German captain of migrant rescue ship turns down Paris award

August 21, 2019

German captain Pia Klemp has turned down a humanitarian prize from Paris’ city hall, accusing the French capital of hypocrisy over the treatment of migrants and refugees.

Klemp, along with fellow German Carola Rackete, has overseen the rescues of hundreds of people from the Mediterranean and both were recognized for their efforts in July when they were awarded the Grand Vermeil Medal.

However, Klemp has subsequently turned down Paris’ highest civilian award.

“We do not need authorities deciding who is a ‘hero’ and who is ‘illegal,'” Klemp said in a statement posted to Facebook.

Referring to city mayor Anne Hidalgo, she wrote: “You want to award me a medal … because our crews ‘work to rescue migrants from difficult conditions on a daily basis.’ At the same time your police steal blankets from people you force to live on the streets while you suppress protests and criminalize people who defend the rights of migrants and asylum seekers.”

A City Hall spokesman said officials would be getting in touch with Klemp over the affair.

“The City of Paris is fully mobilized to support the refugees, to shelter them and ensure a dignified respect for their humanity,” the mayor’s office told news agency Reuters.

Facing prison

The French capital awarded the skippers after Rackete’s plight became a global story when she was arrested due to colliding with an Italian customs police boat while docking at the Italian port of Lampedusa. The rescue vessel had 40 migrants on board at the time after the Sea-Watch 3 had rescued them off the Libyan coast.

Klemp, meanwhile, has been under investigation in Italy since one of her ships, the Iuventa, was impounded in Sicily in August 2017 by local authorities. She is accused of assisting illegal immigration.

The migrant rescue ship named 'Iuventa'

The Iuventa rescue ship run by German NGO Jugend Rettet was impounded by the Italian authorities in August 2017

Facing up to 20 years behind bars, Klemp told media outlet Basler Zeitung that she would fight the allegations all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary. The Bonn native also accused Italian authorities of organizing “a show trial.”

As a result, hundreds of thousands of people signed a petition in her defense, demanding Italy drop criminal proceedings against her and other crew members.

Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who heavily criticized the actions of Rackete in particular, had expressed his dismay at the award.

“Obviously the municipality of Paris has nothing better to do,” Salvini said.

Germans march in solidarity with Sea-Watch

‘Sea-Watch 3 saves lives’

3,000 people joined the solidarity rally with Sea-Watch in Germany’s port city of Hamburg. The German captain of the Sea-Watch 3 rescue vessel, Carola Rackete, has been charged in Italy for docking her vessel at the port of Lampedusa despite an order from the the government banning new refugees from being allowed on Italian soil.

Germans march in solidarity with Sea-Watch

Local hero

Despite earning the ire of the Italian government, for many at home Rackete is a hero for saving the lives of asylum-seekers during the dangerous Mediterranean crossing. On top of criticizing Italy’s anti-immigrant Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, Rackete has also criticized his German counterpart, Horst Seehofer.

Germans march in solidarity with Sea-Watch

Nationwide rallies

Demonstrations were also held in Bonn, Münster, Frankfurt, Oldenburg, Bielefeld, Bremen, and here in Cologne. About 7,000 people attended the Cologne rally in opposition to attempts from nationalist governments to close their ports to rescued migrants.

Germans march in solidarity with Sea-Watch

‘Sea-bridge’

Seebrücke, or ‘Sea-bridge’, is the name of the organization that called Saturday’s protests. “Seebrücke makes harbors safe,” this banner in Cologne declares.

Germans march in solidarity with Sea-Watch

Protest in Seehofer’s backyard

In Munich in Bavaria, the state Interior Minister Horst Seehofer used to be premier of, thousands of citizens demanded Germany support the rescue and safety of refugees. Seehofer has been one of the few in Germany’s federal government to take a hard-line immigration stance in recent years.

Germans march in solidarity with Sea-Watch

On Merkel’s doorstep

In Berlin, the demonstrators brought their protest to the doors of the federal Chancellery building. Chancellor Angela Merkel has not weighed in on the plight of Sea-Watch captain Carola Rackete, who is preparing to sue Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini for slander.

Author: Elizabeth Schumacher