020 - 08:03
The Banksy-funded, German-flagged migrant rescue vessel Louise Michel. © @MVLouiseMichel
Text by:NEWS WIRES|
Video by:FRANCE 24Follow
A refugee rescue vessel funded by British street artist Banksy said it was stranded and needed urgent help on Saturday after lending assistance to a boat in the Mediterranean that was carrying at least one dead migrant.
The German-flagged Louise Michel said it was overcrowded and unable to move after encountering another boat attempting to cross the expanse dividing Europe and Africa with 130 people on board.
"There is already one dead person on the boat. We need immediate assistance," the crew of the 31-metre (101 feet) Louise Michel wrote on Twitter, saying other migrants had fuel burns and had been at sea for days.
The vessel's crew of 10 had earlier rescued another 89 people from a rubber boat in distress on Thursday, and said European rescue agencies had so far ignored its distress calls.
#LouiseMichel is unable to move, she is no longer the master of her manoeuver, due to her overcrowded deck and a liferaft deployed at her side, but above all due to Europe ignoring our emergency calls for immediate assistance. The responsible authorities remain unresponsive.— LouiseMichel (@MVLouiseMichel) August 29, 2020
The boat -- named after 19th-century French anarchist Louise Michel -- was around 90 kilometres southeast of the Italian island of Lampedusa early on Saturday, according to the global ship tracking website Marine Traffic.
Thousands of people are thought to have died making the dangerous trip across the Mediterranean to flee conflict, repression and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.
We repeat, #LouiseMichel is unable to safely move and nobody is coming to our aid. The people rescued have experienced extreme trauma, it's time for them to be brought to a #PlaceOfSafety. We need immediate assistance.— LouiseMichel (@MVLouiseMichel) August 29, 2020
Banksy's decision to fund the high-speed boat follows a body of work by the artist that has levelled scathing judgements on Europe's halting response to the migrant crisis.
'I can't keep the money'
Painted in hot pink and white, the Louise Michel features a Banksy artwork depicting a girl in a life vest holding a heart-shaped safety buoy.
The motor yacht, formerly owned by French customs, is smaller but considerably faster than other charity rescue vessels -- enabling it to outrun Libyan coastguard boats, according to The Guardian.
Its crew is "made up of European activists with long experience in search and rescue operations" and is captained by German human rights activist Pia Klemp, who has also captained other such rescue vessels, the paper reported.
🔴The @MVLouiseMichel is urgently requesting assistance, on scene with a boat in distress.
They report ~130 men, women and children on board, in desperate need of rescue. They say that one person is already dead. #EU, this encroaching state of emergency is on your watch! https://t.co/7fSyVKNR36— MSF Sea (@MSF_Sea) August 28, 2020
Banksy's involvement in the rescue mission goes back to September 2019 when he sent Klemp an email.
"Hello Pia, I've read about your story in the papers. You sound like a badass," Banksy wrote.
"I am an artist from the UK and I've made some work about the migrant crisis, obviously I can't keep the money. Could you use it to buy a new boat or something? Please let me know. Well done. Banksy."
Klemp, who initially thought it was a joke, told the paper she believed she was chosen because of her political stance, The Guardian said.
"I don't see sea rescue as a humanitarian action, but as part of an anti-fascist fight," she told the paper.
The crew with diverse backgrounds "all identify as anti-racist and anti-fascist activists advocating for radical political change," The Guardian said.
'Incognito'
A spokesman for Burriana's port confirmed that the Louise Michel docked there on June 23 and left on August 18.
"During this time, they have been repairing and preparing the boat but they did it by themselves, they did not use the port services", he told AFP.
About Banksy, "if he has been here, he came incognito," the official said.
The Louise Michel left Burriana on August 18 "under the strictest secrecy", The Guardian reported.
‼️ There is already one dead person on the boat. The others have fuel burns, they have been at sea for days and now they are being left alone in an #EU (!) Search and Rescue Zone. Don't let it become a body count. Do your job. Rescue them.— LouiseMichel (@MVLouiseMichel) August 28, 2020
Early this month, humanitarian organisations said they would resume migrant rescues in the Mediterranean Sea, where none have operated since the Ocean Viking docked in Italy in early July.
Before the Ocean Viking's last mission, rescue operations in the Mediterranean had been suspended for months due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
More than 100,000 migrants tried to cross the Mediterranean last year from North Africa with more than 1,200 dying in the attempt, according to the International Organization for Migration.
(AFP)
Banksy-funded ship rescues 89 migrants from Mediterranean
Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A rescue boat funded by British street artist Banksy pulled 89 migrants from the Mediterranean Sea this week, the operation announced Friday.
The boat, the Louise Michel, is splashed with bright pink paint and features reproductions of the artist's famous artworks, including one of a girl holding a heart-shaped life preserver. The vessel is named after a 19th century French feminist anarchist.
"After dealing with dehydration, fuel burns and injuries from the torture they suffered in Libya, they have a moment of respite. Together with the crew, they are waiting for a Port of Safety," the ship's Twitter account said.
The Louise Michel's website says it was established because of European countries' policy not to respond to distress calls from non-Europeans.
"We onboard the Louise Michel believe we are all individuals, nationality should not make a difference to what rights one has and how we treat each other," the ship's mission statement reads. "We answer the SOS call of all those in distress, not just to save their souls -- but our own."
More than 40,000 migrants have made the trek to Europe across the Mediterranean Sea since January, most from Tunisia, Algeria, Afghanistan, Syria and other Middle Eastern and North African countries. This year, 443 people have died attempting the trip, according to data from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
This year is on track to have the fewest number of crossings since 2014, when the refugee crisis began in the region. Migration peaked in 2015, when 1.03 million people crossed the Mediterranean and 3,771 died. More than 5,000 died in 2016 despite about one-third the number of crossings from the previous year.
The Louise-Michel said the migrants it rescued were from Libya, where dueling governments are fighting for control
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