#flot
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#Home_Office planning to house asylum seekers on disused cruise ships
►https://seenthis.net/messages/997047#bateaux #bateaux_de_croisière #bateau_de_croisière #flotels #maladie #légionellose #maladie_du_légionnaire #évacuation
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UK signs contract with US startup to identify migrants in small-boat crossings
►https://seenthis.net/messages/1000870#hostile_architecture #architecture_hostile #dignité #espace #Portland #hostilité #hostilité_performative #infrastructure #extraterritorialité #extra-territorialité #prix #coût #histoire #esclavage #Bibby_Marine #Bibby_Line_Group (#BLG) #John_Bibby
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Liverpool owner of asylum barge Bibby Stockholm awarded £20m to build new vessel
The funding from the #Zero_Emission_Vessel_Infrastructure (#ZEVI) competition will be put towards the construction of the world’s first zero-emission #electric_Service_Operation_Vessel (#eSOV).
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12.12.2023 : #Royaume-Uni : un migrant décède à bord de la #barge « #Bibby_Stockholm »
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/1032076
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I #flotels, l’ultima controversa soluzione abitativa per ospitare i richiedenti asilo in Gran Bretagna
Gli effetti delle politiche in emergenza: il governo inglese annaspa per cercare alloggi (economici) per richiedenti asilo. A incassare è la #Bibby_Lines, storica compagnia di navigazione. La situazione ricorda il periodo delle navi quarantena in Italia
Nel porto di Falmouth, una deliziosa cittadina di mare situata in Cornovaglia, nel sud dell’Inghilterra, si trova un’enorme chiatta grigia e rossa di 47 anni. È attraccata per delle riparazioni. Dal suo arrivo a maggio, tutt’intorno al porto ci sono manifestanti con cartelloni colorati. In uno si legge: «Riparate il sistema di asilo, non una prigione galleggiante». Questa chiatta, secondo i piani del governo inglese, dovrebbe dirigersi presto in un altro porto, quello di Portland, nel Dorset, da maggio, ma il suo arrivo continua a essere rimandato a seguito delle contestazioni di governi locali e cittadini. Dovrebbe ospitare, per almeno 18 mesi, più di 500 richiedenti asilo.
La chiatta grigia e rossa nella classificazione inglese delle navi si chiama accommodation vessel, imbarcazione per l’alloggio, oppure floating hotel, albergo galleggiante. Da qui nasce il nomignolo più diffuso: floatel. In realtà questo termine definisce diverse tipologie di abitazioni galleggianti: alberghi di lusso, centri congressi, alloggi per lavoratori impiegati nel settore delle piattaforme petrolifere. Agli scopi iniziali, se n’è aggiunto un altro: l’ospitalità dei richiedenti asilo.
Il sistema d’accoglienza inglese è sotto scrutinio parlamentare almeno dal 2022. A bordo di gommoni a rischio naufragio via Canale della Manica nel 2022 sono arrivate 45.728 persone nel Regno Unito, il 60% in più rispetto al 2021 (28.526 persone arrivate). Il 2023 al momento sembra invece in controtendenza con una decrescita del 20%, ha dichiarato il primo ministro Rishi Sunak, per quanto l’aumento sia iniziato già nel 2018. Nonostante i numeri siano comunque gestibili, il governo ha preferito usare sistemi d’accoglienza privati, come gli hotel. L’Home Office, il corrispettivo del ministero dell’Interno italiano, ha ammesso di spendere circa cinque milioni di euro al giorno per ospitare richiedenti asilo e rifugiati in strutture alberghiere e sta cercando di trovare soluzioni più economiche. Da allora il governo ha cominciato a pensare a strutture alternative, da ex basi militari ai floatels. Non è però chiaro quale sia il costo di gestione di queste strutture e sono molte le critiche delle organizzazioni non governative, in particolare rispetto alle condizioni detentive in cui si trovano i migranti.
In Inghilterra, a guidare lo sbarco delle compagnie di navigazione nel mercato dell’accoglienza è la Bibby Marine, parte della Bibby Line Group, gigante marittimo con una storia plurisecolare, culminata proprio con l’ingresso nel mondo dei floatels. La chiatta grigia rossa ormeggiata a Falmouth da cui inizia questa storia appartiene a loro.
Baronetti e imprenditori, i Bibby re del porto di LiverpoolLe origini della Bibby Line risalgono al 1807, quando fu fondata da John Bibby. Per secoli la famiglia Bibby è stata la più influente nell’industria marittima britannica; i suoi membri sono anche baronetti, un titolo nobiliare ereditario minore in Inghilterra, dagli anni Sessanta. Ora si racconta come una placida azienda a gestione prevalentemente familiare sia stata in passato al centro di intrighi di potere e lotte di successione in stile Succession, che hanno portato i vertici della famiglia a decidere di introdurre anche figure esterne all’interno della proprio management. Il loro motto è: «Un’azienda di famiglia, conosciuta per creare un futuro migliore insieme».
Il gruppo Bibby Lines è un’idra dalle mille teste, e ogni testa è una sua controllata. L’azienda possedeva la catena di supermercati Costcutter, molto famosa in Inghilterra, una divisione di trasporti e magazzini chiamata Bibby Division, più la Bibby Marine, la loro società di spedizioni marittime, la Bibby Financial Services e la Garic, che affitta, vende e installa un po’ di tutto, dai pannelli solari ai bagni chimici.
Però non tutto è sempre stato rose e fiori per i Bibby: già nel 2019, pre-pandemia, avevano enormi problemi economici. Le perdite subite erano state di 29,7 milioni di sterline. Nel 2020 la situazione peggiora ulteriormente, con perdite da 29,9 milioni di sterline. I Bibby decidono allora di vendere la Costcutter e la Bibby Division e con l’incasso pareggiano il buco di bilancio e investono nelle proprie società con maggiori margini di profitto. Una di queste è proprio quella che gestisce i floatels, tant’è che acquistano una nuova chiatta da aggiungere alla propria flotta. La strategia funziona e nel 2021 registrano profitti netti di 35,5 milioni di sterline.
La Bibby Marine è una pioniera del mondo dei floatels, nel quale si immerge tra gli anni Settanta e Ottanta, anni in cui stava nascendo l’industria. Fu una fase di grande sviluppo del settore, in cui però diversi gruppi di navigazione rimasero indietro, incapaci di stare al passo. Il problema non riguardò i Bibby che aprirono la loro divisione di floating accommodation pensata prevalentemente per i lavoratori nel settore energetico che avevano bisogno di luoghi in cui dormire in mezzo al mare. Fino agli anni della pandemia.
La Bibby Line Group oggi gestisce più di un miliardo di sterline di fondi, ha circa 1.300 impiegati nel mondo e ha una flotta di sei chiatte abitabili: Bibby Marine Limited, Bibby Bergen, Bibby Challenge, Bibby Progress, Bibby Pioneer e Bibby Stockholm. Quest’ultima è la chiatta ancorata nel porto di Falmouth.
Un incubo galleggianteLunga quasi 94 metri e larga più di 27, la Bibby Stockholm ha sette vite come i gatti. Il suo primo utilizzo come alloggio per richiedenti asilo è stato in Olanda, già nel 2008. Ai tempi, un uomo algerino morì di arresto cardiaco sulla Bibby Stockholm che era ancorata a Rotterdam. Il sistema d’asilo olandese fu molto criticato per la sua incapacità di prestare il minimo servizio sanitario. Altri richiedenti asilo presenti sulla nave, infatti, dichiararono che il richiedente, in gravi condizioni fisiche, era stato curato con del semplice sciroppo per la tosse. Si lamentarono anche di condizioni invivibili e soffocanti. La chiatta subì successivamente dei lavori di ristrutturazione, e fu poi utilizzata come alloggio per lavoratori impiegati su piattaforme petrolifere nei mari della Scozia.
La Bibby Stockholm è stata presa a noleggio dal governo britannico con un contratto della durata di 18 mesi, annunciato per la prima volta ad aprile di quest’anno. Ospiterà più di 500 richiedenti asilo, rigorosamente uomini e celibi, mentre attendono l’esito della loro domanda. Diverse organizzazioni e non profit hanno protestato contro questa modalità di alloggio. Migrant Help, organizzazione che ha un contratto con il governo per dare assistenza a chi fa domanda di asilo in Inghilterra, ha pubblicamente invitato il governo ad abbandonare i propri piani per la Bibby Stockholm. Interpellata da IrpiMedia, si è rifiutata di commentare sulle proprie preoccupazioni relative alla chiatta.
In base alle informazioni finora emerse, i richiedenti asilo alloggiati sulla chiatta non potranno entrare e uscire a loro piacimento. La chiatta sarà infatti ancorata al porto, in una zona protetta che non prevede il transito libero e richiede che chi entra ed esce venga scortato dalla sicurezza. Interpellato in televisione sulla questione, il ministro dei trasporti Richard Holden ha continuato a insistere che la chiatta non è una prigione. Quando gli è stato chiesto che differenza ci sia tra una prigione e la Bibby Stockholm se i richiedenti asilo non possono uscire, non è stato capace di dare nessuna risposta valida.
Portland Harbour, la località dove è attesa la Bibby Stockholm, ospitò anche la prigione galleggiante HMP Weare, che fu ufficialmente chiusa nel 2006. Il carcere era stato allestito a bordo della Bibby Resolution, all’epoca una delle chiatte della flotta dei Bibby.
Il governo non ha dichiarato quanto abbia speso per questo contratto, ma il costo di operazione è stato stimato da alcuni giornali inglesi intorno alle 20 mila sterline al giorno. Una fonte interna all’industria e vicina ai Bibby, che ha chiesto di rimanere anonima, ha detto di ritenere che il costo del noleggio – quindi i soldi che entrano nelle tasche dei Bibby – sia di circa 15 mila sterline al giorno, una cifra ritenuta uno sproposito. Secondo la fonte, la Bibby Marine avrebbe accettato il contratto anche prendendo meno. Interpellata rispetto al proprio contratto con il governo, la Bibby Marine si è rifiutata di commentare.
Gli Aponte e le navi quarantena per migranti
È stata la pandemia a offrire l’opportunità ai Bibby di convertire i floatels in strutture d’accoglienza per i richiedenti asilo. In Italia è successo un fenomeno simile con le navi da crociera. Anche in questo caso, a trarre beneficio dai soldi pubblici derivanti dai contratti di noleggio è soprattutto stata un’influente famiglia di armatori. Gli Aponte sono proprietari del gruppo Mediterranean shipping company (Msc), la principale società di spedizione di container nel mondo. Comprende un numero esorbitante di controllate, inclusa la Msc Crociere, la Medlog che si occupa di logistica, la Terminal Investment Limited che controlla i terminal portuali, e Grandi Navi Veloci (Gnv). Secondo quanto ricostruito da Il Fatto Quotidiano, il gruppo si è aggiudicato 119 milioni di euro di appalti per le navi quarantena sui 125 messi a disposizione dal governo. Mentre il business delle crociere era completamente bloccato, e i giganti del settore subivano enormi perdite economiche, gli Aponte si sono reinventati trasformando mezzi di vacanza e svago in siti galleggianti di quarantena. Nel 2020, il 17% del fatturato di Gnv è arrivato dai bandi pubblici per le navi quarantena.
Gianluigi Aponte, il fondatore di Msc, oggi ha ottantadue anni ed è tra i primi 50 miliardari al mondo, secondo Forbes, con un patrimonio netto di 31,2 miliardi di dollari. La sua è una storia talmente fortunata da sembrare la trama di un film. L’imprenditore sorrentino conosce la moglie su una nave di cui era capitano durante un viaggio a Capri. I due si innamorano e decidono di entrare nell’industria marittima insieme comprando una prima nave con un prestito da 200 mila sterline. Lei è svizzera; i due si trasferiscono lì, e non torneranno più in Italia. Da ottobre 2022 la sua è la famiglia più ricca della Svizzera.
Da quel “piccolo acquisto” nasce quello che è oggi un impero, ancora più esteso della Bibby Line Group. Ancora più dei Bibby, gli Aponte hanno mantenuto una struttura di business strettamente a gestione familiare. La moglie gestisce l’arredamento delle navi da crociera, la figlia Alexa è la responsabile finanziaria dell’intero gruppo e il figlio Diego è il responsabile di tutti i terminal portuali.
Le navi quarantena sono state molto criticate. Come nel caso dei floatels, sono state anche al centro di episodi di cronaca. Il 20 maggio del 2020, un ragazzo tunisino di soli 28 anni perse la vita dopo essersi buttato da una nave quarantena della Moby nel tentativo di raggiungere la riva. Scappato dal mare, era stato rimesso in acqua, invece che in uno dei centri di accoglienza sulla terraferma come si aspettava.
Come i contestatori della chiatta inglese attesa nel Dorset, diversi esponenti di ong sottolinearono la problematicità di chiudere individui spesso traumatizzati da un pericoloso viaggio in mare in una struttura sull’acqua. E come nel caso dei Bibby, gli ingenti contratti pubblici permisero ai proprietari di rimanere a galla in un difficile periodo di crisi economica.
Il futuro di un discriminante modo di abitareLo spostamento della Bibby Stockholm da Falmouth a Portland è stato posticipato più volte e ancora non è certa la data del trasferimento. Nonostante gli intoppi, il governo ha già annunciato che intende moltiplicare i contratti di questo tipo. Il 5 giugno, il primo ministro Rishi Sunak ha annunciato di voler introdurre altre due strutture galleggianti che ospiteranno fino a mille persone. Successivamente è emerso che saranno due navi da crociera – proprio come le navi quarantena utilizzate dall’Italia durante la pandemia. Non ha voluto specificare dove verranno ubicate, ma è emerso che il porto di Birkenhead, fuori Liverpool, era stato selezionato da Sunak come attracco per una di queste due navi. Le autorità portuali si sono però rifiutate di accettare l’incarico, sostenendo che senza il supporto delle autorità locali non sarebbero state in grado di gestire la situazione. La nave dovrà quindi trovare un’altra ubicazione.
Il governo inglese ha precedentemente detto di essere interessato a siglare fino a dieci contratti di questo tipo. Con le sue sei chiatte abitabili, potrebbe essere proprio la Bibby Marine a riscuotere i benefici di questa decisione. Se tutte e sei fossero noleggiate allo stesso prezzo indicato dalla nostra fonte, sarebbero 90 mila sterline al giorno.
Tra i possibili competitor di Bibby ci sono la Chevalier Floatels e la Ship Accommodation, entrambe ubicate in Olanda. La prima si descrive come «un’azienda giovane ed energetica con oltre dieci anni di esperienza nell’industria dei floatels». Il sito web dell’azienda ha una sezione specifica dedicata a quelli che chiama refugee centers. Offre tre chiatte: la Kalmar, la Rossini e la Sans Vitesse. La prima, molto simile a quella che si trova momentaneamente nel porto di Falmouth, ha 220 stanze e può ospitare fino a 660 rifugiati. La Rossini può ospitarne fino a 440, e la Sans Vitesse, con la sua strana forma arzigogolata e il suo aspetto zebrato, fino a 380.
La Ship Accommodation si propone più come un sito di alloggi di lusso. Il sito web è tappezzato di foto dei fiumi che attraversano le grandi capitali europee al tramonto, e di coppie che si godono gli ultimi raggi di sole sedute a prua. Eppure anche loro, anche se non sembrano farne il principale business come altri, offrono chiatte per ospitare richiedenti asilo. Interpellati più volte da IrpiMedia, si sono rifiutati di parlare di questo aspetto del proprio business.
Nonostante le brochure patinate e le rassicurazioni dell’industria, i floatels sembrano l’ennesima soluzione emergenziale alla questione dell’accoglienza. All’interno di questa logica, il mercato dei floatels ha molto da incassare, per lo meno in Gran Bretagna. E forse altrove in Europa, se il modello farà scuola.
►https://irpimedia.irpi.eu/flotels-controversa-soluzione-abitativa-richiedenti-asilo
ajouté à ce fil de discussion:
►https://seenthis.net/messages/997047 -
Chine - États-Unis : en marche vers la guerre
#Chine #États-Unis #impérialisme #Taïwan #guerre #propagande
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Chine-États-Unis : préparatifs guerriers
►https://journal.lutte-ouvriere.org/2023/04/12/chine-etats-unis-preparatifs-guerriers_609617.html
Entre le samedi 8 avril et le dimanche 10, l’armée chinoise a déployé autour de Taïwan onze bateaux de guerre et plus de 70 avions, simulant l’encerclement de l’île ainsi que son bombardement. La Chine répondait ainsi à la visite en Californie de la présidente de Taïwan, #Tsai_Ing-wen.
Cette visite, le 5 avril, s’inscrit dans la préparation de l’élection présidentielle taïwanaise de janvier 2024, une campagne que Tsai Ing-wen mène pour le compte de son parti, le DPP. Son escale américaine lui aura permis de se donner une stature internationale. Elle a salué le soutien indéfectible des États-Unis et de Kevin McCarthy, président de la Chambre des représentants américains, qui en a profité pour appeler son pays à continuer à vendre des armes à Taïwan. Les uns comme les autres espèrent ainsi enrayer la perte de vitesse du DPP sur l’île et justifier auprès de la population taïwanaise la nécessité de l’indépendance, alors qu’une partie grandissante semble en douter, si l’on en croit la défaite que le DPP a subie aux élections locales de novembre dernier au profit de son concurrent, le KMT, qui défend une ligne de statu quo, voire de rapprochement avec Pékin.
Les dirigeants du DPP et les dirigeants américains ont sans doute estimé que la réaction militaire du gouvernement chinois, s’il y en avait une, légitimerait aussi la position du DPP. Cette réaction était en effet prévisible et sans aucun doute prévue. En août 2022, la visite à Taïwan de Nancy Pelosi, qui occupait alors la même fonction que McCarthy, avait provoqué des manœuvres de plus grande ampleur encore. Alors que le gouvernement de Pékin affirme depuis toujours que Taïwan fait partie de la #Chine et que son indépendance formelle est un motif de guerre, les #États-Unis et le DPP, avec ces contacts d’officiels au plus haut niveau, font monter la pression. Ils savent pertinemment que le #gouvernement_chinois ne peut pas ne pas répondre.
L’armée chinoise s’est ainsi déployée pendant trois jours, simulant l’encerclement et le #bombardement de l’île, faisant franchir à plusieurs dizaines de ses avions la ligne médiane du détroit de Taïwan, et mettant en œuvre son dernier porte-avions, le Shandong, qui navigue dans la zone à environ 370 km à l’est de l’île. L’#armée_chinoise a également annoncé que les manœuvres autour de Taïwan seraient prolongées par d’autres jusqu’au 20 avril au large du #Fujian, dans le détroit de Taïwan. Les États-Unis, dont une partie de la flotte est en permanence sur zone, le #porte-avions américain Nimitz en particulier se trouvant à proximité, en ont profité pour observer les capacités militaires de la #marine_chinoise et pour montrer à leur tour leur présence et leur puissance. Ils ont ainsi déployé le 9 avril un destroyer en #mer_de_Chine_méridionale, un peu au sud de Taïwan, dans une opération dite de liberté de navigation, consistant à croiser à proximité des îles que les Chinois se sont appropriées. Et mardi 11 avril, ils ont entamé leurs exercices militaires annuels conjoints avec les Philippines en mobilisant au total 18 000 soldats, deux fois plus qu’en 2022.
Les dirigeants taïwanais et américains préparent les esprits à la guerre. Les dirigeants chinois ne sont pas en reste. #Taïwan et ses 23 millions d’habitants deviennent ainsi l’enjeu d’un affrontement qui les dépasse.
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Chine-États-Unis : une concurrence féroce mais inégale
▻https://mensuel.lutte-ouvriere.org/2022/01/23/chine-etats-unis-une-concurrence-feroce-mais-inegale_196804.(#archiveLO, 9 janvier 2022)
– Une nouvelle superpuissance ?
– Des relations inégalitaires
– Un nouvel #impérialisme ?
– Le « rêve chinois » de Xi Jinping
– Guerre économique : le raidissement des États-Unis
– Les provocations occidentales
– La #guerre, une menace toujours plus proche -
Océan pacifique : préparatifs guerriers
▻https://journal.lutte-ouvriere.org/2023/03/15/ocean-pacifique-preparatifs-guerriers_552402.html
(#archiveLO, 15 mars 2023)Depuis la base navale californienne de San Diego, le président américain Biden, le premier ministre britannique Sunak et son homologue australien Albanese ont lancé le 13 mars la nouvelle phase de leur alliance militaire.
Les trois pays développeront ensemble et construiront dans leurs arsenaux respectifs un nouveau type de #sous-marin d’attaque à propulsion nucléaire (SNA). La série est baptisée SNN Aukus, comme l’alliance #Australie- UK- USA. En attendant les premiers lancements, prévus pour 2040, les États-Unis fourniront, sous deux ans, trois voire cinq SNA à la marine australienne. Le #budget officiel de ce programme dépasse les 200 milliards de dollars.
En plus de la montée en puissance navale, #Aukus marque l’intégration de plus en plus poussée dans la marine américaine des marines britannique et australienne, de leurs arsenaux et de leurs équipages. Le projet comprend aussi des groupes de recherche dans des domaines intéressant l’armement, depuis les missiles hypersoniques jusqu’aux ordinateurs quantiques nécessaires pour la guerre de l’espace. La marine japonaise, déjà en partie équipée par les États Unis et coordonnée avec eux, ne devrait pas tarder à rejoindre cette alliance évidemment dirigée contre la Chine.
Pour justifier ce programme guerrier les porte-parole officiels et officieux de l’#impérialisme américain montent en épingle la menace chinoise. Cela va du ridicule, comme l’interdiction du réseau social pour ados Tik-Tok, au terrifiant, en affirmant que la flotte chinoise serait désormais la plus puissante au monde.
La flotte chinoise, si l’on compte tous ses bâtiments jusqu’à la plus modeste vedette des douanes, est certes la plus nombreuse. Mais la #flotte_américaine, sans même intégrer Aukus, l’Otan et les autres alliés, reste de très loin la plus puissante. Les États-Unis détiennent 14 sous-marins nucléaires lanceurs d’engins à tête nucléaire, alors que la #Chine en a sept. Et, surtout, ils arment 50 SNA soit la moitié de ceux en service actuellement dans le monde, alors que la Chine en a neuf. Enfin, un seul des onze #porte-avions américains, les plus gros, les plus rapides, les plus armés et les seuls dotés de catapultes, est plus écrasant et plus coûteux que les trois porte-avions chinois réunis.
Aujourd’hui le programme naval Aukus est une garantie de bénéfices considérables pour des marchands de canons américains déjà multimilliardaires et, exceptionnellement, une fleur pour leur confrère britannique #BAE_Systems. Par la constitution d’une force navale intégrée, c’est aussi l’indication des camps d’un futur conflit général qui se dessinent et se préparent techniquement. Loin de défendre la paix, l’impérialisme promet la #guerre.
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Chine-États-Unis : préparatifs guerriers
►https://journal.lutte-ouvriere.org/2023/04/12/chine-etats-unis-preparatifs-guerriers_609617.html
(#archiveLO, 12 avril 2023)Entre le samedi 8 avril et le dimanche 10, l’armée chinoise a déployé autour de Taïwan onze bateaux de guerre et plus de 70 avions, simulant l’encerclement de l’île ainsi que son bombardement. La Chine répondait ainsi à la visite en Californie de la présidente de Taïwan, Tsai Ing-wen.
