US JOURNALIST Naomi Klein and philosopher Cornel West joined European human rights activists and academics today in their call today to help raise funds for a refugee rescue charity under legal attack in Italy.
The public prosecutor’s office in the Sicilian region of Ragusa brought charges against Mediterranea: Saving Humans earlier this month, accusing the NGO of “facilitating illegal immigration.”
The charges relate to an incident involving Mediterranea’s rescue ship Mare Jonio and a commercial vessel in the Mediterranean Sea last summer.
The Etienne, a container ship operated by Danish firm Maersk, rescued the 27 people in August within Malta’s search-and-rescue zone. However, the island nation refused to allow the ship to enter its waters, keeping the refugees and the crew in a state of limbo in international waters for five weeks.
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I spent years on Manus Island and in hotel detention. Finally I can live like a regular human being
Refugee and writer Mardin Arvin in Melbourne after his release from hotel detention. Photograph: Charlie Collins/Supplied
Refugee and writer Mardin Arvin in Melbourne after his release from hotel detention. Photograph: Charlie Collins/Supplied
Tue 2 Mar 2021 11.30 EST
Last modified on Tue 16 Mar 2021 00.06 EDT
The wind blows. Languid. The wind is calm, swirling around my body. It feels good.
I watch the leaves shifting places across the ground, I reflect on the fact that no one is standing over me any more, no one is watching me.