Cette visite, le 5 avril, s’inscrit dans la préparation de l’élection présidentielle taïwanaise de janvier 2024, une campagne que Tsai Ing-wen mène pour le compte de son parti, le DPP. Son escale américaine lui aura permis de se donner une stature internationale. Elle a salué le soutien indéfectible des États-Unis et de Kevin McCarthy, président de la Chambre des représentants américains, qui en a profité pour appeler son pays à continuer à vendre des armes à Taïwan. Les uns comme les autres espèrent ainsi enrayer la perte de vitesse du DPP sur l’île et justifier auprès de la population taïwanaise la nécessité de l’indépendance, alors qu’une partie grandissante semble en douter, si l’on en croit la défaite que le DPP a subie aux élections locales de novembre dernier au profit de son concurrent, le KMT, qui défend une ligne de statu quo, voire de rapprochement avec Pékin.
Les dirigeants du DPP et les dirigeants américains ont sans doute estimé que la réaction militaire du gouvernement chinois, s’il y en avait une, légitimerait aussi la position du DPP. Cette réaction était en effet prévisible et sans aucun doute prévue. En août 2022, la visite à Taïwan de Nancy Pelosi, qui occupait alors la même fonction que McCarthy, avait provoqué des manœuvres de plus grande ampleur encore. Alors que le gouvernement de Pékin affirme depuis toujours que Taïwan fait partie de la Chine et que son indépendance formelle est un motif de guerre, les États-Unis et le DPP, avec ces contacts d’officiels au plus haut niveau, font monter la pression. Ils savent pertinemment que le gouvernement chinois ne peut pas ne pas répondre.
L’armée chinoise s’est ainsi déployée pendant trois jours, simulant l’encerclement et le bombardement de l’île, faisant franchir à plusieurs dizaines de ses avions la ligne médiane du détroit de Taïwan, et mettant en œuvre son dernier porte-avions, le Shandong, qui navigue dans la zone à environ 370 km à l’est de l’île. L’armée chinoise a également annoncé que les manœuvres autour de Taïwan seraient prolongées par d’autres jusqu’au 20 avril au large du Fujian, dans le détroit de Taïwan. Les États-Unis, dont une partie de la flotte est en permanence sur zone, le porte-avions américain Nimitz en particulier se trouvant à proximité, en ont profité pour observer les capacités militaires de la marine chinoise et pour montrer à leur tour leur présence et leur puissance. Ils ont ainsi déployé le 9 avril un destroyer en mer de Chine méridionale, un peu au sud de Taïwan, dans une opération dite de liberté de navigation, consistant à croiser à proximité des îles que les Chinois se sont appropriées. Et mardi 11 avril, ils ont entamé leurs exercices militaires annuels conjoints avec les Philippines en mobilisant au total 18 000 soldats, deux fois plus qu’en 2022.
Les dirigeants taïwanais et américains préparent les esprits à la guerre. Les dirigeants chinois ne sont pas en reste. Taïwan et ses 23 millions d’habitants deviennent ainsi l’enjeu d’un affrontement qui les dépasse.
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[Les #quenouilles] #flottement
▻https://www.radiopanik.org/emissions/les-quenouilles/flottementLe mot du jour, c’est FLOTTEMENT
flottement
n. m.
Balancement, mouvement d’ondulation.
Hésitation, indécision.
Comlme le sillfle en crolle Quenouille Blister fleg, qui s’y flotte s’effrite. Entre deux injonstion à la rentabilité, on se laisse flotter à plein dans le studio 2 chaud comme un oeuf.
Le duo Z&T nous explique combien elles aiment profiter des moments d’entre deux pour dégomer le patriarcat à coup de textes de feu.
Et on se balade tranquilou entre « Les fantômes sont des piétons comme les autres » Aliette Griz, « Au bonheur des morts » de Vincianne Despret coincé dans la bibliothèque de Quenouille Margaux, les poèmes de Babouillec, une listes de mots, un morceau de « Thésaurus de l’Immensité » , des rires complices,les mots-musique des Chronique de l’inutile, une berceuse, des micros (...)
#poésie #slam #lenteur #sève_qui_remonte #coudes_serrés #poésie,slam,quenouilles,lenteur,flottement,sève_qui_remonte,coudes_serrés
▻https://www.radiopanik.org/media/sounds/les-quenouilles/flottement_15633__1.mp3 -
#Home_Office planning to house asylum seekers on disused cruise ships
Exclusive: Ministers facing growing anger from Tory backbenchers over use of hotels in their constituencies
The Home Office is planning to use disused cruise ships to house asylum seekers amid growing anger from Conservative backbenchers over the use of hotels in their constituencies.
Ministers are looking at possible vessels including a former cruise ship from Indonesia, which would be moored in south-west England, the Guardian understands.
During the Conservative leadership campaign last summer, Rishi Sunak proposed putting illegal immigrants on cruise ships moored around the country but was warned it could be illegal under the Human Rights Act and the European convention on human rights.
Downing Street confirmed he had dropped the idea to use the ships to house asylum seekers, which critics said would amount to arbitrary detention, once he became prime minister last October.
Sources suggested, however, that the cruise ships could be registered as hotels rather than detention centres to get around possible legal challenges.
The immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, is due to make an announcement on Wednesday regarding asylum accommodation amid speculation that it will include the use of boats and military barracks. It could also disclose plans to make use of a clause in the levelling up bill to force councils to accept large-scale accommodation for those seeking asylum.
Multiple reports on Tuesday night suggested a plan to house asylum seekers on giant barges normally used for offshore construction projects could also be announced.
The barges are built to house hundreds of people, although a government source told the Times that plans were at an “early stage” and had significant practical issues that needed to be addressed.
The disclosure comes as the Home Office admitted nearly 400 hotels across the country were being used to accommodate more than 51,000 people at a reported cost of more than £6m a day.
Sunak is under pressure to come up with alternatives as Conservative MPs, including members of his own cabinet, object to plans to move some people from hotels into former military bases.
Suella Braverman, the home secretary, is expected to announce alternatives to hotel accommodation as soon as this week. They are expected to be used for new arrivals initially, rather than to rehouse people who are in hotels.
The prime minister managed to face down a potentially big rebellion on Monday as up to 60 Tory MPs attempted to amend the new illegal migration bill by giving UK courts the power to ignore rulings by Strasbourg judges.
Whitehall sources confirmed that the government had “in recent months” examined plans including using cruise ships from across the world, which could be brought to the UK and then used to house asylum seekers.
The ships would be moored off the coast, emulating an approach by the Scottish government, which housed Ukrainian refugees in two 700-cabin ships. They were docked in Glasgow and Edinburgh and could hold 1,750 people each.
Braverman said she would not rule out the use of former cruise ships when questioned in December by a House of Lords committee. “We will bring forward a range of alternative sites, they will include disused holiday parks, former student halls – I should say we are looking at those sites – I wouldn’t say anything is confirmed yet.
“But we need to bring forward thousands of places, and when you talk about vessels all I can say is – because we are in discussion with a wide variety of providers – that everything is still on the table and nothing is excluded,” she said.
It comes amid a Tory backlash over hotels in constituencies being used to house asylum seekers.
Ministers had also drawn up plans to use two military bases that were identified to house asylum seekers earlier this year – RAF Scampton, the Dambusters’ base in Lincolnshire, and MDP Wethersfield in Braintree, Essex. But they are facing opposition from local Conservative politicians. Council leaders in Braintree are taking legal action to stop up to 5,000 people being moved to the site over the space of a year.
James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, who is the local MP, wrote on his Facebook page that Wethersfield was inappropriate as an asylum camp because of “the remote nature of the site, limited transport infrastructure and narrow road network”.
The local council in Scampton is seeking listed status for the Lincolnshire base, while historians and RAF veterans have written to the government asking for the plans to be halted.
One government source, asked about the possible use of cruise ships, said ministers were working to end the use of hotels and bring forward a range of alternative sites for longer-term accommodation. But they would not discuss details of individual sites or proposals that could be used for bridging or asylum accommodation.
A government spokesperson said: “We have always been upfront about the unprecedented pressure being placed on our asylum system, brought about by a significant increase in dangerous and illegal journeys into the country.
“We continue to work across government and with local authorities to identify a range of accommodation options. The government remains committed to engaging with local authorities and key stakeholders as part of this process.”
▻https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/28/home-office-planning-to-house-asylum-seekers-on-disused-cruise-ships
#hébergement #asile #réfugiés #migrations #bateaux #bateaux_de_croisière #bateau_de_croisière #Angleterre #UK–—
ajouté à la métaliste sur la Bibby Stockholm :
►https://seenthis.net/messages/1016683ajouté à la métaliste #migrations et #tourisme :
►https://seenthis.net/messages/770799-
Air force bases set to be used to house migrants as ministers hunt for cheaper alternatives to hotels
The Government are reportedly also considering a former cruise ship from Indonesia, which would be moored in south-west England, as a possible site
Migrants will be housed at two air force bases in a bid to cut down on the use of hotels and deter people from crossing the Channel on small boats, the immigration minister is expected to announce on Wednesday.
#RAF_Scampton in Lincolnshire, the former home of the Dambusters and Red Arrows, and #RAF_Wethersfield in Essex are expected to be among the accommodation sites for asylum seekers confirmed by Robert Jenrick, despite local opposition.
The announcement is being made with the aim of ending the use of hotels for migrants – a pledge the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has made. More than 51,000 people are being housed in 395 hotels, according to the BBC, at an estimated cost of £5.6m a day. Holiday parks and student halls are not expected to be included on the initial list of new sites.
The Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, has found himself at odds with his own government over plans to house asylum seekers at RAF Wethersfield, which is in his constituency.
Braintree District Council is taking legal action against the Home Office in an attempt to secure an injunction against plans to house 1,500 migrants at RAF #Wethersfield.
Veteran Tory MP Sir Edward Leigh has meanwhile raised concerns that using RAF Scampton to house asylum seekers could put at risk a £300 million investment plan for the site.
A plan to turn a former RAF base in Linton-on-Ouse, in the constituency of Mr Sunak’s close ally Kevin Hollinrake, into a processing centre for asylum seekers, was meanwhile ditched under Liz Truss.
During the Tory leadership contest last summer, the Prime Minister pledged to use “cruise ships” as part of efforts to “end the farce of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money being spent every day on housing illegal migrants in hotels”.
Downing Street did not respond to a question on whether that meant the prospect of using cruise ships has now been shelved.
The Guardian reports that the Government was considering a former cruise ship from Indonesia, which would be moored in south-west England, as a possible site.
According to The Sun, an announcement on nautical accommodation will be made in the coming days.
There are reports ministers are said to be considering obtaining accommodation barges – typically used for offshore construction projects with only basic facilities – which could house hundreds of migrants who are currently in hotels.
The plan is at an “early stage”, The Times reported, with ministers not yet decided on where the barge or barges will be stationed, though they are expected to be stationed at port, rather than at sea.
A source told The Times the Government was aware of “significant practical issues” with these vessels, and it was not clear how safety would be dealt with, though a source told the newspaper: “It’s a row we’re prepared to have.”
The Government is said to be keen on the idea as a way to discourage people from crossing the Channel and is pointing to countries like France housing refugees in floating vessels.
Meanwhile, right-wing Tory rebel Jonathan Gullis said it would be “perfectly acceptable” to house asylum seekers in tents while they await for deportation, amid concerns about the cost of hotels.
During a debate on the Illegal Migration Bill, ministers were also urged to give “serious assurances” they will not return to the “barbaric days” of detaining children in immigration centres.
Conservative former minister Tim Loughton led calls for the Government to confirm it would not place migrant children in indefinite detention if they come to the UK by unauthorised means.
Centrist Tories were joined by MPs from across the political spectrum who are worried that a coalition government-era policy not to detain children could be overturned.
The announcement comes after months of pressure from Tory MPs over the use of hotels for asylum seekers, at a cost of £5.6m a day.
But it will also be a test of the Government’s ability to override local opposition to build new asylum sites.
Plans for alternative sites have however triggered a backlash from some Tory MPs over now-abandoned plans to house asylum seekers in Pontins holiday parks in Southport and Camber Sands.
▻https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/rishi-sunak-plan-house-asylum-seekers-cruise-ships-shelved-for-now-2239548
#bases_aériennes #Scampton -
Au Royaume-Uni, des #barges pour parquer les réfugiés qui traversent la Manche
Le gouvernement britannique multiplie les annonces censées dissuader les migrants de traverser. La dernière innovation prévoit d’installer les demandeurs d’asile sur d’anciennes embarcations, dans les ports, le temps de leur procédure. Le premier ministre se targue d’avoir déjà fait baisser le nombre de passages depuis la France.
LeLe feuilleton au Royaume-Uni se poursuit. Les exilé·es, qui en sont les actrices et acteurs principaux, ne sont pour autant jamais consulté·es. On parle d’elles et d’eux comme des « indésirables » qu’il faudrait éloigner, tantôt en usant de machines capables de générer des vagues en mer, tantôt en les parquant sur des ferrys hors d’usage en mer.
Il y a eu ensuite l’accord non officiel signé entre le Royaume-Uni et le Rwanda, visant à acter le projet de sous-traitance des demandes d’asile à un pays tiers. Un accord décrié et vivement critiqué par les membres de la société civile, mais aussi des chercheurs et chercheuses, qui soulignaient combien cette externalisation venait saboter le droit d’asile.
Faute de pouvoir encore les envoyer au Rwanda – l’accord a fait l’objet d’un recours devant la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme (CEDH), puis devant la justice britannique fin 2022 –, le gouvernement a décidé plus récemment d’installer une barge au sud-ouest du pays pour y parquer les demandeurs et demandeuses d’asile qui parviendraient à rejoindre le Royaume-Uni de manière irrégulière.
L’objectif ? Dissuader les personnes exilées de tenter la traversée de la Manche, alors que le nombre de traversées n’a jamais été aussi élevé en 2022, et qu’un terrible naufrage survenu le 24 novembre 2021 ayant coûté la vie à au moins 27 migrant·es est venu souligner les défaillances du secours en mer.
Satisfait des résultats de son « plan », le premier ministre britannique, Rishi Sunak, a annoncé l’installation de deux nouvelles barges pour l’accueil de demandeurs et demandeuses d’asile, d’une capacité de 500 personnes chacune, d’ici cet été. Le gouvernement entend ainsi réduire de moitié la facture correspondant à l’hébergement des migrant·es dans les hôtels du pays, qui s’élèverait à 6 millions de livres (soit environ 7 millions d’euros) par jour.
Un « plan » qui fonctionnerait déjàLa toute première barge, baptisée Bibby Stockholm, a fait l’objet d’une rénovation à Falmouth et sera installée au port de Portland, une petite île située au sud-ouest de Londres. Elle devrait accueillir 500 personnes pour un total de 200 chambres, et sera surveillée en permanence dans l’objectif de préserver la population locale, avancent les autorités.
La barge aurait coûté, selon le journal The Times, près de 20 000 livres (soit 23 000 euros), et le dispositif coûterait « nettement moins cher que les hôtels », a affirmé Rishi Sunak. La ministre de l’intérieur britannique, Suella Braverman, avait déjà affirmé le souhait de freiner l’hébergement des demandeurs et demandeuses d’asile dans les hôtels, compte tenu du coût que cela engendrait « pour le contribuable ».
Le 5 juin, le premier ministre a tenu un discours particulièrement dur à leur endroit, renvoyant dos à dos les difficultés économiques rencontrées par les Britanniques dans un contexte d’inflation et le coût de l’accueil des migrant·es.
« Notre plan commence à fonctionner. Avant que l’on ne le mette en place en décembre, le nombre de personnes ayant traversé illégalement la Manche avait quadruplé en deux ans. Mais en cinq mois, les traversées ont baissé de 20 % par rapport à l’an dernier », a-t-il rassuré. Ce serait la première fois, insiste Rishi Sunak, qu’une baisse des arrivées serait observée sur la période de janvier à mai.
« Je ne me reposerai pas tant que les bateaux ne sont pas stoppés », a-t-il poursuivi, indiquant utiliser « tous les outils à disposition » ; à commencer par la diplomatie, puisque le partenariat avec la France aurait permis d’empêcher 33 000 traversées en 2022, soit une hausse de 40 % des interceptions.
L’accord signé avec l’Albanie en décembre dernier, pour réduire les migrations depuis « un pays sûr, européen », aurait lui aussi porté ses fruits. Alors que les Albanais·es représentaient un tiers des arrivées en small boats (lire nos reportages ici et là), Rishi Sunak se vante d’avoir ainsi fait baisser ce chiffre de près de 90 %, et d’avoir expulsé 1 800 ressortissant·es albanais·es en l’espace de six mois.
« C’est bien la preuve que notre stratégie de détermination peut fonctionner. Quand les gens savent qu’en venant ici illégalement, ils ne pourront pas rester, ils ne viennent plus. »
Pour « sortir » les demandeurs et demandeuses d’asile du schéma classique d’hébergement dans les hôtels, le gouvernement compte par ailleurs se servir de lieux « alternatifs », comme des bases militaires situées à Wethersfield et à Scampton, où des centaines de personnes devraient être transférées d’ici à cet été, et 3 000 d’ici à l’automne. Celles et ceux restant dans les hôtels pourront être amenés à partager une même chambre avec plusieurs personnes, « lorsque c’est approprié ».
L’externalisation toujours d’actualité« Et je dis à ces migrants qui protestent : ceci est plus que juste. Si vous venez ici illégalement, en quête d’une protection après avoir fui la mort, la torture ou la persécution, alors vous devriez pouvoir partager une chambre d’hôtel, payée par le contribuable, dans le centre de Londres. »
À l’avenir, le gouvernement britannique mise aussi sur la réforme de la loi sur l’immigration et espère, une fois tous les recours en justice « terminés », pouvoir mettre en pratique la nouvelle loi sur la migration, qui permettrait de placer en détention toute personne arrivée illégalement sur le territoire, avant de l’expulser, soit vers son pays d’origine, soit vers un pays tiers comme le Rwanda, avec lequel un accord a été signé en ce sens.
« Nous voulons que les choses soient claires, a martelé Rishi Sunak lors de son discours empli de fermeté. Je sais que ce sont des mesures difficiles. Et je ne m’en excuserai pas. »
Dans un rapport rendu public le 11 juin, le comité mixte des droits de l’homme du Parlement britannique a exhorté le gouvernement à « ne pas enfreindre ses obligations légales envers les réfugiés, les enfants et les victimes de l’esclavage moderne », et à « jouer son rôle dans le système international de protection des réfugiés ». Invitée à répondre aux questions des membres de ce comité, la ministre de l’intérieur n’a pas donné suite.
Le rapport final, qui contient une liste de recommandations telles que le respect effectif du droit d’asile ou du droit européen (comme les mesures de la CEDH), le non-recours à la détention des migrant·es et la protection des mineur·es non accompagné·es et autres publics vulnérables, appelle le gouvernement à répondre dans les deux mois.
Celui-ci n’y répondra sans doute pas, considérant que la lutte contre la « migration illégale » est une priorité urgente pour laquelle tous les moyens sont permis.
La société civile ne cesse de dire son inquiétude« Nous sommes profondément inquiets de voir que le gouvernement prévoit d’héberger un nombre grandissant de demandeurs d’asile dans des lieux totalement inadaptés à leurs besoins », avait dénoncé dans un tweet le Refugee Council, une organisation venant en aide aux personnes migrantes et réfugiées en Angleterre, réagissant à l’annonce de l’installation de la première barge.
Sans compter la portée symbolique associée au fait de loger des personnes ayant traversé la Manche – et potentiellement d’autres eaux – à bord d’une embarcation qui, bien qu’elle soit à quai, ne peut que raviver le souvenir d’un parcours migratoire souvent dangereux et des vies que la mer emporte régulièrement, quand elle ne renforce pas le sentiment d’insécurité lié à une potentielle expulsion.
Le Royaume-Uni a finalement réinventé le concept de « zone d’attente », mais pour les demandeurs et demandeuses d’asile. Reste à savoir dans quelle mesure leur liberté de circulation sera respectée ou non.
Si le gouvernement britannique assure que la portée dissuasive de son discours et de ses mesures « fonctionne », il serait bon de se pencher sur les résultats concrets d’une telle politique, qui pousse les personnes exilées à davantage de précarité : celles qui n’osent effectivement plus tenter la traversée n’ont que la perspective des camps et de la rue pour horizon, à l’heure où l’État maintient une politique « zéro point de fixation » pour éviter que la jungle de Calais ne se reforme et où l’accueil des migrant·es est toujours plus décousu.
Celles qui tentent toutefois de rejoindre le Royaume-Uni en small boat prennent de plus en plus de risques, partant désormais de communes plus éloignées des côtes anglaises pour éviter les contrôles et patrouilles des forces de l’ordre, dont les effectifs sont particulièrement présents aux abords des plages servant de points de départ.
L’association Utopia 56, très présente sur le littoral pour venir en aide aux exilé·es, n’a d’ailleurs pas tardé à réagir aux annonces de Rishi Sunak. « Pourtant, ces quatre derniers jours, 1 519 personnes ont traversé la Manche et nos équipes ont reçu douze appels d’embarcations en détresse. Rishi Sunak, Gérald Darmanin, malgré les effets d’annonce, vos politiques violentes ne mènent à rien, sinon à pousser les personnes à risquer leur vie », a tweeté l’organisation le 14 juin.
▻https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/160623/au-royaume-uni-des-barges-pour-parquer-les-refugies-qui-traversent-la-manc
#Bibby_Stockholm -
Government quietly awards travel firm £1.6bn contract for asylum barges and accommodation
Fury over astonishing sum to operate barges and run services to house asylum seekers in Britain
An Australian travel firm previously slammed for its handling of Covid quarantine hotels has been quietly handed a £1.6bn contract covering the UK’s new asylum accommodation ships, The Independent can reveal.
#Corporate_Travel_Management (#CTM) was put in charge of the lucrative two-year arrangement in February, weeks before the government revealed it would use a barge as its first offshore accommodation for asylum seekers.
The contract was awarded directly to CTM without competition, and a lawyer with knowledge of the system said the government had pushed a wider deal originally drawn up for official travel “beyond what it was intended to be used for”.
Ministers have repeatedly refused to detail the projected cost of Rishi Sunak’s controversial asylum vessels, while insisting they will be cheaper than using hotels that are currently costing £6m a day.
This week, Suella Braverman told parliament’s Home Affairs Committee she could not predict the cost of the new Illegal Migration Bill, because there are “many unknown factors”.
Three vessels so far have been announced, with a barge named the “Bibby Stockholm” due to arrive in Portland, Dorset later this month and a further two ships set for undisclosed locations.
Richard Drax, the Conservative MP for South Dorset, said the public “should know how much is being paid” on the barge set-up and said the spending he was aware of so far was “alarmingly high”.
“The point is this is taxpayers’ money,” he told The Independent. “This contract might actually be separate to what the ports are being paid.
“Then on top of that, the police want money, the health authority wants money, of course the council wants money, and yet the government continues to insist that this is cheaper than hotels. The overall figure will be alarmingly high.”
Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, said the Home Office has “serious questions to answer”.
“The Tories are spending more and more taxpayers’ money on their total failure to fix the asylum backlog they have created,” she added.
“This is an incredibly expensive contract with no clarity on whether proper procedures have been followed, and the barges come on top of costly hotels, not instead of them, because of the government failure to take asylum decisions or get any grip.”
The CTM contract, published under the title “provision of bridging accommodation and travel services”, states that it has an estimated value of £1,593,535,200 over two years and could be extended beyond 2025.
The Home Office refused to answer The Independent’s questions on what portion of the contract covers barges, and parts of official documents headed “pricing details” have been redacted in full because of “commercial interests”.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “This murky contract leaves taxpayers in the dark. The migrant crisis may require an urgent response, but bungled procurement has cost a fortune in recent years.
“Ministers must ensure transparency and value for money when tendering services.”
Answering a parliamentary question on the Bibby Stockholm in May, immigration minister Robert Jenrick said it would be managed “by a specialist and experienced provider, which has a strong track record of providing this kind of accommodation”. He added that the provider had “managed two vessels [housing Ukrainian refugees] in Scottish ports for the past year”.
On its website, CTM describes itself as “a global provider of innovative and cost-effective travel solutions spanning corporate, events, leisure, loyalty and wholesale travel”.
The firm says it was established in Brisbane in 1994 and has since grown from a “two-person start-up into one of the world’s most successful travel management companies”, operating across Australasia, Asia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It has two UK offices in London and Manchester.
The firm’s most recent financial report hailed record profits, having taken A$292m (£160m) in revenue over the last six months of 2022.
A notice to its shareholders celebrated the new contract’s “significant impact” on financial growth, adding: “This work involves highly complex services and logistic support… CTM has both the experience and specialised knowledge to support this work.”
The government placed the new barges under a pre-existing agreement with CTM for “travel and venue solutions”, which previously covered official bookings for conferences, flights, train tickets, hotels and vehicle hire for ministers and civil servants.
A source familiar with the drawing up of the overarching framework accused the government of “pushing the scope beyond what it was intended to be used for”.
“If products and services are outside scope there’s a procurement failure and the contract has been awarded without following the rules,” they told The Independent. “It doesn’t look like the right vehicle for this kind of contract and it looks like they’ve done it to minimise visibility.”
The remit of CTM’s government work was widened during the pandemic and its general manager for northern England, Michael Healy, was made an OBE in the 2021 New Year honours list over the repatriation of British nationals stranded abroad during the Covid pandemic.
A report by parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee found that the operation was “too slow and placed too much reliance on commercial providers”, but CTM was then handed a contract for operating quarantine hotels and mandatory testing.
In a series of angry Google reviews that dragged the company’s rating down to 1.4 stars, one person called CTM “incompetent”, while another wrote: “Shame on the Tory government UK, on whoever decided to give them this contract.”
Several MPs raised their constituents’ poor experiences in parliament, with one presenting a formal petition demanding compensation and saying the way the contract was awarded “avoided due process or competition”.
CTM was later involved in operations to transport Afghans and Ukrainians to the UK, and operated two cruise ships used to temporarily house Ukrainian refugees in Scotland.
That contract, which was also awarded without competition under the same framework as the new barges, covered two ships and hotels, and had an estimated value of £100m.
CTM declined to comment and did not answer The Independent’s request for details of what the contract covered.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The pressure on the asylum system has continued to grow and requires us to look at a range of accommodation options, which offer better value for money for taxpayers than hotels. It is right that we explore all available options.
“CTM was awarded the contract to deliver accommodation for the Home Office after an extensive procurement process and has a strong track record of providing this kind of accommodation.
“We are pleased that they will be providing management for Bibby Stockholm, the two additional vessels announced by the prime minister, as well as bridging accommodation and travel services.”
▻https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/barge-australia-asylum-contract-travel-b2354578.html
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I #flotels, l’ultima controversa soluzione abitativa per ospitare i richiedenti asilo in Gran Bretagna
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/1008172 -
Le “prigioni galleggianti”: il nuovo piano del Regno Unito per la prima accoglienza
L’intervista a Tigs Louis-Puttick, fondatrice dell’ONG Reclaim The Sea, arrestata nei giorni scorsi durante una protesta
Fanno discutere in UK, e non solo, le “prigioni galleggianti” volute fortemente dal primo ministro britannico Rishi Sunak e il ministro dell’Interno Suella Braverman. Una misura per risparmiare sul costo della prima accoglienza che ora prevede la sistemazione in albergo dei richiedenti asilo.
“Bibby Stockholm” è il nome della chiatta marittima che per i prossimi 18 mesi sarà utilizzata dal governo britannico per “ospitare” fino a 506 richiedenti asilo uomini, tra i 18 e i 56 anni, in attesa che si concluda l’iter della domanda di accoglienza nel Paese.
Abbiamo parlato del nuovo piano del governo britannico e della campagna “No floating prisons” in questa intervista a Tigs Louis-Puttick, fondatrice dell’ONG Reclaim The Sea. L’attivista il 18 luglio scorso è stata arrestata «per essermi fermata in strada davanti al Ministero degli Interni con un cartello che diceva ‘Refugees Welcome’ e ‘No all’Immigration Bill, No Floating Prisons‘», ha dichiarato Tigs Louis-Puttick 1.
Nello stesso giorno la “Bibby Stockholm” attraccava nel porto di Portland.
https://www.meltingpot.org/app/uploads/2023/07/untitled-1-3.jpg 
https://www.meltingpot.org/app/uploads/2023/07/F1Tti7NWAAA2whN.jpeg Il nuovo piano del governo britannico prevede la prima accoglienza di 500 persone richiedenti asilo in una gigantesca chiatta-alloggio ancorata in un porto nel Canale della Manica, violando la libertà di movimento e il diritto alla privacy.
Il 5 aprile 2023 l’Ufficio degli Interni britannico (Home Office) ha annunciato l’avvio di un piano per “accogliere” le persone migranti su una gigantesca chiatta-alloggio (la Bibby Stockhom), che giacerà all’interno del porto dell’isola di Portland, nel Canale della Manica. Secondo quanto dichiarato, la decisione è stata presa per “(…) ridurre l’insostenibile pressione sul sistema d’asilo britannico e ridurre l’onere economico che pesa sui contribuenti, causato dall’aumento significativo degli attraversamenti del Canale della Manica” 2. Da quanto emerge dalle dichiarazioni ufficiali dell’Home Office, la Bibby Stockholm diventerà operativa da luglio per un periodo iniziale di 18 mesi, e ospiterà fino a 500 richiedenti asilo uomini, tra i 18 e i 65 anni. La chiatta giacerà in un’area cosiddetta “protetta” del porto, da dove sarà possibile uscire e accedere al centro abitato solamente tramite un servizio autobus dedicato. A bordo, sarà presente un servizio di lavanderia, un catering per i pasti e degli spazi comuni. Sebbene sarà permesso scendere e accedere terra ferma, al momento, per gli ospiti, non è prevista l’erogazione di alcun servizio relativo all’accoglienza al di fuori del porto 3.
È più che evidente come, l’Home Office miri alla limitazione della libertà di movimento delle persone migranti, riducendola ai minimi termini. Secondo quanto stimato da The Independent lo spazio che ogni persona avrà a disposizione sulla chiatta sarà di appena 15 metri quadri, “la misura di un posto auto”.
Richard Drax, esponente del partito Conservatore britannico, l’ha definita una “quasi-prigione”, dove le persone saranno lasciate “sedute a girarsi i pollici”. Secondo James Wilson, direttore dell’organizzazione Detention Action (che fornisce supporto all’interno dei centri di detenzione per l’immigrazione illegale), non è che “(…) una chiatta angusta e simile ad una prigione” 4. E, a ragion del vero, è lo stesso Home Office, in diverse dichiarazioni ufficiali, a dichiarare esplicitamente la propria intenzione di “minimizzare l’impatto sulle comunità locali”, come dichiarato nel comunicato stampa del 5 aprile 2023, e ribadito, a più riprese nella Scheda Informativa disponibile sul proprio sito ufficiale.
Di fronte all’ennesimo scenario di un sistema d’accoglienza sempre più restrittivo e non curante dei diritti delle persone richiedenti asilo, c’è chi non è rimasto indifferente e, anzi, ha dato il via ad una vera e propria lotta per i diritti delle persone migranti. In un’intervista per Melting Pot, parla Tigs Louis-Puttick, fondatrice dell’ONG Reclaim The Sea, che, fornendo lezioni di nuoto e surf alle persone migranti, ha l’obiettivo di accrescere la loro qualità di vita, e aiutarle trasformare il mare da un evento traumatico a uno spazio di libertà e guarigione. A maggio, Reclaimthesea ha redatto una lettera aperta a Suella Braverman, Segretaria di Stato per gli Affari Interni, domandando l’abbandono del progetto, firmata da 706 individui e 91 organizzazioni e collettivi, tra cui Medici Senza Frontiere UK e Sea-Watch. Lo scorso 21 maggio, insieme all’ONG Europe Must Act, Reclaimthesea ha guidato una protesta di fronte all’Home Office, e dato il via alla campagna “No floating prisons” (No alle prigioni galleggianti), che comprende una serie attività ed eventi di protesta e sensibilizzazione.
▻https://twitter.com/Reclaim_The_Sea/status/1657692409671630849
«Abbiamo deciso di chiamare la campagna di protesta No floating prisons per l’approccio generale che ne rispecchia il carattere di questi luoghi. L’attuale processo di ristrutturazione della chiatta prevede l’aumento dei posti da 220 a 500, il che vorrà dire stipare le persone in pochissimo spazio, violando la loro privacy e il diritto allo spazio personale. Il piano è che, direttamente al loro arrivo, le persone saranno sistemate sulla chiatta, che pare non sarà nemmeno attraccata alla terraferma. Inoltre, Portland è un porto chiuso, recintato, non si può entrare ed uscire liberamente. Le autorità potrebbero arbitrariamente decidere di negare il permesso a lasciare il porto e, siccome è un porto privato, non abbiamo controllo sulle decisioni delle autorità, ne possiamo essere certi che daranno informazioni».
Sui rischi delle prigioni galleggianti, Tigs dice: «La quasi totalità delle persone migranti presenti nel Regno Unito, hanno dovuto affrontare un attraversamento in mare, che sia dalla Libia all’Italia, dalla Turchia alla Grecia o il Canale della Manica. Molti di loro, hanno vissuto qualche tipo di trauma legato al mare. Per ciò, l’idea di farli stare ancora in una barca equivale letteralmente a relegarli nel reale, fisico luogo del trauma. Inoltre, solo il 25% degli uomini e il 18% delle donne provenienti dall’Africa Orientale (area di provenienza di molti dei richiedenti asilo nel Regno Unito) sa nuotare. Dunque, se per qualsiasi motivo qualcuno dovesse cadere in acqua dalla barca o dal molo, rischierebbe seriamente la morte, anche per via delle temperature gelide. Infine, molti hanno vissuto momenti di prigionia nei loro paesi d’origine o nei paesi transito. Arrivano qui e ciò che li aspetta è praticamente un’altra prigione».
La preoccupazione delle prigioni galleggianti è anche legata all’accordo tra Regno Unito e Rwanda, che prevede la ricollocazione permanente dei richiedenti asilo arrivati irregolarmente nel Regno Unito al Rwanda, affinché la loro domanda d’asilo venga esaminata lì 5. «E’ sostanzialmente una sala d’attesa per chi sarà portato in Rwanda, che non è un paese sicuro, poiché ci sono già tantissimi rifugiati e poche risorse. Come si può pensare di portare qualcuno, che per esempio viene dall’Afghanistan, in Rwanda? Cosa faranno lì? Tutto ciò è solo un’esternalizzazione in stile coloniale delle responsabilità del Regno Unito verso il diritto all’ asilo. Ci preoccupa davvero il fatto che queste persone, possano essere spinte al suicidio, perché capiranno che stanno aspettando solo di essere deportate».
Infine, secondo Tigs «ciò che sta facendo il Regno Unito fa parte di una tendenza più ampia che sta nascendo in Europa, copiata da Grecia e Italia, quando tenevano le persone in quarantena su una nave durante la pandemia. Nel 2021 ho preso parte ad una missione di soccorso con Sea Watch, siamo arrivati al porto di Trapani con 200 persone a bordo, dopo 12 giorni di navigazione, e un’enorme nave ci stava aspettando, per trasferire le persone dalla nostra imbarcazione. Le persone non volevano andare. Volevano scendere a terra. Avevano paura di cosa avrebbero trovato, di restare in acqua, di sentirsi male».
In conclusione, sebbene sia la prima volta che il Regno Unito decida di adottare un sistema del genere, tenere le persone migranti il più possibile segregate rispetto alla popolazione locale, riducendo il loro spazio vitale al minimo, operare a risparmio sull’accoglienza ed esternalizzare le frontiere non rappresenta alcuna novità. Al contrario, è solo l’ennesimo triste passo verso una tendenza consolidata, dei democraticissimi stati europei, di lavarsi le mani dal dovere di salvare vite umane, accogliere, e rispettare il diritto all’asilo.
E’ possibile seguire la campagna e donare per sostenere la campagna contro le prigioni galleggianti e avviare un’azione legale contro lo stato britannico a questo link: ▻https://tr.ee/74EHZPD4rz .
▻https://www.meltingpot.org/2023/07/le-prigioni-galleggianti-il-nuovo-piano-del-regno-unito-per-la-prima-acc
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‘Cabins slightly larger than a prison cell’: life aboard the UK’s barge for asylum seekers
Home Office tour of asylum seeker Bibby Stockholm barge emphasises no-frills features including TVs that don’t work
Each two-person cabin in the Bibby Stockholm barge, which is set to start accommodating asylum seekers imminently, has a small flat-screen television screwed to the wall opposite the bunk beds. Residents will not, however, be able to watch them because they have not been wired to anything.
The timeline for the arrival of the first group of 50 asylum seekers has slipped from next week to “the coming weeks”, with the Home Office aiming to increase the number of occupants (or “service users”, as barge staff term them) to 500 by the autumn.
Organising tours for journalists on Friday of the 222-cabin barge moored in Portland Port, Dorset, presented government officials with a PR conundrum.
To underline that reliance on expensive hotel accommodation was being reduced, conditions needed to be shown to be less luxurious than hotels but not so austere that the barge could be classified as a floating prison.
Officials have refused to provide any detail about the figures behind their assertion that the barge accommodation will be considerably cheaper than hotel rooms.
When the facility finally opens, arrivals will make their way on to the barge via a gangplank, and through airport-style security. In line with the Home Office’s prevailing dislike of friendly murals and pictures, asylum seekers will be greeted by plain, undecorated walls, though a simple laminated A4 sheet stating “welcome” has been stuck on the wall of the reception room.
Windowless corridors, narrow enough to trail your fingers along both walls as you walk through them, circle the perimeter of the barge, with about 50 rooms on the long edges. Empty of inhabitants, the very confined space feels clean and cool, with an atmosphere vaguely reminiscent of a faded cross-Channel ferry.
Single-person cabins have been refitted with bunk beds to double the potential capacity of the vessel. Each cabin is slightly larger in size than a prison cell, a bit smaller than the most basic university accommodation, and is fitted with a shower and toilet, a cupboard, mirror, desk and (staff are keen to point this out as a positive feature) a window.
There was a subtle difference in approach taken by the Home Office employees giving tours to journalists and the representatives of the firm subcontracted to manage the barge.
Government officials were keen to emphasise the barge’s low-cost appeal, but staff working for the Miami-based Landry & Kling, which has been subcontracted by the Australian firm Corporate Travel Management (CTM) to run the vessel on behalf of the Home Office, wanted to highlight the “dignified” treatment that would be provided: a 24-hour snack bar, planned visits to local allotments, proposed walks and cycle trips for residents.
Joyce Landry, the firm’s cofounder, valiantly described the Bibby Stockholm in an interview earlier this week with the Herald as “actually quite lovely”.
In the centre of the barge there are two smallish outdoor areas where nets are soon to be installed to allow people to play volleyball or netball and possibly a very contracted form of football. There is a small gym with two running machines, and an education room with just eight seats.
“The thing that puts this vessel above many others is that every room has a window. You won’t feel claustrophobic. The windows open, unlike in some hotels. There’s enough public space to have a sense of freedom and openness,” said a Landry & Kling staff member.
The windows offer views of high metal fencing and naval works units. Whether or not residents, single men aged 18-65, who will be held here for up to nine months, will agree that there is a sense of freedom and openness is a moot point. Security staff are being trained to manage conflict on board.
In the street by the port’s entrance local protesters have been displaying their anger about the barge all week, with some furious at the arrival of large numbers of asylum seekers so close to the small tourist town, and others protesting that asylum seekers should not be held on barges at all.
Landry has spent the past three nights sleeping on the barge to experience conditions. A windy night prompted staff to request extra tethering to fix the barge to the shore.
Landry & Kling staff said the Home Office had requested that the TVs (previously used by construction workers recently accommodated on the barge) should not be wired up.
The Home Office staff said they wanted “to promote socialisation” by forcing people out of their rooms to watch television together in the two communal TV rooms.
But the presence of non-functioning TVs may also signal a determination by the Home Office to show that its latest solution for housing asylum seekers is merely “basic and functional” and will offer no frills to residents.
Before it housed oil and construction workers, the Bibby Stockholm was used in the 2000s by the Netherlands to house asylum seekers. An Amnesty report from 2008 documented the psychological trauma experienced by residents.
The rare Home Office tour of facilities was designed to showcase progress away from housing 51,000 asylum seekers in hotels at a cost of £6m a day to a cheaper alternative.
However, plans have only been laid out for alternative accommodation for 3,000 people who they now hope will be moved to new, ex-military facilities and the barge by the autumn.
▻https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jul/21/life-aboard-bibby-stockholm-asylum-seeker-barge-home-office-tour
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‘No timeframe’ on delayed opening of Bibby Stockholm asylum barge
Transport minister says barge in Portland going through final checks amid row over safety concerns
A UK government minister has said he “cannot put a timeframe” on when the Home Office will open a controversial giant barge meant to house asylum seekers, which has been further delayed for checks.
The initial plan had been to move people on to the Bibby Stockholm in Portland, Dorset, from this week, with numbers due to rise over the coming months until the vessel held about 500 men.
Asked on Sky News when the barge would be available, the transport minister Richard Holden said: “It’s going through its final checks at the moment. It’s right that … whatever accommodation we provide is safe and secure as well. I can’t put a timeframe on it.”
Asked if safety concerns were delaying the opening, he said: “It’s going through final checks at the moment. With anything you would want them to be properly checked out.”
The Guardian reported on Monday that the first asylum seekers were due to be moved onboard the vessel on Wednesday but that seems to have been delayed further with the minister now unwilling to put a timeframe on the move.
Asked if it would be delayed as long as the Rwanda policy had taken to implement, Holden added: “I can’t comment on the ongoing process of checks and things that have to take place but it is my understanding (it is) in its final checks.”
Fears had been expressed that the barge could become a “floating Grenfell” and endanger the lives of vulnerable people who have fled hardship and war as it has not received the relevant safety signoff.
About 40 claimants staying in other Home Office accommodation had received transfer letters saying they would be moved to the 222-cabin vessel in Dorset, Whitehall sources said.
More than 50 national organisations and campaigners, including the Refugee Council, Asylum Matters and Refugee Action, have called the government’s plan “cruel and inhumane”. They said the vessel was “entirely inappropriate” and would house traumatised migrants in “detention-like conditions”.
People are meanwhile expected to be moved this week on to another site that has become a focus for protest, the disused RAF base in Wethersfield, Essex.
Local people who attended an event convened by the Home Office in the village complained on Monday night of coming away even more frustrated because of what they said was a lack of answers.
“It was actually embarrassing. They didn’t pass a microphone around and it seemed to be really badly organised so people just ended up shouting to be heard,” said Michelle Chapman, of the Fields Association, a residents group involved in a campaign against the centre.
“It ended up being quite heated and people just came away feeling frustrated. If there was one answer it was a pledge that they would not bring in any more than 50 people in one go, but there is still confusion here and genuine anxiety.”
The meeting, held in the village hall, was addressed by senior police officers as well as Home Office officials. Local council officials were also present at the meeting, where Chapman said there was standing room only.
A Home Office spokesperson said that delivering accommodation on surplus military sites and vessels would provide cheaper and more suitable accommodation for those arriving in the UK in small boats.
They added: “The first asylum seekers have now been accommodated at Wethersfield and we are working with stakeholders on a carefully structured plan to increase the number staying there in a phased approach.”
▻https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/aug/01/no-timeframe-on-delayed-opening-of-bibby-stockholm-asylum-barge
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Transfer of asylum seekers to ‘floating coffin’ Bibby Stockholm postponed
Nicola David of campaign group One Life to Live documents the reasons why Bibby Stockholm is being recognised as a potential death trap
With the first asylum seekers due to step aboard Bibby Stockholm this week, the controversy surrounding the Home Office’s decision to contain people on the barge has further escalated. Serious safety questions are being raised about the barge’s setting, a berth at the Langham Industries-run Portland Port. As a direct consequence, the initial transfer of 40 vulnerable adults to Bibby Stockholm has been postponed. I calculate that delays to date have already cost the taxpayer over £3mn.
This is the first time that asylum seekers are to be contained on a barge in the UK, and the scheme is already mired in misery. There were significant delays in dry dock, where rotten sections of the hull needed replacing. And my report found that keeping people on the barge won’t cost less than in hotels, which is the crux of the Home Office’s strategy.
Now, I have found that the 47-year-old vessel has not yet passed fire safety checks, and there are grave concerns over serious and unresolved (and potentially unresolvable) safety and fire risks. There also appears to be confusion over which safety regulations will apply, given that the site straddles the sea and land and the engine-less vessel is effectively a hotel.
Clear evidence is emerging that the decision to transfer vulnerable adults onto Bibby Stockholm was premature at best – and potentially negligent at worst. And politically, if safety concerns require the Home Office to significantly reduce the number of people on board, the cost per head would be a humiliating blow to the prime minister and home secretary, who are counting on large-scale containment sites such as this to put an end to the daily asylum seeker hotel bill.
Bibby Stockholm: a disaster waiting to happenBibby Stockholm was designed to hold 222 people in single cabins, but was recently reconfigured to hold 506 asylum seekers in multiple-occupancy rooms along with 40 resident staff. A further 20 staff will live off the barge; with some of these on duty, around 550 people could be on board at any time.
This is 248% of the intended capacity – and more than the previous maximum of 472 asylum seekers held when the same vessel was used as an immigration detention centre in Rotterdam in 2005. I am also left wondering whether the barge’s insurers can have extended its cover to this permit this level of overcrowding, and whether they would refuse public liability claims for injury, death or damage from asylum seekers, staff or the port.
Asylum seekers sharing small cabins will have “less living space than an average parking bay”, according to the Independent. The mayor of Portland, Carralyn Parkes, measured the cabins and found that those for two people averaged “about 10ft by 12ft”. This could lead to serious problems with exiting rooms, using corridors, and accessing fire exits – and it is not clear whether there are sufficient fire exits for the new, higher population.
The width of the corridors on board is not publicly known, but following a tour of the barge the Guardian reported that they are “narrow enough to trail your fingers along both walls as you walk”. Given the excess numbers of people, this could result in deadly delays, bottlenecks, and trampling of fallen people.
Bibby Stockholm has three floors and all of the corridors are configured in the same way. There are no external windows in the corridors, and in an emergency – particularly if smoke and/or dim lighting affect visibility – it is easy to imagine that people might become disoriented or be unable to locate the bow, stern, port or starboard sides. This could cause delays and increase panic.
Factors that would impede escape
Asylum seekers may have prior injuries relating to war, conflict or persecution, or may sustain injuries as direct result of an incident on the barge. In 2005, when a fire broke out at a Dutch detention centre in which 11 people died and 15 were injured, one man “suffered injuries to his neck, shoulders and chest when he fell from his bed … in panic after realising that the detention centre was on fire”. Either type of injury could impede escape in a major incident. Additionally, those suffering from the mental trauma of war, conflict or persecution may be less able to process evacuation and safety instructions.
Local councillors who visited the barge on 27 July reported that there were also no lifejackets on the vessel. The windows on board can be opened, but it is understood that this is restricted and would not allow a person to escape in an emergency. Barge operator Landry & Kling also told journalists that there would be no fire drills on Bibby Stockholm.
Any emergency would be further compounded by the presence of asylum seekers whose first language is not English, or who speak no English, and may struggle to understand verbal evacuation and safety instructions, especially in a state of panic.
Access for emergency vehiclesI am very concerned about the capacity of the small quayside compound, which could not possibly hold 550 people in an evacuation. To prevent asylum seekers leaving the site or walking around on the port, this compound is surrounded by a fence at least 15 feet high and is accessible only via two sets of locked gates. In a crush, people simply couldn’t get out. There is significant potential for a Hillsborough-like crush situation.
The only way for emergency vehicles to access the vessel would be via this compound. Locked gates could be a problem; even with access, how would first-responders and ambulances get through large numbers of panicked people crowding into the enclosed area?
Physical condition of Bibby Stockholm
Bibby Stockholm was built in 1976. According to a recent FT article:
“The hull was rotten … in places the steel hull had decayed to the point where it was dangerously thin, necessitating the replacement of entire sections … Bibby Stockholm was late out of Falmouth for good reasons, mostly age-related.”
The repair work done at Falmouth may have fixed the localised problems, and the barge may (as the FT found) have passed its Lloyd’s inspections, but the rot and repairs may have undermined the overall structural integrity of the hull.
This could leave the barge open to being adversely affected by extreme weather, including being knocked against the berth, or by the weight of the additional residents plus the commensurate additional furniture and stores.
Complexity around safetyThe barge scheme straddles both water and land, rendering safety inspections and certification more complex and potentially confusing. At least five agencies are involved:
Lloyd’s Register of Shipping
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency
Dorset Council, which regulates the safety of the barge
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which regulates the surrounding quayside
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service.Health and safety concerns
In the week commencing 24 July, the HSE visited the berth at Portland Port. It found that “a lot” of work was still required to be done by both Bibby Marine and Landry & Kling, the US-based subcontractor for operations.
Landry & Kling co-founder Joyce Landry has claimed in an interview in The Herald that “fears about the conditions on board have been caused by a lack of accurate information,” and that Bibby Stockholm is “actually quite lovely”.
Mark Davies, head of communications and campaigns at the Refugee Council, expressed concern, saying:
“Like most people in the UK, we believe people seeking asylum – the vast majority of whom are refugees fleeing unimaginable horrors – should be treated with decency, respect and humanity. These are values people in Britain hold dear.”
A 27 July report in the Guardian, highlighting some of these safety concerns, includes a statement from Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service which indicates that they are not yet satisfied with arrangements at the barge. They said they had “conducted visits to review fire safety arrangements on the Bibby Stockholm” and were continuing to liaise with other authorities “to ensure that appropriate fire safety measures under relevant legislation are in place”.
Questions for the home secretaryOn 18 July it was reported that Chris Loder, MP for West Dorset, has said:
“For months, I have been asking for sight of the safety risk assessments that should have been done to allow the Bibby Stockholm to be used in Portland Harbour … But visibility or assurances that adequate safety risk assessments have been completed have not been received.”
Loder has written to the home secretary Suella Braverman and transport minister Baroness Vere to ask that they either stop the scheme or provide the necessary safety risk assessments confirming that the vessel can cope with double the weight that it was designed to bear.
In May 2023, a caller named Mark told David Lammy MP on LBC Radio: “What they are effectively doing here is they are creating a potential Grenfell on water, a floating coffin … If there is a fire, people will die. In this case, people won’t die from the smoke or the flames, they will die from the stampede.”
A failure both of competence and humanityThe Home Office announced its intention to create a series of asylum seeker containment sites last year, but failed at the first hurdle with the cancelled plans for Linton-on-Ouse. The RAF Scampton and RAF Wethersfield sites now have permission to push ahead with a judicial review. Regardless, Scampton has been delayed until October, since the Home Office has failed for five months to survey the accommodation buildings and to engage tradespeople.
At Wethersfield (the only large-scale site to have received any asylum seekers so far) there are cases of tuberculosis, scurvy and scabies. Legal action on human rights grounds is certain to follow at all sites, involving misery for individuals and a burden for the public purse.
The Home Office appears to be embarrassingly unable to set up and manage these sites, or to show any humanity towards deeply vulnerable people. It certainly cannot deliver value for money. It is time for the Home Office to hire more asylum caseworkers to process the shameful backlog, and to put an end to large-scale containment – before we start to see them shifting into concentration-like detention centres.
▻https://yorkshirebylines.co.uk/news/home-affairs/transfer-of-asylum-seekers-to-floating-coffin-bibby-stockholm-po
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Bibby Stockholm: First asylum seekers to board UK’s controversial barge despite safety warnings
Fire Bridges Union (FBU) have brand Bibby Stockholm a ’potential deathtrap,’ while leaked health document warns of a potential diphtheria outbreak.
The first 50 asylum seekers will board the controversial Bibby Stockholm barge “imminently," the British government told the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme.
The announcement comes just days after the Fire Bridges Union (FBU) raised concerns about overcrowding and fire exit access in a letter to the Home Secretary.
The Bibby Stockholm, a 222-cabin barge moored off Portland port in Dorset, is anticipated to accommodate double its original capacity, with bunkbeds squeezed into single cabins.
Narrow corridors, a lack of life jackets, and locked gates could create a “Hillsborough-type crush” and make it a “potential deathtrap,” the FBU warned.
The evacuation point, a compound on the quayside, has been described by Dorset councillors as “completely inappropriate".
“Firefighting operations on vessels such as the Bibby Stockholm provide significant challenges and require specialist training and safe systems of work. The diminished safety provisions only exacerbate our operational concerns,” Ben Selby, the assistant general Secretary of the FBU wrote.
A leaked internal health document has also warned of the potential for “a significant outbreak” of diphtheria aboard the boat.
It also highlighted the risk of the spread of a number of other infectious diseases including TB, Legionnaires’ disease, norovirus, salmonella, and scabies.
The first group of asylum seekers was initially intended to arrive last Tuesday, but the date was pushed to this week amid health and safety concerns.
The Home Office had already been forced to delay the first arrivals onto the vessel in order to carry out last-minute fire safety checks, after an intervention by health and safety officials.
On Sunday, Shadow Immigration Minister Stephen Kinnock said the opposition Labour Party would have “no choice” but to continue housing asylum seekers on barges if it forms the next government.
The news comes amid a raft of new anti-migration measures including a huge increase in fines for landlords and employers who house or employ undocumented migrants, and the revival of plans to fly asylum seekers to Ascension Island.
Floating prisonsThe move to house asylum seekers on the barge in “detention-like conditions” has been condemned by over 50 national organisations and campaigners for being “cruel and inhumane".
“(This) floating prison is very quickly going to turn into an overcrowded camp like Manston,” a member of Action Against Detention and Deportations (ADD) told MEE, referring to the short-term facility in Kent that was dangerously overcrowded.
“There’s also a concern about how this might affect deportation,” they said.
“We know that the Home Office cuts a lot of different admin procedures where they can, any route they can go through to detain people easily, they will do so… having that number of people in unsafe conditions… is a big concern.”
It is the first time a large floating structure has been used as long-term housing for asylum seekers in the UK. In 2008, Algerian national Rachid Abdelsalam died from heart failure aboard the Bibby Stockholm when it was deployed in the Netherlands.
Reportedly, guards were warned of his deteriorating condition and treated his heart irregularities with cough syrup.
In 2022, also in the Netherlands, a major typhoid outbreak aboard an ageing cruise liner infected 52 asylum seekers and saw 20 staff members hospitalised after raw sewage contaminated the drinking water.
No basic protectionsIn the same letter, the FBU also expressed concerns about the government’s plans to exempt asylum seeker accommodation from requirements for a Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) license.
In May this year, the Guardian reported the government plans to exempt asylum seeker accommodation from basic protections that govern HMOs in order to empty hotels of thousands of asylum seekers and transfer them to the private rented sector.
The proposed changes would lift restrictions on electrical safety and minimum room sizes, and exempt landlords renting to multiple asylum seekers from requiring an HMO license for two years.
“To strip away the very basic protections currently in place is appalling, allowing rogue landlords to house vulnerable men, women, and children in dangerous accommodation," a Refugee Council spokesperson told MEE.
Care4Calais CEO Steve Smith told MEE that the plans treated asylum seekers as “second-class citizens.”
“HMO licences exist for a reason,” Smith said.
“Without them, people’s lives would be placed in the hands of unscrupulous landlords who are driven by money rather than providing safe and secure housing for tenants.”
▻https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/bibby-stockholm-uk-asylum-seekers-board-controversial-barge
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First occupants of Bibby Stockholm barge taken onboard
First asylum seekers to be housed on floating accommodation in Portland, Dorset, have arrived
The first group of asylum seekers due to be housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland, Dorset, have been taken onboard.
Buses were seen arriving at Portland on Monday morning as activists gathered at the entrance with “welcome” signs. About 50 asylum seekers are expected on Monday.
The UK government wants to use barges and former military bases to accommodate some asylum seekers after the cost of housing them in hotels soared to £1.9bn pounds last year.
Their arrival came amid confusion over the government’s immigration policies at the start of Rishi Sunak’s “small boats week”, during which the government is planning a series of eye-catching announcements.
A Home Office minister indicated that up to 500 asylum seekers could be onboard by the end of the week. But No 10 appeared to suggest that the minister had misspoken. The same minister indicated that the Home Office was examining proposals to send asylum seekers to a UK territory in the south Atlantic. However, Whitehall sources said the proposal was not being pursued.
The Bibby Stockholm was docked off the Dorset coast nearly three weeks ago and had been empty since due to health and safety concerns.
The minister for safeguarding, Sarah Dines, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that while only a small number of asylum seekers were expected to be housed on the barge at first, it could increase rapidly to its capacity of about 500.
Pressed on whether all of them could be onboard by the end of the week, Dines said: “Yes, quite possibly it will be 500. We are hoping.”
She said the increase in the number of people on the ship would be gradual, despite concerns from the Fire Brigades Union that the vessel “is a deathtrap”.
Later, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “Numbers will increase over time as you would expect for any new asylum facility. My understanding is that the Bibby Stockholm has an upward capacity of 500. We are looking to [reach] that number over time – I don’t think we are aiming to do it by the weekend.”
Dines also claimed that ministers were “looking at everything” when asked about headlines in national newspapers claiming the government was looking again at sending asylum seekers to Ascension Island.
Whitehall sources have indicated the plans are not being pursued. The prime minister’s official spokesperson would not comment on “speculation”.
Ministers have repeatedly said the barge will be better value for British taxpayers and more manageable for local communities – a claim challenged by refugee charities. There has been local opposition to the plan because of concerns about the asylum seekers’ welfare, as well as the potential impact on local services.
The refugee charity Care4Calais said it had stopped 20 people from being forced to board the barge so far, with referrals coming in from hotels by the hour.
“None of the asylum seekers we are supporting have gone to the Bibby Stockholm today as legal representatives have had their transfers cancelled,” Steve Smith, the charity’s CEO, said.
“Among our clients are people who are disabled, who have survived torture and modern slavery and who have had traumatic experiences at sea. To house any human being in a ‘quasi floating prison’ like the Bibby Stockholm is inhumane. To try and do so to this group of people is unbelievably cruel.”
More than 15,000 asylum seekers have arrived in the UK so far this year after crossing the Channel, official figures show.
On Friday and Saturday 339 people made the journey after an eight-day hiatus amid poor weather conditions at sea, taking the provisional total for 2023 to date to 15,071.
Amnesty International UK condemned using the barge to house asylum seekers. Steve Valdez-Symonds, the charity’s refugee and migrant rights director, said: “It seems there’s nothing this government won’t do to make people seeking asylum feel unwelcome and unsafe in this country.
“Reminiscent of the prison hulks from the Victorian era, the Bibby Stockholm is an utterly shameful way to house people who’ve fled terror, conflict and persecution. Housing people on a floating barge is likely to be re-traumatising and there should be major concerns about confining each person to living quarters the typical size of a car parking space.”
The government hopes the use of the barge and former military bases to house asylum seekers will reduce the cost of hotel bills.
▻https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/aug/07/first-occupants-of-bibby-stockholm-barge-taken-onboard?CMP=share_btn_tw
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Bibby Stockholm: Asylum seekers describe life on barge
Some of the first group of men to board the Bibby Stockholm have described their first 24 hours on the barge.
One asylum seeker told the BBC it was like a prison and felt there wasn’t enough room to accommodate up to 500 people onboard, as the government plans.
The Home Office says the barge will provide better value for the taxpayer as pressure on the asylum system from small boats arrivals continues to grow.
Moored in Portland Port, Dorset, it is the first barge secured under the government’s plans to reduce the cost of asylum accommodation.
Monday saw the first 15 asylum seekers board the Bibby Stockholm after a series of delays over safety concerns. It will house men aged 18 to 65 while they await the outcome of their asylum applications.
An Afghan asylum seeker, whom the BBC is not identifying, said: "The sound of locks and security checks gives me the feeling of entering Alcatraz prison.
“My roommate panicked in the middle of the night and felt like he was drowning. There are people among us who have been given heavy drugs for depression by the doctor here.”
He said he had been given a small room, and the dining hall had capacity for fewer than 150 people.
“Like a prison, it [the barge] has entrance and exit gates, and at some specific hours, we have to take a bus, and after driving a long distance, we go to a place where we can walk. We feel very bad,” the man added.
There is 24/7 security in place on board the Bibby Stockholm and asylum seekers are issued with ID swipe cards and have to pass through airport-style security scans to get on and off.
Asylum seekers are expected to take a shuttle bus to the port exit for security reasons. There is no curfew, but if they aren’t back there will be a “welfare call”.
The Home Office has said it would support their welfare by providing basic healthcare, organised activities and recreation.
The first group of men arrived on Monday. The Care4Calais charity said it was providing legal support to a further 20 asylum seekers who refused to move to Portland and are challenging the decision.
On Tuesday, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Griffiths, said that moving to the barge was “not a choice” and if people choose not to comply “they will be taken outside of the asylum support system”.
“Many of us entered Britain nine to 11 months ago, by airplane. Some of us applied for asylum at the airport. We did not come by boat,” the Afghan man said.
"It has been two weeks since we received a letter in which they threatened that if we do not agree to go, our aid and NHS will be cut off.
“There are people among us who take medicine. We accepted. We waited for two weeks and didn’t even have time to bring clean clothes.”
Another man who boarded the vessel on Monday told the BBC he had arrived in the UK on an aircraft, had a wife still in Iran and had been in Britain for six months.
The man - whom the BBC is not identifying - said he had eaten a “good” breakfast which included “eggs, cheese, jam and butter”.
The government says it is spending £6m per day housing more than 50,000 migrants in hotels.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “This marks a further step forward in the government’s work to bring forward alternative accommodation options as part of its pledge to reduce the use of expensive hotels and move to a more orderly, sustainable system which is more manageable for local communities.”
“This is a tried-and-tested approach that mirrors that taken by our European neighbours, the Scottish government and offers better value for the British taxpayer,” they added.
The Home Office says that by the autumn, they aim to house about 3,000 asylum seekers in places that aren’t hotels - such as the barge, and former military sites Wethersfield, in Essex, and Scampton, in Lincolnshire.
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Moment Bibby Stockholm barge migrants are EVACUATED amid fears of Legionnaires’ disease - just DAYS after asylum seekers moved aboard in Dorset
- All 39 asylum seekers onboard Bibby Stockholm barge were evacuated today
- It comes after first 15 men boarded vessel in Portland, Dorset, just four days agoThis the moment asylum seekers were driven away from the Bibby Stockholm after deadly legionella bacteria was found in the migrant barge’s water system.
All 39 migrants onboard the controversial vessel were evacuated today - just four days after the first 15 men stepped onto it in Portland, Dorset - and are being moved to the same hotel, according to The Independent.
A 40-seater coach, which had been shuttling migrants to and from Weymouth, was seen leaving today. Inside were two men sat in the middle who turned their faces away from onlookers at the port.
Other footage of the Bibby Stockholm showed people arriving and leaving this afternoon - with ten people seen walking up a ramp and entering while others left.
Routine tests of the barge’s water supply were reportedly carried out on July 25 but the results only came back when asylum seekers began boarding the barge on Monday, according to Sky News. The results showed levels of legionella bacteria ’which require further investigation’.
Home Office sources say they were not made aware of the results until Wednesday, with further tests being carried out on Thursday.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) advised the Government on Thursday evening to remove all six people that arrived on the Bibby Stockholm that day, but the Home Office decided to evacuate all 39 as a precaution.
The harmful bacteria can cause a serious lung infection called Legionnaires’ disease, which can happen when breathing in tiny droplets of water containing the bacteria.
Although nobody onboard had shown symptoms of the disease, officials insisted that all migrants be disembarked while further assessments are carried out.
A letter from the Home Office that was leaked to the Guardian has reportedly informed asylum seekers that they will be tested for Legionnaires diseases if they do begin to show symptoms.
The migrants will be taken to hotels which are said to be far from Weymouth, where few rooms are available during the height of the school summer holidays.
One Syrian migrant onboard the barge told MailOnline this afternoon that he had not been given any information and had not been told to leave. He said: ’The place is very empty but no one has said anything to us. We will have to wait and see, but it is worrying.’
But the migrants were later told they would be evacuated. It comes after health officials ordered six new arrivals to be removed yesterday.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick is said to be holding meetings to discuss the barge, which the Government hoped would house up to 500 migrants. Local councillors have vowed not to see the boat back in use.
With a capacity of up to 506, the Government is still hoping that use of the Bibby Stockholm, together with former military bases, will help reduce the £6million a day it is spending on hotel bills for asylum seekers.
But opponents have claimed the barge is unsafe and a ’floating prison’, while lawyers of some migrants due to board this week have successfully argued to allow them to stay in hotels.
It was only four days ago that the first 15 men were taken onboard the vessel.
Support workers, who have spoken to some on board, claimed the asylum seekers were not being kept informed about what was happening.
Heather Jones, of the Portland Friendship Group which is supporting the migrants, said: ’I have had texts and phone conversations from some of them and they are still on board, they haven’t been evacuated yet.
’Nobody has told them anything. They have had to ask me what the problem is. One of them was really concerned because he had just drunk a glass of water and he was asking me if he was going to be OK.
’I told him it is probably a precautionary measure but they shouldn’t be hearing it from me.
’They don’t know where they are being taken to. Hopefully it will be back to the hotels where they have come from.’
There was a small group of campaigners from Stand Up To Racism at the port entrance holding placards saying ’Legionella death trap’ and ’human rights’.
Lynne Hubbard, from the group, said: ’The Home Office have admitted they carried on admitting asylum seekers on the barge even though they found out about legionella on Monday.
’They would have been drinking the water and showering in it. That shows pretty clearly what the Government thinks of asylum seekers and how much they value their lives. They are heartless.
’An asylum seeker in there we are in contact with told us to get in touch with his family in case he dies of Legionella. That’s how frightened they are.’
A local Portland councillor slammed the health crisis as a ’farce’ this afternoon.
Paul Kimbdr, an independent councillor, said he thought the outbreak would mean the end of the barge being used to house asylum seekers.
’I just can’t see it being back in use. It’s all been a bit of a farce really,’ he told MailOnline.
A Home Office spokesman told MailOnline today: ’The health and welfare of individuals on the vessel is our utmost priority.
’Environmental samples from the water system on the Bibby Stockholm have shown levels of legionella bacteria which require further investigation.
’Following these results, the Home Office has been working closely with UKHSA (the UK Health Security Agency) and following its advice in line with long established public health processes, and ensuring all protocol from Dorset Council’s Environmental Health team and Dorset NHS is adhered to.
’As a precautionary measure, all 39 asylum seekers who arrived on the vessel this week are being disembarked while further assessments are undertaken.
’No individuals on board have presented with symptoms of Legionnaires’, and asylum seekers are being provided with appropriate advice and support.
’The samples taken relate only to the water system on the vessel itself and therefore carry no direct risk indication for the wider community of Portland nor do they relate to fresh water entering the vessel. Legionnaires’ disease does not spread from person to person.’
Mr Jenrick has previously described the barge as ’perfectly decent accommodation’, but asylum seekers who have spent four nights onboard have contrasting views.
While one Afghan compared it to the former US maximum security prison Alcatraz, others have said it was ’cramped but comfortable’ with lots of facilities.
MailOnline understands that the legionella bacteria is believed to have come from the pipes on the vessel – with tests of the water at point of entry coming back with no indication of legionella.
Six asylum seekers arrived on the barge yesterday, and the UK Health Security Agency last night advised the Home Office to remove this group.
Home Office sources have insisted that the removal of everyone was a ’further temporary precaution’ aimed to ’reduce the health risk as much as possible’.
The Home Office is now awaiting the results of follow-up tests which have been carried out on the water system by Dorset Council environmental health officers.
The UK Health Security Agency will then provide additional advice.
Sources added that it was not unusual to identify legionella bacteria in warm water systems, which is why they are often subject to regular testing in buildings.
A Dorset Council spokesman said: ’Dorset Council’s environmental health team and Public Health Dorset are advising the Home Office and its contractors, alongside the UK Health Security Agency and NHS Dorset, following notification of positive samples of Legionella bacteria in the water system on the Bibby Stockholm barge.
’No individuals have presented symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease, and there is no health risk to the wider community of Portland.’
It is understood that the Home Office is managing the search for alternative accommodation for the asylum seekers.
Dr Laurence Buckman, former chairman of the British Medical Association’s GP Committee, told GB News today: ’If you’re unlucky and your immunity isn’t really tip-top, there is a risk that you will get legionella pneumonia and die from it.
’It’s potentially treatable but of course you have to diagnose it first. It lives in water supplies. It lives in sink traps, so a U-bend of a sink will be a problem, and it lives in air conditioning units.
’That’s why we have what are called ’scrubbers’ in air conditioning units to wipe out the legionella before the air gets blown onto other people, and why hospitals that get legionella in their sinks have a really big problem. At worst, they have to take the sinks out and replace them and the pipework that goes with them.’
Steve Smith, chief executive of the charity Care4Calais, said: ’We have always known our concerns over the health and safety of the barge are justified, and this latest mismanagement proves our point.
’The Bibby Stockholm is a visual illustration of this Government’s hostile environment against refugees, but it has also fast become a symbol for the shambolic incompetence which has broken Britain’s asylum system.
’The Government should now realise warehousing refugees in this manner is completely untenable, and should focus on the real job at hand - processing the asylum claims swiftly, so refugees may become contributing members of our communities as they so strongly wish.’
Meanwhile Fire Brigades Union general secretary Ben Selby said the outbreak suggested it was ’only a matter of time before either lives are lost or there is serious harm to a detainee.’
He said: ’The Fire Brigades Union warned the Home Secretary that forcibly holding migrants on this barge was a huge health and safety risk.
’This outbreak of Legionella suggests that it’s only a matter of time before either lives are lost or there is serious harm to a detainee.’
And Alex Bailey, a spokesman for the No To The Barge campaign group, told MailOnline: ’This has become Fawlty Towers at sea.
’This was inevitable because of the poor advance planning and preparation, the rush and people in power with little knowledge and pushing the experts to break the rules.
’This is just another example of the incompetent way our Government has approached this scheme from start to finish. Robert Jenrick promised the country Bibbly Stockholm was safe. That is not the case.’
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: ’Across the country, most people want strong border security and a properly managed and controlled asylum system so the UK does its bit alongside other countries to help those who have fled persecution and conflict, while those who have no right to be here are swiftly returned.
’Under this Government, we have neither as gangs are undermining our border security and the asylum system is in chaos.’
And Kolbassia Haoussou, director of survivor empowerment at Freedom from Torture, said: ’The presence of life-threatening bacteria onboard the Bibby Stockholm is just another shocking revelation that we’ve seen unfold over the past few weeks. This Government’s punitive policies and deliberate neglect of the asylum system is not just cruel, it’s dangerous.’
Yesterday the Home Office denied the barge was a ’floating prison’ and insisted that those onboard would be ’free to come and go as they want’.
Gardening in nearby allotments and hiking tours of the area are among the activities which could be offered to those onboard.
Security measures include 18 guards trained to military standard who work around the clock.
In total, about 60 staff including cooks and cleaners will be on board the barge run by Landry and Kling, a sub-contractor of Corporate Travel Management (CTM) which also managed vessels in Scotland housing Ukrainians.
Spaghetti with meatballs, roast turkey, Irish stew and beef pie are on the sample menu to be served in the canteen by Dubai-headquartered offshore firm Connect Catering Services, alongside breakfast and a selection of snacks available 24 hours a day.
The gym, equipped with treadmills and weights, is still awaiting delivery of rowing machines and exercise bikes. Volleyball, basketball, netball and football can all be played in one of two outside courtyards.
Most of the 222 bedrooms have twin bunk beds, with cupboard space, a desk, en-suite bathroom, heating and windows which open. But there are also 20 larger rooms which would sleep four people, and two rooms housing six people.
The bedrooms all have televisions which the operator was told to disconnect but were too costly to remove so can be used only as monitors.
Instead, residents will be encouraged to socialise or watch programmes and films in one of four communal TV rooms, and can also learn English in a classroom and worship in a dedicated space. A small number of laptops are also available and there is Wi-Fi throughout the barge.
▻https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12397201/All-migrants-housed-Bibby-Stockholm-barge-removed.html
#maladie #légionellose #maladie_du_légionnaire #évacuation -
Asylum seekers say Bibby Stockholm conditions caused suicide attempt
Thirty-nine people who were briefly onboard write to Suella Braverman describing their fear and despair
Thirty-nine asylum seekers who were briefly accommodated on the Home Office’s controversial Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset have said conditions onboard were so bad that one was driven to attempt suicide.
A three-page letter sent to the home secretary, Suella Braverman, also sets out the asylum seekers’ fear and despair at being trapped on the barge and appeals to her to help them in their search for safety and freedom in the UK.
They describe the barge as “an unsafe, frightening and isolated place” but said that as law-abiding people they were fearful of not obeying Home Office instructions. The asylum seekers described the barge as “a place of exile” and said the conditions were “small rooms and a terrifying residence”.
Some of the asylum seekers have told the Guardian they are too traumatised to return to the barge in Portland.
According to the letter some people fell ill on the barge.
The letter says: “Also in a tragic incident one of the asylum seekers attempted suicide but we acted promptly and prevented this unfortunate event. Considering the ongoing difficulties it’s not unexpected that we might face a repeat of such situations in the future.
“Some friends said they even wished they had courage to commit suicide. Our personal belief is that many of these individuals might resort to this foolishness to escape problems in the future.”
They said they were the last people to be informed about the legionella bacteria found on the barge and announced by the Home Office on 11 August.
They said their brief stay on the barge had led to a deterioration in their mental health. “Currently we are staying in an old and abandoned hotel. The sense of isolation and loneliness has taken over us and psychological and emotional pressures have increased significantly.”
The letter to Braverman concludes with a plea to consider their situation as a priority. “We are individuals who are tired of the challenges that have arisen and no longer have the strength to face them.”
An Iranian asylum seeker among the 39 has vowed never to return there. He said many of the other men who spent a few days onboard felt the same way.
“If I had had to stay even one more day on the barge I would have had suicidal thoughts. When I got on to the barge the smell and the stench of seawater was overwhelming,” he said.
“I developed stomach pains and felt dizzy but I was too scared to refuse to get on. Being on the barge made us feel like criminals and second-class citizens.”
He added that nobody from the Home Office properly explained the legionella situation to them. “I had to search on Google to find out what it is. Everyone who was on the barge are now all together in one hotel. A few people are coughing and everybody is afraid. When I was having a shower on the barge the water was burning my eyes.
“Being on that barge will always be a horrific memory in my brain. It’s a completely unfit place. We’re all feeling very upset but are even more upset that the Home Office want to return us to this horror show.
“I want to ask a question of the people who made the decision to put us on the barge. ‘Would you put a member of your family there even for one day?’ We came to the UK to escape persecution but are facing more persecution here.”
In response to the letter the Home Office said: “We are following all protocol and advice from Dorset council’s environmental health team, UK Health Security Agency and Dorset NHS, who we continue to work closely with.
“Further tests are being conducted and we intend to re-embark asylum seekers only when there is confirmation that the water system meets relevant safety standards. The safety of those onboard remains the priority.”
Bibby Stockholm timelineMonday 7 August: The first group of asylum seekers, all men, are taken to the barge by the Home Office. Some lawyers successfully challenged their clients being put onboard. New arrivals said they were shocked by the high walls of the barge, which felt like a ‘floating prison’ and the overwhelming stench of seawater onboard.
Tuesday 8 August : The reality of life onboard the barge starts to be understood by the men. “My feeling about this ship is negative,” said one. “Right now my strongest feeling is of being humiliated and captured. The government takes revenge on every useful brain and heart. What I mean by revenge is that the British government intends to cover up its political and economic failures by using asylum seekers as an excuse.”
Thursday 10 August: By this time all the agencies involved with the barge were aware that tests had confirmed legionella onboard the barge on Monday. Dorset council said its officials informed barge contractors the same day they received the test results and that a meeting was held on Tuesday with officials including one from the Home Office. The men continued to shower and use water taps onboard, oblivious to any potential risks to their health.
Friday 11 August: At 1.54pm the men started seeing messages on social media “that there is a disease problem on the barge and we will need to evacuate”. At about 2pm a text was received that the asylum seekers believed to be from staff onboard the barge telling them not to use the showers for two hours as the shower heads needed to be replaced. At 5pm, a copied text was received from the Home Office describing the bacteria found on the barge and informing the men that they would be leaving the barge at 7pm by bus.
Saturday 12 August: Relocation to a “disused” hotel. The men begin to process the despair their experience on the barge had left them with. Some said previously they had put their trust in the Home Office to provide them with safety after fleeing danger in their home countries but their time on the barge has destroyed that. “All our hopes are gone. We think now the Home Office is not there to help us. It abandons us to uncertain destiny. The barge has sabotaged hope, trust. Morale among us is at zero.”
▻https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/aug/25/asylum-seekers-bibby-stockholm-conditions-suicide-attempt
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Home Office Faces Legal Challenge Against ‘Appalling’ Use of Bibby Stockholm Barge to House Refugees
“Human beings do not belong in barges or camps. The correct way to house people is to house them in communities.”
A Labour mayor has launched a legal challenge to Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s use of the Bibby Stockholm barge to accommodate around 500 male asylum-seekers at Portland Port in Dorset, without obtaining planning permission.
Carralyn Parkes is a Portland Town Councillor and Mayor of Portland, bit is acting in a personal capacity as a local resident. Dorset Council and Portland Port Limited have backed the claim as “interested parties”, meaning that they will have the opportunity to make submissions, file evidence and participate in the case.
It comes after a deadly legionella strain was found onboard the Bibby Stockholm. It was detected on the first day people boarded on 7 August, with officials evacuating all 39 people onboard that day, the Guardian reported.
Parkes is asking the Court to declare that the Home Office’s use of the barge as asylum accommodation is capable of constituting ‘development’ under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and therefore that it may amount to a breach of planning control and possible enforcement action by Dorset Council.
Her claim argues that the Home Office is attempting the ‘technical wheeze’ of using a boat as asylum accommodation in order to circumvent normal planning rules, which would apply if the barge was instead installed on land.
As a result, local residents’ ability to raise objections to the barge and its use in Portland, via their local authority, is “severely hampered”, her legal team says. It also places the barge outside the reach of “important” legal protections such as limits on overcrowding.
Carralyn Parkes told Byline Times: “In the 21st century, it’s appalling to think that we’ve even considered housing the most vulnerable people in the world on a barge. The accommodation is wholly unsuitable.
“If the government had put this through a planning procedure, I’m convinced it would have been denied, as the port is a closed area.”
She added that infrastructure in Portland is “stretched to breaking point” while the barge was originally produced for 220 people. “Now they’re talking about 500 people. It’s completely overcrowded and there’s no fire safety certificate,” Parkes said.
“It’s just terrible to think that our country would do something like this to vulnerable people, and to ride roughshod over communities…Human beings do not belong in barges or camps. The correct way to house people is to house them in communities.”
“Portland is not averse to housing asylum seekers. It’s the actual conditions of housing asylum seekers on the barge that is appalling.”
Asked if she thought the legal challenge stood a strong chance, she said: “I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think it’s a chance of being successful. I’m a private individual taking this on board. It’s a huge and daunting task to take on the whole mechanism of the state, the Home Secretary and the Home Office.”
While she is launching the legal challenge as a private individual rather than a Labour mayor, she added she had support from Labour colleagues locally.
Parkes also argues that the Home Office has not complied with its environmental impact assessment duties. An appraisal branded “inadequate” by campaigners was only conducted after asylum seekers had been moved onto the barge, and several months after the Home Office had declared its intention of using the barge for that purpose.
The claim also argues that the Home Office has not complied with its Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act 2010, which includes prohibition on discrimination on the basis of race, and a duty to foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic (such as race), and those who do not.
Parkes and her team argue that the Equality Impact Assessment, conducted only days before the barge came into use, is “woefully inadequate” as it fails to consider the impact of the barge’s operation in radicalising far-right extremism, or the equality impact of segregating rather than integrating asylum seekers into communities.
A spokesperson for Deighton Pierce Glynn Solicitors said: “Our client is taking a brave stand against the Home Office’s attempts to circumvent important planning rules and protections to use the Bibby Stockholm barge to accommodate vulnerable asylum seekers.
“She is asking the Court to rule that proper procedures should be followed and that local people and authorities should be given the opportunity to have their say.”
Carralyn Parkes is represented by Deighton Pierce Glynn Solicitors. She is continuing to crowdfund to cover her legal costs and to cover the risk that costs are awarded against her. So far Parkes has raised more than £20,000.
The next step is for the defendant, the Home Office, and the Interested Parties (Dorset Council and Portland Port Limited) to respond. If they wish to do so, the deadline is 4 October. After that the Court will make a decision on whether Parkes has permission for her judicial review.
▻https://bylinetimes.com/2023/09/12/home-office-faces-legal-challenge-against-appalling-use-of-bibby-stockh
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Bibby Stockholm gets ‘satisfactory’ test results for legionella
Results revealed in FoI data follow other tests that found unsatisfactory levels of the bacteria on barge
The Bibby Stockholm barge has had “satisfactory” test results for legionella, after tests initially found the presence of the potentially deadly bacteria, the Guardian has learned.
The Home Office, which hopes to hold hundreds of people seeking asylum on the barge in Portland, received the most recent legionella results on 4 September and government sources said they were not planning to make the results public. The Guardian obtained the results in freedom of information data from Dorset council.
In these most recent results, all the water samples tested for legionella were deemed “satisfactory”, although some of the bacteria were identified in two of the samples. In three previous sets of tests, at least some of the samples tested were found to be “unsatisfactory” for legionella.
The worst results related to samples from 9 August, two days after asylum seekers were briefly put on the barge. They were removed after just four and a half days. In these results, eight of the 11 samples taken were unsatisfactory and three were borderline. Some of the bacteria found was the deadliest strain, legionella pneumophila serogroup 1.
A second freedom of information request, to Cornwall council, revealed that the barge was not inspected for legionella while in Falmouth for checks and repairs before it was moved to Portland.
A third freedom of information request revealed that the Home Office has used water safety risk assessments for the Bibby Stockholm that are more than six years out of date. The Home Office said a more up-to-date risk assessment had subsequently been signed off.
Apart from the legionella bacteria found on the barge, concerns have been raised about planning, fire safety and plumbing breaches. Legal actions are under way relating to these issues.
A spokesperson for the Home Office barge contractor CTM confirmed that repairs to the plumbing were under way after an inspection by Wessex Water found failings.
In media interviews on Wednesday, the home secretary, Suella Braverman, said “various procedures” needed to be completed before people could return to the Bibby Stockholm but that government had done “really well” with its work on the barge.
Beyond Borders Totnes & District, an organisation that is supporting some of the men taken off the barge, said none wanted to return there. “They found the barge intolerable and claustrophobic. It is utterly prison-like,” a spokesperson said.
The Home Office said: “We are pleased to confirm that the latest tests have shown that there are no health risks from legionella on the Bibby Stockholm, with individuals set to return to the barge in due course.
“The welfare of asylum seekers is of paramount importance. It is right we went above and beyond UK Health Security Agency advice and disembarked asylum seekers as a precautionary measure whilst the issue was investigated.”
Home Office sources added that an agreed programme of work including a complete flush and chlorination of the water had been undertaken and that a water control plan was in place with regular water testing to continue.
▻https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/22/bibby-stockholm-gets-satisfactory-test-results-for-legionella
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Livraison du dernier 747 — le 1574 ème et dernier exemplaire du #Jumbo_Jet, lancé à la fin des années 1960 par Boeing.
Une page de l’histoire moderne américaine se tourne. Depuis son usine d’Everett, près de Seattle (Etat de Washington), #Boeing livrait mardi le dernier exemplaire de son 747, après près de 55 années de production pour plus d’une centaine de clients.
[…]
Le #Boeing_747 est le premier avion à mettre deux couloirs dans sa carlingue, capable d’emmener 440 passagers dans un rayon d’action de plus de 10.000 kilomètres. Des déclinaisons porteront même son autonomie à plus de 14.000 kilomètres avec le 747-400ER.
Le point faible de l’avion, qui signera sa fin de carrière, est sa consommation effrénée de carburant et ses coûts élevés de maintenance. L’avènement des #compagnies_aériennes « #low_cost » participe aussi au #déclin, avec une préférence pour des avions de plus petite capacité, destinés à des vols plus courts. Au fil des années, la plupart des grandes compagnies aériennes - d’#Air_France à #British_Airways en passant par #Lufthansa ou #Qantas -, ont ainsi revendu leur #flotte de 747 ou les ont envoyés à la casse, négociant la carlingue au prix du métal.
(Les Échos)
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Le goudron à l’origine de l’âge d’or des vikings ? | National Geographic
▻https://www.nationalgeographic.fr/history/le-goudron-lorigine-de-lage-dor-viking« L’intensification des activités maritimes de l’ère #viking a probablement accru la consommation de #goudron, qui est également devenu une matière première commerciale ». Andreas Hennius, archéologue à l’Université d’Uppsala en Suède, lie l’#expansion_viking à la production intensive de cette matière, qui aurait permis de développer la #flotte viking en la rendant étanche. Selon les scientifiques, cette production était surtout intensive car 130 litres étaient nécessaires à rendre étanche un seul #langskip.
Le goudron était issu de la combustion de bois et de pin dans de grands fours. Si cette activité était plutôt modeste vers le 4e siècle, la prolifération de ces fosses à goudron dans tout le pays au 8e siècle et l’augmentation considérable de leur taille, certains ayant une capacité de 500 litres, traduit une demande croissante de ce produit à l’époque des #conquêtes_vikings. Cette production à grande échelle aurait donc permis aux Normands de multiplier les voyages longue distance et de conquérir de nombreux territoires.
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#Réfugiés_climatiques : quand attiser la « peur du migrant » masque la réalité des phénomènes migratoires
À chaque vague, Saint-Louis s’enfonce un peu plus sous l’océan, dont le niveau ne cesse de monter ; les eaux qui assuraient jadis les moyens de subsistance de cette ville du nord du Sénégal menacent désormais sa survie même. Les Nations Unies ont déclaré que Saint-Louis était la ville d’Afrique la plus en danger du fait de l’élévation du niveau de la mer : l’Atlantique engloutit jusqu’à deux mètres de côte chaque année. Plusieurs milliers d’habitants ont été contraints de se reloger à l’intérieur des terres suite aux tempêtes et à l’inondation de Doune Baba Dièye, un village de pêcheurs des environs. Pour les personnes qui habitent toujours sur place, la vie devient de plus en plus précaire.
Des situations comme celles-là se répètent à mesure que la #crise_climatique s’aggrave. La migration et les #déplacements_de_population induits par le climat sont en hausse, de même que l’angoisse et la désinformation qui l’accompagne. Depuis quelques années, nous observons une multiplication des propos sensationnalistes et alarmistes dans les médias et chez les responsables politiques de l’hémisphère nord, qui affirment que le #changement_climatique entraîne directement et automatiquement une #migration_de_masse, et mettent en garde, en usant d’un #vocabulaire_déshumanisant, contre l’imminence des « #flots » ou des « #vagues » de millions, voire de milliards, de migrants ou de réfugiés climatiques au désespoir qui pourraient submerger l’Europe pour fuir un hémisphère sud devenu inhabitable.
Les prédictions apocalyptiques retiennent peut-être l’attention de l’opinion, mais elles occultent la réalité complexe du terrain et alimentent une #xénophobie et un #racisme déjà profondément enracinés en Europe en jouant sur la #peur du migrant. Elles dressent en outre un tableau très inexact : ce que révèlent les études sur le changement climatique et la migration est très différent des discours alarmistes qui ont pris place.
Les experts s’accordent à dire que le changement climatique se répercute sur la #mobilité. Cependant, la relation entre ces deux éléments n’est pas directe, comme elle est souvent décrite, mais complexe, résultant de #causes_multiples et propre à un contexte donné. Par ailleurs, les estimations relatives à l’impact du changement climatique sur la mobilité sont mises en doute par les incertitudes quant à la manière dont évolueront à l’avenir le climat, la capacité d’adaptation des pays et les politiques migratoires internationales.
#Mythe et réalité
Les prévisions de millions ou de milliards de personnes déplacées au cours des prochaines décennies laissent entendre que le déplacement et la migration induits par le climat se manifesteront dans un futur éloigné alors qu’il s’agit d’une réalité bien présente. À l’échelle mondiale, le nombre de personnes déplacées à l’intérieur de leur propre pays atteint des records : près de 25 millions de personnes ont dû quitter leur foyer en 2019 suite à des catastrophes soudaines. L’aggravation des #phénomènes_météorologiques_extrêmes, comme les #typhons, les #tempêtes et les #inondations, conjuguée aux changements qui s’opèrent plus lentement, tels que l’élévation du niveau de la mer, la dégradation des sols et les variations des précipitations, devrait accroître la mobilité due au climat.
Traiter la « #migration_climatique » comme une catégorie de migration distincte implique à tort qu’il est possible de différencier le climat des autres facteurs. Or, les décisions de quitter un endroit résultent d’une multitude d’éléments qui sont profondément liés entre eux et qui interagissent de manière complexe. Pour les personnes qui vivent de l’agriculture de subsistance, les conditions environnementales et les résultats économiques ne font qu’un, étant donné que des changements de pluviométrie ou de température peuvent entraîner de graves conséquences économiques. Caroline Zickgraf, directrice adjointe de l’Observatoire Hugo, un centre de recherche basé à l’université de Liège, en Belgique, qui étudie comment l’environnement et le changement climatique agissent sur la migration explique :
« Si l’on ne voit pas que tous ces facteurs différents sont imbriqués – facteurs sociaux, politiques, économiques, environnementaux et démographiques – on passe vraiment à côté de la situation générale »
Une autre idée fausse persiste au sujet du changement climatique et de la mobilité des humains, consistant à croire que la plupart des individus qui se déplacent quittent leur pays. Depuis quelque temps, l’attention vis-à-vis des migrants porte largement sur les Africains qui cherchent à aller en Europe. Cette forme de migration internationale de longue distance représente l’image la plus répandue de la migration et, pourtant, les faits indiquent que ce n’est pas la plus fréquente, mais cette réalité est souvent inaudible.
En Afrique de l’Ouest et centrale, la migration vers l’Afrique du Nord ou l’Europe représente seulement de 10 à 20 % des déplacements, alors que les 80 à 90 % restants s’effectuent à l’intérieur de la région. « Depuis plusieurs années, l’Europe attire de moins en moins les candidats à la migration, en raison des difficultés qu’ils rencontrent pour bénéficier des programmes de régularisation, trouver du travail et rester mobiles », souligne Aly Tandian, président de l’Observatoire sénégalais des migrations et professeur de sociologie associé à l’université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis. Les pays africains constituent les destinations principales des migrants d’#Afrique_de_l’Ouest parce qu’il n’y a pas de contraintes de visa et qu’il est plus aisé de voyager sur la terre ferme, ce qui facilite la mobilité des personnes en quête d’opportunités, outre la familiarité que procure la proximité socioculturelle et linguistique de nombreux pays d’accueil, explique-t-il.
Hind Aïssaoui Bennani, spécialiste de la migration, de l’environnement et du changement climatique auprès de l’Organisation internationale pour les migrations à Dakar, au Sénégal, affirme que l’ampleur de la #migration_économique est souvent mal reconnue, en dépit de son importance dans l’ensemble de la région. La plupart des migrants économiques partent pour trouver du travail dans le secteur des ressources naturelles, notamment l’agriculture, la pêche et l’exploitation minière. « L’#environnement est non seulement un élément moteur de la migration, qui oblige les personnes à se déplacer mais, en plus, il les attire », précise Mme Bennani. Elle ajoute toutefois que le changement climatique peut également entraîner l’#immobilité et piéger les individus qui ne peuvent pas partir par manque de ressources ou de capacités, c’est-à-dire généralement les plus vulnérables.
Ce qui alimente la peur
On ne peut pas savoir combien de personnes ont quitté leur région à cause du changement climatique et, d’après les experts,il est difficile, voire impossible, de prédire avec précision le nombre de citoyens qui devront se déplacer à l’avenir, du fait de la complexité inhérente à la migration et au changement climatique. « Il va y avoir toute une série de scénarios à partir des actions que nous menons en termes de politique et de climat, mais aussi par rapport à la réaction des gens qui, souvent, n’est pas linéaire. Cela ne se résume pas à dire ‘le changement climatique s’intensifie, donc la migration s’intensifie », indique Caroline Zickgraf.
L’année dernière, un rapport (▻https://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/ETR_2020_web-1.pdf) réalisé par le think tank international Institute for Economics and Peace a révélé que les menaces écologiques contraindraient au déplacement 1,2 milliard de personnes d’ici à 2050. Ce chiffre s’est répandu comme une traînée de poudre et a été couvert par les principaux organes de presse à travers le monde, mais plusieurs experts reconnus dans le domaine de la migration récusent ce chiffre, parmi lesquels Caroline Zickgraf, qui estime qu’il n’est pas suffisamment scientifique et qu’il résulte d’une manipulation et d’une déformation des données. À titre de comparaison, un rapport de la Banque mondiale datant de 2018 qui s’appuyait sur des techniques de modélisation scientifiques prévoyait qu’il y aurait 140 millions de migrants climatiques internes d’ici à 2050 si aucune action urgente pour le climat n’était mise en place.
L’idée selon laquelle « le changement climatique entraîne une migration de masse » est utilisée par la gauche pour alerter sur les conséquences humanitaires du changement climatique et pour galvaniser l’action en faveur du climat, alors qu’elle sert de point de ralliement à la droite et à l’extrême droite pour justifier la militarisation des frontières et les politiques de lutte contre l’immigration. Caroline Zickgraf note :
« Mentionner la migration dans le but d’accélérer l’action pour le climat et d’attirer l’attention sur l’incidence du changement climatique pour les populations me semble tout à fait bien intentionnée. Mais malheureusement, très souvent, c’est la question de la sécurité qui prend le dessus. On attend une action pour le climat, et on se retrouve avec des politiques migratoires restrictives parce qu’on joue avec la peur des gens. »
La peur n’incite pas les citoyens ni les gouvernements à agir davantage pour le climat mais a plutôt tendance à exacerber le racisme et la xénophobie et à contribuer à l’édification de la « forteresse Europe ». De surcroît, présenter la « migration climatique » comme un risque pour la sécurité justifie la mise en place de programmes de financement destinés à empêcher la migration en faisant en sorte que les candidats au départ restent chez eux, ce qui est contraire au droit humain fondamental de circuler librement. Alors que l’urgence climatique augmente, la « crise européenne des réfugiés » de 2015 est de plus en plus souvent invoquée pour prédire l’avenir. Caroline Zickgraf pense qu’en recourant à des tactiques qui alarment le public, ce ne sont pas les changements climatiques qui font peur, mais « l’Autre » – celui qui doit se déplacer à cause de ces changements.
Un autre problème émane de la recherche sur la migration elle-même : quelles études, réalisées par quels chercheurs, sont reconnues et écoutées ? D’après Aly Tandian, étant donné qu’en Europe toutes les causes de la migration ne sont pas prises en considération, les analyses européennes se limitent à leur compréhension des questions migratoires sur le terrain en Afrique. « De plus, c’est souvent l’Europe qui est mandatée pour réaliser des études sur la migration, ce qui appauvrit en partie les résultats et les décisions politiques qui sont prises », observe-t-il.
La mobilité, une #stratégie_d’adaptation
La tendance actuelle à présenter la migration en provenance de l’hémisphère sud comme une anomalie, un problème à résoudre ou une menace à éviter ne tient pas compte du fait que la migration n’est pas un phénomène nouveau. Depuis la nuit des temps, la mobilité est une stratégie d’adaptation des humains pour faire face aux changements du climat ou de l’environnement. Et il ne s’agit pas toujours d’un moyen d’échapper à une crise. « La migration est une question de résilience et d’adaptation et, en Afrique de l’Ouest et centrale, la migration fait déjà partie de la solution », note Hind Aïssaoui Bennani.
Dans certains endroits, nous devrons peut-être, et c’est souhaitable, faciliter la migration de manière préventive, dit Caroline Zickgraf, en veillant à ce que les gens migrent dans les meilleures conditions dans le contexte du changement climatique. « Ce que nous souhaitons vraiment, c’est donner le choix, et si nous considérons seulement la migration comme quelque chose de négatif, ou qui doit toujours être évité, nous ne voyons pas tous les intérêts qu’il peut y avoir à quitter une région vulnérable à l’impact du changement climatique. »
Étant donné que le changement climatique pèse lourdement sur les fragilités et les inégalités existantes et qu’il frappera de façon disproportionnée les populations de l’hémisphère sud, alors qu’elles en sont le moins responsables, favoriser la mobilité n’est pas une simple stratégie d’adaptation, mais fait partie intégrante de la justice climatique.
La mobilité peut permettre aux habitants de Saint-Louis et des innombrables lieux qui subissent déjà les effets du changement climatique, en termes de vies humaines et d’opportunités, d’être moins vulnérables et de vivre mieux – un rôle qui se révélera particulièrement essentiel dans un monde de plus en plus marqué par l’instabilité climatique.
▻https://www.equaltimes.org/refugies-climatiques-quand-attiser?lang=fr
#réfugiés #asile #migrations #réfugiés_environnementaux #adaptation -
#Métaliste autour de #structures_flottantes pour l’asile (soit des centres de détention et/ou procédure, ou alors des objets flottants utilisés à des fins d’#expulsion)
#offshore #asile #migrations #réfugiés #mer #eau #flottants #flottant #détention #procédure_d'asile #modèle_australien #frontières #frontières_mobiles
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#life_rats dans la #Mer_Egée (#Grèce)
Greece : Investigate Pushbacks, Collective Expulsions (fil de discussion) :
►https://seenthis.net/messages/868362Beaucoup d’articles/document sur ce fil de discussion :
►https://seenthis.net/messages/840285Afghan Families Left Drifting in #Life_Rafts Outside Lesvos
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/980784 -
Une idée importée d’#Australie :
https://seenthis.net/local/cache-vignettes/L600xH338/cn-boat-wide4a96-4dcbd.jpg 
https://seenthis.net/local/cache-vignettes/L600xH338/Dan-201403018a0a-70346.jpg Sur seenthis (c’était 2014) :
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/275404#message282774
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/233722
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/840285#message840287 -
Projet #UK / #Angleterre :
The Times reported that the government was also giving serious consideration to the idea of creating #floating_asylum_centres in disused ferries moored off the UK coast.
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Bau des Nord-Ostsee-Kanals wird zum politischen Machtkampf Ausgerec...
▻https://diasp.eu/p/11188908Bau des Nord-Ostsee-Kanals wird zum politischen Machtkampf
Ausgerechnet in Generalfeldmarschall von Moltke hat von Bismarck seinen größten Gegner beim Plan des Nord-Ostsee-Kanals. Doch mit einer Finte kann sich der Reichskanzler schließlich durchsetzen. Nord-Ostsee-Kanal: Machtkampf zwischen Bismarck und Moltke #Nord-Ostsee-Kanal #NOK #Nordostseekanal #OttovonBismarck #Reichskanzler #HelmuthvonMoltke #KaiserWilhelmI #Generalfeldmarschall #Militär #Flottengründungsplan
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Latest Tactic to Push Migrants From Europe ? A Private, Clandestine Fleet
The government of Malta enlisted three privately owned fishing trawlers to intercept migrants in the Mediterranean, and force them back to a war zone, officials and a boat captain say.
With the onset of the coronavirus, Malta announced that it was too overwhelmed to rescue migrants making the precarious crossing of the Mediterranean Sea, where the tiny island nation has been on the front line of the maritime migration route over the past decade.
In secret, however, the Maltese authorities have worked hard to make sure no migrants actually reach the island.
It dispatched a small fleet of private merchant vessels in April to intercept migrants at sea and return them by force to a war zone in Libya, according to information provided by the captain of one of the boats, a senior commander in the Libyan Coast Guard, and a former Maltese official involved in the episode.
The three repurposed fishing trawlers are privately owned, but acted on the instructions of the Armed Forces of Malta, the captain and the others said.
The clandestine operation, which some experts consider illegal under international law, is just the latest dubious measure taken by European countries in recent years to stem the migration from Africa and the Middle East that has sown political chaos in Europe and fueled a populist backlash.
Since 2017, European states, led by Italy, have paid the Libyan government to return more migrants to Libya, hassled the private rescue organizations that try to bring them to Europe, and asked passing merchant vessels to intercept them before they enter European waters.
But Malta’s latest tactic may be among the most egregious, maritime experts say, because it involved a designated flotilla of private vessels, based in a European port, that intercepted and expelled asylum seekers from international waters that fall within the responsibility of European coast guards.
“Against a pattern of increased abuses against asylum seekers in recent years, this newest approach stands out,” said Itamar Mann, an expert in maritime and refugee law at the University of Haifa in Israel. “Its methods chillingly resemble organized crime, and indeed the operations of people smugglers, which European policymakers so adamantly denounce.”
“The facts available raise serious concerns that we are seeing the emergence of a novel systematic pattern, such that may even put Maltese state officials in danger of criminal liability, at home or abroad,” Dr. Mann added.
The Maltese government did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The activity was first documented on the evening of April 12, when three aging blue trawlers left the Grand Harbour in Valletta, the Maltese capital, within an hour of each other. The three boats — the Dar Al Salam 1, the Salve Regina and the Tremar — departed at the request of the Maltese authorities, according to the captain of the Tremar, Amer Abdelrazek.
A former Maltese official, Neville Gafa, said he was enlisted by the government that same night to use his connections in Libya to ensure the safe passage of the first two boats to Libya.
The boats did not submit paperwork to the immigration police, and switched off their satellite tracking devices soon after leaving port, maritime databases show.
But their mission had already been determined, said Mr. Gafa, who said he had been asked by the Maltese prime minister’s chief of staff, Clyde Caruana, to help coordinate the operation. Mr. Caruana did not respond to requests for comment, but a government spokesman told The Times of Malta that Mr. Gafa had been asked to liaise with Libya on a separate matter that was unconnected to the episode.
The trawlers were sent to intercept a migrant vessel attempting to reach Malta from Libya — and which had been issuing mayday calls for some 48 hours — and then return its passengers to Libya, Mr. Gafa said.
The stricken migrant vessel was still in international waters, according to coordinates provided by the migrants by satellite phone to Alarm Phone, an independent hotline for shipwrecked refugees. But it had reached the area of jurisdiction of Malta’s armed forces, making it Malta’s responsibility under international maritime law to rescue its passengers and provide them with sanctuary.
Two of the trawlers — the Dar Al Salam 1 and the Tremar — reached the migrant vessel early on April 14, guided by a Maltese military helicopter, Mr. Abdelrazek said. Several of the migrants had already drowned, according to testimony later gathered by Alarm Phone.
The roughly 50 survivors were taken aboard the Dar Al Salam 1, Mr. Abdelrazek said.
The Dar Al Salam 1 and the Salve Regina sailed to Tripoli on April 15, the former carrying the migrants and the latter carrying several tons of food and water, as a show of appreciation to the Libyan government, Mr. Abdelrazek and Mr. Gafa said. The Tremar waited in international waters, Mr. Abdelrazek said.
The Maltese authorities told their Libyan counterparts that the Dar Al Salam 1 was in fact a Maltese vessel called the Maria Cristina, said Commodore Masoud Abdalsamad, who oversees international operations at the Libyan Coast Guard. To further obscure its identity, the boat’s crew had also painted over the ship’s name and flew a Maltese flag to confuse the Libyan Coast Guard.
Though based physically in Malta and owned by a Maltese shipowner, the vessel is legally registered in Tobruk, a port in east Libya controlled by opponents of the authorities in Tripoli. The crew did not want to risk upsetting the Tripoli government by broadcasting its links to Tobruk, leading it to hide its name and home port, Mr. Abdelrazek said.
After disembarking, the migrants were taken to a notorious detention center run by a pro-government militia, where migrants are routinely tortured, held for ransom or sold to other militias. The detention cells stand close to an arms depot, and the surrounding area was hit by shelling in December.
Conditions at the detention center are “utterly appalling,” said Safa Msehli, a spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration, an arm of the United Nations. “People are caged in overcrowded hangars with barely any access to food or sanitation facilities.”
“Many tell us of the abuse they endure and the inhumane ways in which they are exploited,’’ Ms. Msehli added. ‘‘Reports of migrants being used to load weapons, and the detention center’s proximity to a military facility, raise serious concerns over the safety of people detained there arbitrarily.”
After departing Tripoli, the Dar Al Salam 1 turned its satellite identification system back on, and the boat resurfaced off the coast of Libya on the evening of April 15, data provided by Marine Traffic, a maritime database, shows.
The owner of the Salve Regina, Dominic Tanti, declined to comment through an intermediary, and the owner of the Tremar, Yasser Aziz, did not return a message seeking comment.
The owner of the Dar Al Salam 1, Carmelo Grech, did not to respond to multiple requests for comment sent by text, voice message and a letter hand-delivered to his apartment. But he has confirmed his boat’s involvement to a Maltese newspaper, and several outlets have already highlighted its role, including the Italian newspaper, Avvenire, and the Maltese blogger Manuel Delia.
Mr. Grech and his boat have colorful histories, raising questions in Malta about why the government involved them in a state-led operation.
Mr. Grech has previously recounted how he used the boat, then known as the Mae Yemanja, to bring supplies to Libyan rebels during the Libyan revolution in 2011. In 2012, court records show it was impounded after Mr. Grech was accused, though later acquitted, of smuggling contraband cigarettes from Libya to Malta.
In 2015, Mr. Grech was detained by a Libyan faction for several days for what he later described as a misunderstanding over his visas.
Maltese ship records obtained by The Times show that Mr. Grech canceled his boat’s registration in Malta last February, before repainting it to show it had been re-registered in Tobruk, for undisclosed reasons.
Mr. Abdelrazek also has a criminal history, having been convicted in 2014 of forging documents, court records show.
After appearing briefly in Malta last week, the Dar Al Salam 1 and the Salve Regina returned again to sea on Sunday.
Their satellite trackers were once again switched off shortly afterward.
▻https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/world/europe/migrants-malta.html
#privatisation #asile #migrations #réfugiés #frontières #contrôles_frontaliers #Malte #Méditerranée #push-backs #refoulement #refoulements #Libye–—
Commentaire de @isskein via la mailing-list Migreurop :
Depuis avril fonctionne une méthode pro-active : une #flotte_privée de 3 bateaux qui se chargent d’arrêter les bateaux de migrants et de les renvoyer vers la Libye.
Un ancien officiel maltais, #Neville_Gafà, a été engagé par le Premier Ministre pour monter l’affaire avec ses contacts libyens
il est entre autres responsable de la #tragédie_de_Pâques : le gouvernement a ignoré durant 48h un bateau qui se trouvait dans sles eaux internationales (mais dans la juridiction des Forces armées maltaises) , puis envoyé sa flotte privée, qui a pris à son bord 51 migrants dont 8 femmes et 3 enfants, à bord 5 cadavres ; 7 migrants s’étaient noyés auparavant. Ils ont été ramenés à Tripolii
voir ►https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/the-faces-and-names-of-a-migration-tragedy.788723–---
Dans le mail reçu via la mailing-list Migreurop, Conni parle de #hotspot_mobile :Yesterday we got news from the Maltese media about a new strategy of the authorities to keep rescued migrants out: a floating hotspot on a cruise ship off their coast:
▻https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/102051/rescued_migrants_to_be_kept_on_captain_morgan_vessel_outside_territor▻https://www.tvm.com.mt/en/news/rescued-migrants-will-remain-on-vessel-13-miles-outside-maltese-territorial-
via @isskein
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Rappel de Sara Prestianni sur l’utilisation des #hotspots_mobiles en #Italie (via mailing-list Migreurop, 01.05.2020) :
The “hotspot boat” is the same system , used by Italy from April 17 , only for migrants have been intercepted by ships flying foreign flags, as decided in the inter-ministerial decree of 7 April.
On board of the ship “hotspot” Rubattino - positioned in front of Palermo - there are at this moment almost 200 migrants, of the two rescues carried out by the ships Alan Kurdi and Aita Mari. All of them were negative to the Covid test, but it is not clear how long they will have to stay on the ship and where they will be transferred (at the beginning of the procedure there was talk of a relocation to Germany).
Yesterday the Guarantor for the Rights of Italian Prisoners, in his bulletin, expressed concern about the establishment of these “floating” hotspots.
▻http://www.garantenazionaleprivatiliberta.it/gnpl“The implementation of quarantine measures in extraordinary and exceptional places cannot lead to a situation of ’limbo’: migrant people are under the jurisdiction of the Italian State for the purposes of the health measures imposed on them, but at the same time they do not have the possibility - and for a period of time not indifferent - to exercise the rights that our country recognizes and protects. They cannot apply for asylum, they are not de facto - and at least temporarily - protected as victims of trafficking or unaccompanied foreign minors, nor can they have timely access to procedures for family reunification under the Dublin Regulation. - procedures which, moreover, have their own intrinsic deadlines.”
The Guarantor also indicated that the experience of the ship “Rubattino” would not seem to remain an isolated case as the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport launched on 19 April a procedure for the chartering of vessels to be used for the assistance and health surveillance of migrants rescued at sea or arrived on the national territory as a result of autonomous boats.–---
–-> sur les hotspots mobiles, voir aussi : ▻https://seenthis.net/tag/hotspot_mobile
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voir aussi
The faces and names of a migration tragedy -
Abela admits coordinating private boats that returned migrants to Libya
PM says Easter manoeuvre was a ’rescue’ not a pushback.
Prime Minister Robert Abela has admitted commissioning a boat that returned migrants to war-torn Libya on Easter weekend but has insisted it was a rescue mission and not a pushback.
A boat commissioned by Maltese authorities picked up a group of migrants in the search and rescue area earlier this month and returned them to the North African country.
It is a crime under international law for states to return asylum seekers to a country where they are likely to face persecution.
Speaking publicly about the controversy for the first time on Friday, Abela admitted the manoeuvre and defended the government’s actions.
"There was no pushback,"he said.
"There was a rescue of migrants. Had the Maltese government not coordinated, tens of lives would have died, because a [EU coastguard] Frontex plane just flew overhead and kept on going.
“Malta’s ports are closed but it coordinated this rescue and ensured that the irregular migrants were taken to the port that was open.”
The country, along with Italy, closed its ports, citing concerns about the spread of coronavirus.
Former OPM official Neville Gafa claimed under oath this week that he had coordinated the pushback.
Asked Gafa’s involvement, Abela said his only involvement was liaising with a contact he was claiming to have in Libya so that the rescue could be facilitated. He said Gafa was not paid or promised anything.
Abela defended using a private boat, saying that a Search and Rescue convention stipulates the legal obligations of individual states that are not obliged to carry out the actual rescues but to coordinate such rescues.
The obligations also state that countries can use their own assets or else send private assets to rescue boats in distress, he said.
This week, Malta has commissioned a Captain Morgan tourist boat Europa II, to house migrants until a solution for their disembarkation is found.
“We are ready to do anything to save lives. We have nothing to be ashamed of,” Abela said, adding that the cost for the Captain Morgan boat being used to temporarily house migrants outside Maltese waters will come from aid by the EU.
“Malta’s position is clear and we know what our obligations are. We are going to remain firm on this. We are not a safe port and we cannot guarantee our resources for rescues.
"We are duty bound to stick to this position. It is counterproductive to close port and airports to tourists but then open ports for irregular migrants. There are hundreds of thousands of people on the Libyan coast wanting to leave there and come to Lampedusa and Malta. We are obeying international rules,” he insisted.
He said the migration problem should not be “Malta’s alone” and called for the EU to intervene.
Earlier on Friday, Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo told Times of Malta that “the EU was responsible for a huge push back of migrants to Malta”.
He said its failure to set up an effective and fair solidarity mechanism to share the burden of welcoming irregular migrants means that Malta had borne a huge burden over the years.
He quoted a letter from a United Nations official to him in which he admitted that Europe needed to adopt a more principled migration policy that will serve European needs, that does not penalise those seeking to cross, and that does not leave countries like Malta, which are trying to do the right thing, on their own.
“If we continue to fail, more people, Libyans and non-Libyans, will be compelled to seek safety on the European side” because of the ongoing war and the economic consequences of Covid-19.
Bartolo said that in the first three months of the year, 3,600 irregular migrants left the Libyan coast through the Central Mediterranean route. This is over 400 per cent more than in the same period in 2019. Some 1,200 came to Malta.
He said Malta’s centres were “overflowing” and there is no room for more migrants.
▻https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/abela-admits-coordinating-private-boats-that-returned-migrants-to.7893
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Malte a affrété des navires privés pour renvoyer les embarcations de migrants vers la Libye
Une enquête du New York Times révèle que les autorités maltaises ont affrété, depuis le mois d’avril, une flotte de navires privés afin d’empêcher les migrants d ’atteindre l’île et les renvoyer en Libye. Selon plusieurs experts, cette action est illégale.
En pleine pandémie de coronavirus, Malte fait tout pour empêcher les embarcations de migrants d’atteindre l’île. A tel point que le gouvernement a discrètement dépêché en avril une flotte de navires marchands privés pour intercepter les migrants et les renvoyer en Libye, a révélé une enquête du New York Times publiée jeudi 30 avril.
Selon le quotidien américain - qui s’appuie sur les témoignages d’un capitaine de l’un de ces bateaux, commandant en chef des garde-côtes libyens, et d’un ancien responsable maltais impliqué dans l’opération - les trois chalutiers de pêche affrétés appartiennent à des particuliers mais ont agi sur les instructions des forces armées maltaises.
Une opération sur ordre du Premier ministre maltaisL’opération a été documentée pour la première fois dans la soirée du 12 avril, écrit le New York Times, quand trois chalutiers ont quitté le port de la Valette, la capitale maltaise, sur ordre des autorités. Un ancien responsable maltais, Neville Gafa, a déclaré qu’il avait été enrôlé par le gouvernement le soir même pour utiliser ses relations en Libye et assurer le passage en toute sécurité des deux premiers chalutiers vers les ports libyens.
Le Dar As Salam 1 et le Tremar, ont ainsi été envoyés pour intercepter une embarcation de migrants présente dans les eaux maltaises - qui avait émis des appels de détresse depuis deux jours - afin de les renvoyer en Libye, a précisé Neville Gafa. A bord du canot, se trouvait cinq cadavres.
Le 15 avril, l’Organisation internationale pour les migrations (OIM) avait pourtant affirmé que les migrants avaient été interceptés par un navire marchand puis remis à des garde-côtes qui les avaient alors amenés au port de Tripoli.
Le troisième chalutier, le Salve Regina, a quant à lui navigué vers Tripoli le 15 avril, transportant plusieurs tonnes de nourriture et d’eau, en guise de remerciement au gouvernement libyen, assure au quotidien américain le capitaine du Tremar, Amer Abdelrazek.
Devant la justice maltaise, à la suite de la plainte lancée par plusieurs ONG contre le Premier ministre sur sa responsabilité dans la mort des cinq migrants, Neville Gafa a déclaré sous serment qu’il avait agi sur ordre du cabinet du Premier ministre.
Une opération illégale
« Dans une tendance à l’augmentation des abus contre les demandeurs d’asile ces dernières années, cette nouvelle approche se démarque », déclare au New York Times Itamar Mann, expert en droit maritime et des réfugiés à l’université de Haïfa, en Israël. « Ces méthodes ressemblent de façon effrayante au crime organisé, aux opérations de passeurs, que les décideurs européens dénoncent avec tant de fermeté », continue le chercheur pour qui cette opération est illégale eu égard au droit international.
En effet, comme écrit le quotidien américain, une flotte de navires privées, basée dans un port européen, qui intercepte et expulse des demandeurs d’asile des eaux internationales relèvent de la responsabilité des garde-côtes européens.
Cette opération « pourrait mettre les fonctionnaires de l’Etat maltais en danger de responsabilité pénale, dans le pays ou à l’étranger », signale encore Itamar Mann.
▻https://www.infomigrants.net/fr/post/24485/malte-a-affrete-des-navires-prives-pour-renvoyer-les-embarcations-de-m
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After disembarking, the migrants were taken to a notorious detention center run by a pro-government militia, where migrants are routinely tortured, held for ransom or sold to other militias.
et aussi : ▻https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/world/europe/malta-migrant-boat.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article
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Malta-Libya #deal sets up centres ’against illegal migration’
Coastguard, UN centres, EU help among items discussed
Malta and Libya will be setting up units to coordinate operations against illegal migration, the government said on Thursday.
These centres are expected to start operating within the coming weeks, however, the government provided no additional information.
The announcement followed an unannounced trip by Prime Minister Robert Abela, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri and Foreign Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo to Tripoli, where they discussed migration with the Libyan government.
The three met Fayez al-Sarraj who heads the UN-backed Government of National Accord as well as Mohammed Sheibani, deputy minister responsible for migration at the meeting in Tripoli.
It was Abela’s first trip to war-torn Libya as prime minister.
Sources said the meeting was held on the back of a new wave of Malta-Libya relations, and a change in approach.
Discussions revolved around the need to push the EU to help Libya to train its coastguard, obtain funding for reception camps manned by the UN, as well as to build a realistic strategy to slow down the flow of migrants into Libya.
“It was a positive meeting, though of course that doesn’t mean we’ve resolved the migration issue,” a source told Times of Malta.
“Malta could be Libya’s bridge to the EU. We need to stop human trafficking as well as save lives at sea,” the source said.
Valletta, diplomatic sources say, has been trying to build new bridges with the Libyan authorities to stem the tide of migrants leaving the North African coast.
800,000 migrants in LibyaIn a statement issued later on Thursday, the government said that during the meeting Abela reiterated Malta’s position on the need to address and stop human trafficking. Malta, he added, was facing unprecedented and disproportionate flows and burdens.
Meanwhile, al-Sarraj said that 800,000 migrants were currently in Libya and the country needed an effective long-term and holistic approach.
Both leaders spoke about the need to strengthen cooperation to ensure that lives are not lost at sea and to combat human traffickers on the ground and at sea.
According to Abela, the solution lies in concrete action on Libyan shores and its southern border. This would be done through addressing and stopping human trafficking, rather than focusing just on relocation of migrants to other countries.
Signing a #memorandum_of_understanding, Malta and Libya agreed to set up a coordination unit in each country to assist in operations against illegal migration.
The agreement also stipulates that Malta supports Libya when it comes to financial assistance through the upcoming Multiannual Financial Framework.
►https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/abela-ministers-return-from-libya-after-positive-migration-talks.79484
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Mer méditerranée : Malte renforce sa coopération avec la Libye pour lutter contre « l’immigration illégale »
Malte a signé un accord avec le gouvernement d’union nationale (GNA) libyen dans le but de renforcer « la lutte contre l’immigration illégale » en mer Méditerranée. Le texte prévoit la création de « centres de coordination » à Tripoli et La Valette qui seront opérationnels dès le mois de juillet.
Malte tente par tous les moyens de limiter le flux de migrants qui débarquent sur ses côtes. Pour ce faire, les autorités maltaises et libyennes viennent d’acter la création de « centres de coordination » à Tripoli et à La Valette.
Ces deux centres « offriront le soutien nécessaire à la lutte contre l’immigration illégale en Libye et dans la région méditerranéenne », selon un protocole d’accord entre Malte et le gouvernement d’union nationale (GNA) de Fayez al-Sarraj, et présenté au Parlement maltais mercredi 3 juin (▻https://www.independent.com.mt/file.aspx?f=206640).
Financé par le gouvernement maltais, ces structures seront chacune dirigées par trois fonctionnaires et limiteront leur travail « au soutien et à la coordination », indique cet accord valable pour trois ans. Les centres devraient voir le jour dès le mois de juillet.
« L’UE a la responsabilité de parvenir à un accord global avec la Libye »Malte, le plus petit État de l’Union européenne (UE), de par sa taille et sa population, se plaint depuis longtemps d’être obligé d’assumer à lui seul l’arrivée des migrants en provenance de la Libye, pays en guerre.
Actuellement, plus de 400 migrants secourus en Méditerranée sont bloqués sur quatre navires touristiques affrétés par Malte juste à la limite de ses eaux territoriales, La Valette exigeant qu’ils soient ensuite pris en charge par d’autres pays européens.
Le ministre maltais des Affaires étrangères, Evarist Bartolo, a déclaré au Parlement mercredi que « l’UE a la responsabilité de parvenir à un accord global avec la Libye afin de limiter l’immigration clandestine ».
« Le nombre d’immigrants arrivant à Malte est disproportionné par rapport aux autres pays européens », a insisté le ministre. Selon lui, depuis 2005 l’Europe n’a accueilli que 1 700 migrants, tandis que 22 000 sont arrivés à Malte - seuls 8% des migrants en situation irrégulière sur l’île ont été relocalisés dans d’autres pays européens.
Selon le protocole d’accord, Malte proposera à la Commission européenne une augmentation du soutien financier pour aider le GNA à sécuriser ses frontières sud et à démanteler les réseaux de trafiquants d’êtres humains.
La Valette proposera également le financement de « moyens maritimes supplémentaires nécessaires » pour contrôler et intercepter les passeurs de migrants en Méditerranée.
▻https://www.infomigrants.net/fr/post/25175/mer-mediterranee-malte-renforce-sa-cooperation-avec-la-libye-pour-lutt -
Accordo Malta-Libia: insieme daranno la caccia ai migranti. Con i soldi Ue
Centrali operative e pattugliamenti congiunti. Fonti Onu: è una regolazione dei respingimenti illegali. Intanto Frontex smentisce l’inchiesta di Malta sulla “#Strage_di_Pasquetta”
Dopo la scoperta degli accordi segreti con Tripoli, siglati tre anni fa, Malta ha deciso di uscire allo scoperto negoziando un memorandum siglato dal premier Robert Abela, fresco di archiviazione per le accuse di respingimento, e il presidente libico Fayez al Sarraj.
I due Paesi daranno insieme la caccia ai migranti nel Mediterraneo, ma con nuovi fondi Ue da destinare a Tripoli.
SCARICA QUI IL DOCUMENTO COMPLETO: ▻https://www.avvenire.it/c/attualita/Documents/MOU%20with%20Libya.pdf
E’ prevista la creazione di «centri di coordinamento» nel porto di Tripoli e a La Valletta che saranno operativi da luglio. In realtà le operazioni congiunte andavano avanti da anni, ma adesso sono state ufficializzate. Le strutture congiunte «forniranno il sostegno necessario alla lotta contro l’immigrazione clandestina in Libia e nella regione del Mediterraneo», si legge. Inizialmente Malta finanzierà interamente l’attivazione delle centrali operative, ognuna delle quali sarà guidata da tre funzionari dei rispettivi governi. Fin da subito, però, il premier Abela si impegna a ottenere dall’Ue fondi aggiuntivi da destinare alla cosiddetta Guardia costiera libica, che verrà ulteriormente equipaggiata.
Nessuna menzione si fa riguardo alla necessità di ristabilire il rispetto dei diritti umani nei campi di prigionia libici. L’unico scopo, come del resto è sempre stato in questi anni anche per Italia e Ue, è quello di trattenere i profughi in cattività, a qualunque costo. «L’UE ha la responsabilità di raggiungere un accordo globale con la Libia», c’è scritto nell’accordo che, di fatto, appalta a Malta e Libia il controllo dell’intero Canale di Sicilia, ad esclusione delle ultime 12 miglia territoriali dalla costa di Lampedusa. Malta, lo stato più piccolo dell’Unione Europea (Ue) per dimensioni e popolazione, si è lamentato da tempo di essere costretto ad assumere da solo la responsabilità dell’arrivo dei migranti dalla Libia, un paese in guerra che secondo l’Onu in alcun modo può essere ritenuto un “porto sicuro”.
Nelle settimane scorse una nuova serie di inchieste giornalistiche internazionali ha permesso di accertare che non solo Malta ha messo in mare da tempo una flottiglia di “pescherecci fantasma” incaricati di intercettare i barconi e ricondurli in Libia, ma che spesso le Forze armate dell’isola equipaggiano i gommoni, anche con motori nuovi, affinché raggiungano le coste siciliane.
Nei giorni scorsi il Tribunale dell’isola aveva archiviato il procedimento contro il premier laburista Robert Abela e il capo delle forze armate, accusati della morte di 12 migranti nella “strage di Pasquetta”. Forte di questa “assoluzione”, Abela si è recato a Tripoli per sigillare l’intesa con il presidente al-Sarraj. Ma proprio uno dei punti chiave utilizzati dal giudice Joe Mifsud per cestinare le accuse, ieri è stato categoricamente smentito dall’agenzia Ue Frontex che ha risposto per iscritto alle domande di Avvenire. Secondo il magistrato, infatti, il coordinamento dei soccorsi in qualche misura era attribuibile non a Malta ma a Frontex che aveva individuato con un suo aereo i barconi. Da Varsavia, rispondendo con una nota ad “Avvenire”, l’agenzia ha precisato che “è il centro di salvataggio appropriato, non Frontex, a decidere se chiedere assistenza a qualsiasi nave della zona. E Frontex non aveva navi vicino a quest’area”. La responsabilità di intervenire, dunque, era di innanzitutto di Malta che invece per giorni ha ignorato gli Sos e ha poi inviato un motopesca quando oramai 7 persone erano affogate e altre 5 sono morte di stenti durante il respingimento dalle acque maltesi verso la Libia.
Nel fine settimana di Pasqua l’aeroobile Eagle 1, tracciato e segnalato dal giornalista Sergio Scandura di Radio Radicale “stava svolgendo - spiegano da Frontex - una missione di sorveglianza ben al di fuori dell’area operativa dell’Operazione Themis di Frontex”. Nella nota un portavoce dell’agenzia Ue precisa poi che “Frontex gestisce operazioni congiunte, nonché la sorveglianza pre-frontaliera, che veniva eseguita dall’aereo in questione”. Secondo questa ricostruzione, che avrebbe meritato maggiore puntiglio investigativo anche per accertare eventuali responsabilità esterne a Malta, “in linea con il diritto internazionale, Frontex ha avvisato i centri di soccorso competenti dell’avvistamento di una nave che riteneva necessitasse di assistenza”, si legge ancora. Parole che hanno un significato preciso e costituiscono un’accusa verso chi era stato informato e doveva prestare quell’assistenza negata per giorni. Le autorità italiane hanno apposto il segreto alle comunicazioni intercorse. Silenzio che potrebbe essere presto scardinato da indagini giudiziarie. Lo stesso per Malta, che neanche nell’atto conclusivo dell’inchiesta ha voluto rendere pubbliche le comunicazioni con Roma e con Frontex che a sua volta ribadisce ad Avvenire che “è il centro di salvataggio appropriato, non Frontex, a decidere se chiedere assistenza a qualsiasi nave della zona. Tuttavia, desidero sottolineare qui che Frontex non aveva navi vicino a quest’area”.
Il memorandum sta creando non poco dibattito nei vertici della Marina militare italiana. A Tripoli, infatti, si trova la nave Gorgona, ufficialmente incaricata di assistere la cosiddetta guardia costiera libica per conto di Roma. E certo i marinai italiani non vogliono finire a fare gli addetti alla manutenzione delle motovedette donate dall’Italia ma che tra pochi giorni si coordineranno con Malta. «Mentre l’obiettivo dichiarato nell’accordo vi è il benessere del popolo libico e di quello maltese, il benessere delle principali vittime, cioè migranti, richiedenti asilo e rifugiati, non viene mai menzionato», ha commentato sul portale cattolico Newsbook il giudice maltese Giovanni Bonelli, già membro della Corte europea dei diritti dell’uomo. «Si potrebbe pensare - aggiunge - che questo memorandum si riferisca all’estrazione di minerali, non a degli esseri umani».Fonti delle Nazioni Unite contattate da “Avvenire” hanno reagito a caldo considerando l’intesa come una «regolamentazione di fatto dei respingimenti illegali».
Negli anni scorsi più volte Avvenire ha documentato, anche con registrazioni audio, il collegamento diretto tra la Marina italiana e la Guardia costiera libica. Ma ora Malta si spinge oltre, ufficializzando una alleanza operativa che inoltre rischierà di causare conflitti con l’operazione navale europea Irini a guida italiana. Fonti delle Nazioni Unite contattate da Avvenire hanno reagito a caldo considerando l’intesa come una “regolamentazione di fatto dei respingimenti illegali”.
▻https://www.avvenire.it/attualita/pagine/accordo-malta-libia-respingimento-migranti
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Petrolio e migranti. Il « patto libico »
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/862595 -
Malta: Illegal tactics mar another year of suffering in central Mediterranean
The Maltese government has resorted to dangerous and illegal measures for dealing with the arrivals of refugees and migrants at sea, which are exposing countless people to appalling suffering and risking their lives, Amnesty International revealed today in a report “Waves of impunity: Malta’s violations of the rights of refugees and migrants in the Central Mediterranean”. As Amnesty is launching this new report, despair is growing aboard the Maersk Etienne, which has been denied a port to disembark for over a month, after rescuing 27 people on a request from Maltese authorities
The Maltese government’s change in approach to arrivals in the central Mediterranean in 2020 has seen them take unlawful, and sometimes unprecedented, measures to avoid assisting refugees and migrants. This escalation of tactics included arranging unlawful pushbacks to Libya, diverting boats towards Italy rather than rescuing people in distress, illegally detaining hundreds of people on ill-equipped ferries off Malta’s waters, and signing a new agreement with Libya to prevent people from reaching Malta.
“Malta is stooping to ever more despicable and illegal tactics to shirk their responsibilities to people in need. Shamefully, the EU and Italy have normalized cooperation with Libya on border control, but sending people back to danger in Libya is anything but normal,” said Elisa De Pieri, Regional Researcher at Amnesty International.
“EU member states must stop assisting in the return of people to a country where they face unspeakable horrors.”
Some of the actions taken by the Maltese authorities may have involved criminal acts being committed, resulting in avoidable deaths, prolonged arbitrary detention, and illegal returns to war-torn Libya. The authorities also used the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to declare that Malta was not a safe place to disembark – to discourage people from seeking safety and a decent life in Europe.
The abusive practices by Malta are part and parcel of wider efforts by EU member states and institutions to outsource the control of the central Mediterranean to Libya, in order that EU-supported Libyan authorities might intercept refugees and migrants at sea before they reach Europe.
People are then returned to Libya and arbitrarily detained in places where torture and other ill-treatment is highly likely. From the beginning of January to 27 August 2020 7,256 people were ‘pulled back’ to Libya by the EU-supported Libyan Coast Guard, which was often alerted of the presence of boats at sea by airplanes engaged in Frontex and other EU operations.
The Easter Monday pushback
The case of the “Easter Monday pushback” illustrates the desperate lengths to which the Maltese authorities are willing to go to prevent people arriving on their shores.
On 15 April 2020, a group of 51 people, including seven women and three children, were unlawfully returned to Tripoli after being rescued in Malta’s search and rescue region by the commercial fishing boat Dar Al Salam 1.
The boat, which had been contracted by the Maltese government, took those onboard back to Libya and handed them over to the Libyan authorities, exposing refugees and migrants – who had just survived a deadly shipwreck – to further risks to their life.
Five people were dead when the vessel reached Libya, and the survivors reported that a further seven people were missing at sea. Survivors reported that those on board were not given medical assistance. In an official statement the Maltese authorities confirmed they had coordinated the operation.
Lack of accountability in Malta
While a magisterial inquiry into the case was conducted, it left many questions unanswered. It is still unknown how the 12 people died and how 51 were returned to Libya despite it being illegal to transfer people there. The magistrate conducting the inquiry did not hear the testimonies of the 51 people transferred to Libya, nor probe the chain of responsibility to contract the Dar El Salam 1 and instruct it to transfer people to Libya.
The NGO Alarm Phone has evidence that other pushbacks by Maltese authorities may also have occurred in 2019 and 2020, which have not been investigated.
EU and Italian cooperation with Libya
Italy in particular has worked closely with Libya, having provided support to Libyan maritime authorities by providing vessels, training and assistance in the establishment of a Libyan SAR region to facilitate pullbacks by the Libyan coastguard.
Despite intensifying conflict and the arrival of COVID-19 threatening the humanitarian situation of refugees and migrants in Libya, Italy has continued to implement policies to keep people in Libya. These include extending its Memorandum of Understanding on Migration with Libya aimed at boosting Libyan authorities’ resources to prevent departures, for another three years, extending its military operations in the region focusing on supporting Libya’s maritime authorities, and maintaining legislation and practices aimed at the criminalization of NGOs rescuing people in the central Mediterranean.
The central Mediterranean is the latest border on which Amnesty International is highlighting abuses by EU member states authorities. In 2020, Amnesty International has also documented abuses on the borders between Croatia and Bosnia, and Greece and Turkey. The EU urgently needs an independent and effective human rights monitoring system at its external borders to ensure accountability for violations and abuses.
“The European Commission must turn the page when they launch the New Pact on Migration and Asylum after the summer and ensure European border control and European migration policies uphold the rights of refugees and migrants,” said Elisa De Pieri.
“The horrors faced by people returned to Libya must caution European leaders against cooperating with countries which don’t respect human rights. By continuing to empower abusers and to hide their heads in the sand when violations are committed, those EU leaders share responsibility for them.”
▻https://www.amnesty.eu/news/malta-illegal-tactics-mar-another-year-of-suffering-in-central-mediterranean/#:~:text=The%20Maltese%20government%20has%20resorted,Malta's%20violations%20
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Projet de loi d’orientation des #mobilités : la Fnaut reste vigilante
▻https://www.banquedesterritoires.fr/projet-de-loi-dorientation-des-mobilites-la-fnaut-reste-vigilanAlors que le projet de loi d’orientation des mobilités (LOM) revient en deuxième lecture à l’Assemblée nationale, la Fédération nationale des associations d’usagers des transports (#Fnaut) salue à ce stade des « avancées incontestables ». Mais elle pointe aussi les « insuffisances » du texte qui ne lui semble pas à la hauteur des enjeux sanitaires et climatiques.
#santé #climat #flotte_libre #transports #vitesse #bus
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Je copie -colle ici les messages que j’ai ajouté à un fil de discussion initié par @stesummi... toujours dans le cas où Stefania déciderait de quitter seenthis ce qui aurait comme conséquence de ne plus laisser trace des mes messages en commentaire de son post : ►https://seenthis.net/messages/605536
Sondierungsreise nach Eritrea
►http://files.newsnetz.ch/upload//8/1/81022.pdf
–-> Ce voyage avait donc été effectué en 2015, puis un deuxième a été organisé, et il en est question ci-dessous–-> commentaire de Stefania :
Lien au #rapport « secret » du #voyage de la #délégation suisse en Erythrée (20.01—24.01.2015), rendu public par le Tages Anzeiger grâce à la loi sur la transparence. C’est intéressant de voir que déjà à l’époque le SEM parlait d’une certaine ouverture de la part de l’Erythrée.
J’y ajoute aussi ces documents, en commentaire à un post de @vivre :
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/459667#asile #migrations #réfugiés #réfugiés_érythréens #Suisse
cc @isskein
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Der geheime Eritrea-Bericht
Ein erstmals integral veröffentlichter Bericht des Bundes zeugt von grosser Skepsis gegenüber Zusagen der Regierung in Asmara. Zu Recht, wie sich nun zeigt.
►https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/schweiz/standard/der-geheime-eritreabericht/story/16284609
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Les zigzags de la Suisse face à l’Erythrée
Le Secrétariat d’Etat aux migrations publie deux rapports aux tonalités bien différentes. Berne assure ne pas vouloir changer de pratique envers les requérants érythréens.
Asile Le Secrétariat d’Etat aux migrations est à l’origine de deux rapports aux tonalités bien différentes
Malgré les pressions politiques, Berne assure ne pas vouloir changerde pratiqueface aux requérants
La Suisse ne semble plus vraiment savoir sur quel pied danser par rapport à l’Erythrée, dont les migrants arrivent en tête des demandeurs d’asile depuis 2007. Deux documents différents le prouvent.
Le premier surprend. Il s’agit des conclusions de la visite d’une délégation suisse sur place, effectuée entre le 20 et le 24 janvier, emmenée par le vice-directeur du Secrétariat d’Etat aux migrations (SEM), Urs von Arb. Comme l’a récemment révélé l’émission Rundschau de la télévision alémanique, qui a eu accès au document que le SEM refuse de nous transmettre, il donne en quelque sorte du crédit à un rapport danois publié en novembre 2014, qui a déclenché une vaste polémique.
Le rapport danois laisse entendre que l’Erythrée n’est pas l’enfer sur terre décrit par les réfugiés, que le régime autoritaire instauré par le président Issayas Afewerki n’est pas si terrible. Il va jusqu’à faire croire que les déserteurs qui rentrent au pays ne risquent presque rien. Des affirmations contredites par de nombreuses ONG, et surtout, par des instances onusiennes. En juin, des enquêteurs du Conseil des droits de l’homme des Nations unies ont brossé, dans un document de 500 pages, un portrait sans concession du système répressif en place. Ils ont accusé le gouvernement d’être responsable de « violations des droits de l’homme systématiques et à grande échelle ».
Le Danemark n’a finalement pas changé sa pratique vis-à-vis des migrants érythréens. Mais pourquoi la Suisse ne s’est-elle pas montrée plus critique par rapport au document danois controversé ? S’agit-il d’un signal politique à l’adresse de ceux qui affirment que les Erythréens sont des migrants économiques qui fuient davantage la pauvreté que de réelles persécutions ? Voici comment le SEM s’est justifié à Rundschau : « Nous avons donné la parole aux mêmes personnes interrogées par les experts danois, et avons relayé leur opinion. Mais il ne s’agit pas d’un rapport sur la situation des droits de l’homme en Erythrée. »
La position est ambiguë. D’autant plus que le SEM a publié un peu plus tard, en mai, un rapport beaucoup plus complet et critique, pour le compte de l’European Asylum Support Office (EASO). Un document d’environ 70 pages, résultat d’un travail minutieux, qui tente de résumer l’état du pays. Il rappelle qu’aucun recensement de la population n’a été fait depuis 1998, et que celle-ci oscillerait entre 2,5 et 6,5 millions, souligne que l’accès à l’information, notamment concernant les droits de l’homme, est « généralement difficile ». Le rapport va jusqu’à préciser qu’en raison de cette difficulté et parce que le Département d’Etat américain, Human Rights Watch et Amnesty International ne citent pas toujours les sources à l’origine de leurs propres informations, il y a des risques qu’il recèle de « fausses confirmations ou informations ». Il admet qu’il est particulièrement difficile d’avoir des données fiables des autorités érythréennes sur le service national (imposé par le chef d’Etat depuis 2006), les conditions carcérales, les pratiques de torture et le traitement des déserteurs.
« Les déserteurs sont régulièrement gardés au secret sans accusations ou jugement », peut-on y lire. « Les périodes de détention varient entre plusieurs jours et plusieurs années. » Le document mentionne également la taxe de 2% à laquelle les Erythréens de la diaspora sont astreints lorsqu’ils doivent avoir un contact avec leur consulat, ainsi que la « letter of regrets » dans laquelle les déserteurs admettent leur « erreur » et disent accepter une punition. La dureté du régime, les emprisonnements arbitraires et disparitions n’y sont pas minimisés.
Alors, pourquoi cette différence ? Contacté, le SEM refuse d’y voir la moindre incohérence. Il insiste sur les buts différents de ces deux rapports. La porte-parole Céline Kohlprath parle du rapport de l’EASO « comme d’un « document de référence », qui présente la situation en Erythrée et la politique suisse en la matière. Le document interne, lui, « n’a nullement pour objectif d’évaluer la situation en Erythrée », assure-t-elle. Elle insiste : « Il s’agit simplement d’un rapport de mission qui avait pour seul but de rencontrer les autorités érythréennes et quelques représentations européennes sur place. On y rapporte certes le feedback de quelques interlocuteurs basés en Erythrée, toutefois il ne représente nullement la position suisse. » Il s’agit d’une « note interne rapportant quelques réactions sur place lors d’une mission purement diplomatique, qui n’affecte en rien la validité du rapport d’EASO », ajoute-t-elle. « L’objectif était simplement de soigner les relations diplomatiques »
Le SEM tient aujourd’hui à se distancer du rapport danois. « Il n’a pas beaucoup d’assise au niveau international. Les sources d’information de ce rapport sont problématiques. La Suisse ne partage en rien ses conclusions », insiste Céline Kohlprath.
Surtout, elle assure que la Suisse n’a pas l’intention de changer de pratique envers les requérants érythréens. Pas de durcissement en vue, donc, alors que les Erythréens sont depuis plusieurs semaines dans le collimateur de l’UDC , accusés de mal s’intégrer et de profiter de l’aide sociale. Le PDC aussi s’y est mis. Dans un document dont la presse dominicale s’est fait l’écho, le parti estime qu’ils devraient pouvoir être renvoyés dans les trois ans. Le PDC exhorte le ministre Didier Burkhalter à s’impliquer davantage au niveau international pour que cela soit possible. Si l’asile reste un thème électoral, ce sont désormais bien les Erythréens qui font l’objet de toutes les attentions.
Les requérants érythréens sont devenus malgré eux un thème électoral.
▻https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/zigzags-suisse-face-lerythree
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Léonard Vincent publie « Les Erythréens » et leur donne la parole
►https://asile.ch/2016/02/10/rts-linvite-du-12h30-leonard-vincent-publie-les-erythreens-et-leur-donne-la-pa
▻http://pages.rts.ch/la-1ere/programmes/l-invite-du-12h30/7466094-leonard-vincent-publie-les-erythreens-et-leur-donne-la-parole.htmlDans le cadre de cette émission, Léonard Vincent a également commenté les propos tenus par Thomas Aeschi (UDC) dans un article paru le 10 février dans le Temps. Dans cet article, M. Aeschi a déclaré que “La Suisse doit dialoguer avec l’Erythrée, qui n’est pas l’enfer que l’on croit”.
Natacha Van Cutsem : “Plusieurs parlementaires suisse sont partis en Erythrée pour comprendre ce qui amène les Erythréens à demander l’asile en Suisse. L’un de ces politiciens, Thomas Aeschi, est resté 6 jours sur place et s’est exprimé dans Le Temps aujourd’hui. Il se défend de ne pas être tombé dans la propagande du régime d’Asmara et il dit ceci ‘Ce pays n’est pas l’enfer que l’on croit’. Est-ce que ça vous fait bondir ?”
Léonard Vincent : “Cela me fait plutôt rire, j’espère pour lui qu’il a ramené des spécialités locales et une paire de sandales et pris de belles photos. C’est à peu près tout ce qu’il aurait pu ramener dans les conditions dans lesquelles il est parti. Le voyage a été manifestement organisé par les autorités érythréennes. On a déjà vu cela dans l’histoire de la politique européenne. Je me souviens d’un petit film de la radio-télévision belge où on voyait une délégation de parlementaires belges en Corée du Nord et c’était absolument grotesque. Là c’est la même chose. Cette interview est parfaitement hallucinante, dans une réponse M. Aeschi dit qu’il était parti pour voir de ses propres yeux quelles étaient ces violations de l’homme dont parle l’ONU, et puis dans la phrase après il dit qu’il n’avait pas pour mandat de vérifier la situation des droits de l’homme. Ce qui est sûr c’est que ces parlementaires ne sont pas allés à la grande prison Karsheli au centre d’Asmara où se trouve un certain nombre de prisonniers politiques depuis plus de 15 ans, dans des conditions absolument épouvantables. Ils n’ont pas demandé non plus d’aller visiter le bagne d’EiraEiro, dans les montagnes, où se trouvent les prisonniers politiques de septembre 2001 et plusieurs journalistes, dont certains sont morts et enterrés dans le sable quelque part là-bas. (…) On a encore une fois une visite guidée avec des gens qui ont des certitudes et qui sont allés dîner avec les autorités, qui ont logé à l’Hotel Intercontinental, qui ont pris de jolies photos de ce magnifique pays et qui reviennent avec des certitudes. Tout cela est assez grotesque, en plus d’être obscène et dangereux. Pour leur carrière d’abord, mais aussi dangereux pour ceux qui sont dépendant des décisions qui sont prises par des autorités qui se fondent sur leur racontards pour prendre par exemple des décisions de renvoi dans le pays”.
#Erythrée #asile #Suisse #voyage_parlementaire #réfugiés #Thomas_Aeschi #migrations #livre #Léonard_Vincent
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Stauffers Blick auf Eritrea
Die Schweiz bietet Tausenden von Eritreern Zuflucht – ist Eritrea das «afrikanische Nordkorea», wie von Medien behauptet? Nein, sagt #Hans-Ulrich_Stauffer. Der Afrika-Kenner über die Abschottungspolitik der eritreischen Regierung, die Motive von Flüchtlingen und das mangelnde Engagement in Bundesbern.
▻https://www.migrosmagazin.ch/stauffers-blick-auf-eritrea
J’aimerais bien savoir combien de fois, ce « spécialiste de l’Afrique » a mis les pieds en Erythrée pour affirmer ce qu’il affirme... Il dit « Ich bin öfters dort gewesen »... mais il a été où ? Faire un tour à vélo avec la députée UDC ?
Et puis, évidemment, la petite phrase qui fait toute la différence :
Es gibt in Eritrea viel zu wenige Jobs für junge Menschen, zumindest in den Städten. Hinzu kommt die Sache mit dem National Service ...
Pour dire en gros que les érythréens ne sont pas des réfugiés, mais des #migrants_économiques...
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La Suisse reprend une collaboration controversée avec l’Erythrée
▻https://www.rts.ch/play/radio/la-matinale/audio/la-suisse-reprend-une-collaboration-controversee-avec-lerythree?id=8996432&stati
#aide_au_développement #DDC -
Renforcer la présence diplomatique pour endiguer le flot de réfugiés
En renforçant sa présence diplomatique en Érythrée, la Suisse va devoir vérifier si la vie et l’intégrité physique des requérants d’asile originaires de ce pays sont menacées. Jeudi, le Parlement a donné ce mandat au gouvernement. Les représentants de la diaspora érythréenne doutent que cette démarche permette de clarifier la situation des droits de l’homme dans leur pays.
▻https://www.swissinfo.ch/fre/suisse-%C3%A9rythr%C3%A9e_renforcer-la-pr%C3%A9sence-diplomatique-pour-endiguer-le-flot-de-r%C3%A9fugi%C3%A9s/43974340
Evidemment, titre plus que mal choisi :
Renforcer la présence diplomatique pour endiguer le flot de réfugiés
En réalité, voici l’évolution des arrivées de réfugiés érythréens en Suisse... on est loin des #flot et de l’invasion...
source : ▻https://asile.ch/statistiques/suisse -
Les politiciens de retour d’Erythrée veulent rencontrer Sommaruga
Le groupe de politiciens suisses qui s’est rendu en Erythrée veut rencontrer Simonetta Sommaruga. Une lettre a été envoyée à la ministre de la justice, a annoncé à son retour samedi Susanne Hochuli, conseillère d’Etat argovienne.
▻http://www.rts.ch/info/monde/7494012-les-politiciens-de-retour-d-erythree-veulent-rencontrer-sommaruga.html
#it_has_begun -
« Des ONG ont exagéré sur l’Érythrée »
De retour d’Afrique, le PDC Claude Béglé estime que le pays souffre davantage de sa pauvreté que de sa dictature.
▻http://www.24heures.ch/suisse/ong-exagere-erythree/story/29062656
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La Confédération critique face au voyage de politiciens en Erythrée
Les revendications des politiciens s’étant rendus en Erythré sont actuellement examinées, a indiqué Berne lundi tout en émettant de légères critiques à l’égard de ce séjour controversé.
▻http://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/7499464-la-confederation-critique-face-au-voyage-de-politiciens-en-erythree.html
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Pas de changements majeurs avec l’Erythrée
La Suisse aimerait bien obtenir un accord avec le pays africain pour expulser les demandeurs d’asile déboutés. Mais il faudra du temps.
▻http://www.tdg.ch/suisse/Pas-de-changements-majeurs-avec-l-Erythree/story/25687887
Mais il faudra que l’ERYTHREE CHANGE DE REGIME AVANT TOUT... ce n’est pas qu’une seule question de temps !
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Message de Moussie Zeraï :
Eritrea. Perché scappano tanti giovani
La recente visita di Parlamentari Svizzeri in Eritrea, e le successive dichiarazioni di alcuni di loro ci ha lasciati stupefatti. Parlamentari di un paese di lunga tradizione democratica quale la Svizzera, che si lasciano sedurre da una dittatura, da un regime che governa il paese con un pugno di ferro, negando l’entrata in vigore della costituzione voluta dal popolo eritreo nel 1997. L’Eritrea è un paese dove non esiste uno stato di diritto, dove Ministri, Giornalisti, Leader religiosi, Obiettori di Coscienza, tutti finiscono nelle più di 366 carcere disseminatati nel paese, che i Parlamentari Elvetici non hanno visitato neanche una di questi luoghi di orrore. Ci chiediamo come sia possibile che parlamentari di uno stato democratico a nutrire simpatia con un regime totalitario? Come possibile che si lasciano strumentalizzare da un regime che cerca di darsi una facciata lustre, ma senza correggere le fondamenta di un paese che chiede da 24 anni diritti, democrazia, giustizia e dignità ? Come Osano permettersi il lusso di minimizzare le atrocità commesse da questo regime? Ingenuità o mala fede ? Cari Parlamentari chiedetelo alle mamme che non vedono i propri figli finiti nei gulag del regime da 15-20 anni «desaparecidos», chiedetelo ai figli che sono stati strappati dai affetti resi orfani dal regime che ha ucciso i genitori, chiedetelo alle miglia di giovani che sono stati torturati, umiliati, ragazze rese schiave del sesso al servizio di uomini corrotti al potere. Chiedetelo ai tanti ragazzi/e, resi invalidi dalle torture subite, dalle fucilate ricevuti. Ci chiediamo quali interessi si celano dietro a queste esternazioni di parlamentari elvetici, disposti quasi a chiudere occhi ed orecchie difronte a palesi violazioni dei diritti umani, di crimini contro l’umanità commessi sul suolo eritreo, da un regime che oggi parlamentari elvetici e altri sedicenti «democratici», si affannano a riabilitarlo a tutti costi, anche negando l’evidenza. Politici incapaci di leggere la realtà o hanno ceduto alle lusinghe del male? Forse non sanno che i regimi usano la povertà come un mezzo di controllo della popolazione? affamando il popolo per farlo inginocchiare. I giovani eritrei non sono migranti economici, sono rifugiati politici perché la povertà nel paese è conseguenza di scelte politiche di un regime dispotico.
“La gente era reticente solo nel rispondere a domande relative a parenti in carcere”, ha dichiarato a Ticinonline il consigliere nazionale Thomas Aeschi, di ritorno da un viaggio in Eritrea. E ancora: “Non c’è stato modo di visitare le prigioni”, cosa che, precisa sempre Ticinonline, “le autorità di Asmara, stando a dichiarazioni della consigliera federale Simonetta Sommaruga, vietano pure al comitato internazionale della Croce Rossa”. Per il resto, tutta la descrizione di Aeschi è sostanzialmente positiva, tanto da giungere alla conclusione che i richiedenti asilo eritrei in Svizzera e in Europa sono spinti in gran parte da motivazioni economiche.
Ancora più rosea è la visione riferita dalla consigliera nazionale Yvonne Feri, pure presente nel gruppo di politici svizzeri che hanno viaggiato di recente in Eritrea: afferma che ci si è potuti spostare senza limitazioni; che ha avuto senza difficoltà colloqui con diverse persone e che i suoi interlocutori parlavano tutti in inglese; che ha avuto l’impressione che il paese attraversi una fase di sviluppo.
Nessuno sembra aver dato peso più di tanto a quella reticenza a parlare dei “parenti in carcere”. E al fatto che alla delegazione non sia stato consentito di visitare neanche una prigione. Eppure non ci sarebbe stato che l’imbarazzo della scelta: tra prigioni, centri di detenzione, campi di concentramento, strutture detentive annesse a comandi militari o di polizia, in Eritrea ci sono oltre 300 carceri. Anzi, secondo fonti della diaspora, quasi 360, su una popolazione di 5,5 milioni di abitanti. Forse, allora, bisogna partire proprio da qui. Da questo punto che la delegazioni di politici svizzeri sembra invece aver molto sottovalutato: il divieto di visitare anche una sola prigione e l’imbarazzo, ma più probabilmente la paura, della gente a parlare di queste cose. Già perché, a scavare appena un po’, anche soltanto a cercare di sapere quanti e dove sono i centri di detenzione, si sarebbe scoperto che, in realtà, l’Eritrea è uno stato-prigione, dove si può essere arrestati e fatti sparire al minimo sospetto di dissenso. Proprio come denunciano da anni organizzazioni internazionali quali Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, Reporter senza Frontiere, e come ha confermato il recente rapporto della Commissione Onu, a conclusione della sua inchiesta sulla violazione dei diritti umani. Un rapporto nato non da una visita più o meno frettolosa, ma da otto mesi di indagini minuziose e, alla fine, tanto pesante da indurre le Nazioni Unite a rinnovare l’incarico per appurare se ci siano gli estremi per imputare di crimini di lesa umanità il governo di Asmara di fronte all’Alta Corte di Giustizia.
Ecco, già solo ponendosi questo problema, forse la visione del paese sarebbe apparsa meno rosea. Ma non basta. Si dice che il gruppo ha potuto muoversi liberamente, ha parlato con chiunque, che la gente non era reticente e molti si esprimevano in inglese. Sarà senza dubbio così. Che significa, però, muoversi liberamente? Muoversi liberamente vuol dire, ad esempio, poter prendere una macchina e girare il paese ovunque, a proprio piacimento e per tutto il tempo che si vuole, fermarsi dove capita o si ha interesse, anche nei luoghi più impensati. E osservare, parlare, fare confronti, discutere. “Indagare”, in una parola, la vita quotidiana ma non solo: anche i problemi, le prospettive, i sogni di ciascuno e di tutti. Non risulta che tutto questo sia consentito. Non a caso tutti i corrispondenti della stampa estera e tutte le Ong internazionali hanno progressivamente lasciato l’Eritrea dopo l’avvento della dittatura: perché non erano liberi di spostarsi, girare, chiedere e, dunque, di fare il proprio lavoro. Che cosa è cambiato da allora? Nulla. Altra cosa è se ci si muove in occasione di una visita politica ufficiale e in un ambito forzatamente ristretto. A uscire dal quale, probabilmente, si sarebbe scoperto di come molti ragazzi, specie nei villaggi più poveri del bassopiano, sappiano leggere e scrivere a stento in tigrino. Altroché inglese! Non a caso la diaspora denuncia da tempo il forte “abbassamento” del livello culturale medio dei profughi più giovani che arrivano in Europa.
Quanto alle persone ascoltate, nessuno nega che fossero disponibili. Resta da vedere se fossero anche sincere: la diffidenza e la paura sono tali che difficilmente la gente, anche se è ostile al regime, si apre davvero. Proprio per non rischiare di finire in una di quelle prigioni su cui, come ha dichiarato lo stesso Thomas Aeschi, si è mostrata molto restia a parlare.
Infine, “il paese in fase di sviluppo”. Sicuramente il regime si sta dando da fare per affermare e propagandare questo assunto, con l’aiuto anche di grosse società europee o americane, di vari governi occidentali e in parte, ultimamente, della stessa Unione Europea, propensi a “recuperare” l’immagine di Isaias Afewerki, il presidente-dittatore, di fronte alla comunità internazionale, per tutta una serie di interessi geopolitici e strategici, anche a costo di ignorare la violazione sistematica dei diritti umani in atto da anni. La realtà, però, è molto diversa. Oltre tutto, appare una contraddizione sostenere che il paese si sta sviluppando e, nello stesso tempo, che i giovani scappano per motivi economici. Ma prima che una contraddizione è un falso: i giovani essenzialmente scappano per motivi politici. Per sottrarsi alle mille forme di violenza della dittatura. Lo ha fatto rilevare anche l’ambasciatore della Ue, Christian Manahal, il quale, pur non sottovalutando le motivazioni economiche, ha precisato che questo esodo è dovuto al servizio militare che costringe uomini e donne sotto le armi per un tempo infinito. Tradotto in termini più concreti: dall’età di 18 anni ad almeno 55, a volte 60 anni. Ecco il punto: attraverso il cosiddetto “servizio nazionale”, il regime ruba la vita intera ai suoi giovani. Ed ha massacrato l’economia, facendo dell’Eritrea uno dei paesi più poveri del pianeta.E queste sono motivazioni politiche. Non economiche.
Fr. Mussie Zerai
Chairman of Habeshia Agency Cooperation for Development -
Should Europe pay to stop refugees fleeing oppressive Eritrea?
It’s a pertinent question, particularly since the EU has agreed to give €200m in aid to the Eritrean government. But sounds like a solution is, campaigners say, just going to exacerbate the problem. Because it is the Eritrean government itself which is accused of gross human rights abuses, with reports of routine extra-judicial executions, torture and arbitrary detention.
►http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/28/eu-plan-to-pay-millions-to-eritrea?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
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Paying Eritrea to stop their slaves escaping is the road to moral ruin
When Britain outlawed slavery many centuries ago, wealthy slave owners were granted heavy compensation to make up for their losses. If that makes you feel uncomfortable, consider the thousands of people trapped in military slavery in Eritrea, who this week may have been made aware of the news that the European Union is to hand over €200m directly to the Eritrean government to actively stop them from escaping.
▻https://developmentandhumanrights.wordpress.com/2016/05/06/paying-eritrea-to-stop-their-slaves-escaping-is
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«Die Hoffnungen haben sich nicht erfüllt»
SEM-Chef Mario Gattiker ist nach einer Erkundungsreise in Eritrea ernüchtert. Die Behörden prüfen dennoch eine strengere Beurteilung eritreischer Asylgesuche.
▻http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/schweiz/standard/die-hoffnungen-haben-sich-nicht-erfuellt/story/24310654
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Au regard d’une expertise, l’asile des Erythréens pourrait être ajusté
Les Erythréens qui ont fui illégalement leur pays « risquent d’être torturés et emprisonnés » en rentrant chez eux, a déclaré lundi Mario Gattiker, secrétaire d’Etat aux migrations (SEM).
▻http://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/7709028-au-regard-d-une-expertise-l-asile-des-erythreens-pourrait-etre-ajuste.ht
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Pas d’ouverture de l’Erythrée, selon Berne
Les espoirs de Berne concernant une amélioration en Erythrée sont balayés. « L’ouverture n’a pas eu lieu », déclare Mario Gattiker, le secrétaire d’Etat aux migrations (SEM). Les réfugiés érythréens qui rentrent au pays « risquent d’être torturés et emprisonnés ».
▻https://www.bluewin.ch/fr/infos/suisse/2016/5/9/pas-d-espoir-d-ouverture-en-erythree-selon-des-exp.html
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Eritrea: Swiss officials find few rights improvements
Stockholm (HAN) May 9.2016. Public Diplomacy & Regional Security News. Following a fact-finding mission to Eritrea, Swiss authorities have determined that the human rights situation has not improved for the thousands of Eritreans who make up the largest group of asylum seekers in Switzerland.
Mario Gattiker, the head of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper on Monday that although there had been indications that Eritrea had lowered its required military service to a term of 18 months, “those hopes did not turn out to be true”.
▻http://www.geeskaafrika.com/eritrea-swiss-officials-find-rights-improvements
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EU considering ‘partnership’ with Eritrea on migration despite UN accusations of crimes against humanity
The UN said officials ‘at the highest levels of government’ were responsible for human rights violations
►http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/eu-considering-partnership-with-eritrea-on-migration-despite-un-accus
#Europe #UE #EU -
Vif échange entre Philipp Müller et Didier Burkhalter sur le dossier érythréen
« Non, le problème de l’Erythrée n’est pas si simple » : telle est la réponse du ministre des Affaires étrangères, le PLR Didier Burkhalter, à une interpellation pourtant venue de son collègue de parti Philipp Müller.
L’ancien président du PLR réclamait que la Suisse négocie avec l’Erythrée dans le but d’y renvoyer plus de ses ressortissants : « Nous devons aller sur place parler à leurs ministres, les yeux dans les yeux. Ils ne sont pas stupides, il faut leur donner la possibilité de parler avec nous », a-t-il plaidé.
▻http://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/7761949-vif-echange-entre-philipp-muller-et-didier-burkhalter-sur-le-dossier-ery
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Burkhalter «schockiert» über Haltung zu Eritrea
Eritrea war am Mittwoch einmal mehr Thema im Parlament. Aussenminister Didier Burkhalter zeigte sich «schockiert» über die Haltung mancher Parlamentarier in Menschenrechtsfragen.
▻http://www.nzz.ch/schweiz/aktuelle-themen/menschenrechte-burkhalter-schockiert-ueber-haltung-zu-eritrea-ld.89131
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Bund verschärft Praxis gegenüber Eritreern
In Eritrea gibt es gemäss dem Staatssekretariat für Migration kleinere Fortschritte. Die Asylpraxis wird deshalb angepasst.
▻http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/schweiz/standard/Bund-verschaerft-Praxis-gegenueber-Eritreern/story/15167113
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Flüchtlingshilfe kritisiert Eritrea-Reise von Schweizer Politikern: «Eine reine Propagandaaktion»
Die Aargauer Regierungsrätin Susanne Hochuli lässt sich zusammen mit SP-Nationalrätin Yvonne Feri, CVP-Nationalrat und Ex-Post-Präsident Claude Béglé sowie SVP-Nationalrat und Ex-Bundesratskandidat Thomas Aeschi Eritrea zeigen. Der Reiseleiter ist notabene ein ausgewiesener Freund des Regimes in Asmara. Für die Schweizerische Flüchtlingshilfe ist die Reise denn auch nicht mehr als Propaganda.
▻http://www.aargauerzeitung.ch/schweiz/fluechtlingshilfe-kritisiert-eritrea-reise-von-schweizer-politikern-
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Les Suisses comme les Anglais, en visite à Asmara pour prouver que #tout_va_bien_madame_la_marquise :
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/571199 -
SVP-Grossrätin Geissbühler reiste durch Eritrea und findet alles halb so schlimm: «Alle haben genug zu essen, sind gepflegt und gut gekleidet»
Tausende fliehen jährlich aus Eritrea und bitten in Europa um Asyl – auch in der Schweiz. Zurecht? SVP-Grossrätin Sabina Geissbühler schaute sich die Lage vor Ort an. Lesen Sie hier ihre Eindrücke.
▻http://www.blick.ch/news/ausland/svp-grossraetin-geissbuehler-reiste-durch-eritrea-und-findet-alles-halb-so-sch -
«Vereinfachend, unvollständig und irreführend!»
Die Eritrea-Aktivistin Veronica Almedom kritisiert den Reisebericht der Berner SVP-Grossrätin Sabina Geissbühler scharf. Diese habe sich vom Einparteien-Regime blenden lassen.
▻http://www.blick.ch/news/politik/eritreerin-kritisiert-reisebericht-von-svp-grossraetin-sabina-geissbuehler-ver -
Peut-on apprendre à connaître l’Erythrée à vélo ?
L’OSAR déconstruit les idées reçues sur la situation des droits humains en Erythrée et relève le manque de pertinence des informations recueillies lors de voyages touristiques dans le pays. La publication de telles impressions de vacances influence beaucoup de personnes à qui il est donné une image totalement fausse de la situation sur place. 17.05.2017
▻https://www.osar.ch/des-faits-plutot-que-des-mythes/articles-2017/peut-on-apprendre-a-connaitre-lerythree-a-velo.html
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Autre voyage de la délégation suisse en Erythrée, c’était 2015...
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La politicienne UDC #Sabina_Geissbühler-Strupler, qui a « parcouru l’Erythrée à vélo », présentera le rapport de son voyage au Käfigturm à Berne, le 15 juin !
Voici les détails :
Der Referentin, Grossrätin Sabina Geissbühler-Strupler, geht es nicht darum, Fehlentwicklungen in Eritrea auszublenden und schön zu reden. Vielmehr will sie Chancen aufzeigen, wie die unbefriedigende Situation für die Schweiz, aber auch für
Eritreer/-innen verbessert werden könnte.
ERITREA, ein Erlebnisbericht mit PowerPoint Präsentation und kleinem Imbiss
►https://www.newsd.admin.ch/newsd/event/attachments/48534.pdf -
Pour ne pas perdre cette affiche, si jamais :
(je ne peux pas y aller, malheureusement, je donne un cours ce jour-là, mais j’ai fait de la pub dans le réseau associatif pour voir si il y a des gens qui peuvent se mobiliser !)
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Ce voyage est mentionné dans l’article publié dans la Revue suisse :
Berne met sous pression les réfugiés de la dictature érythréenne
►https://www.revue.ch/fr/editions/2018/06/detail/news/detail/News/berne-met-sous-pression-les-refugies-de-la-dictature-erythreenne
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La nuit où les forces israéliennes ont pris d’assaut notre Flottille de la Liberté
Swee Chai Ang - 10 août 2018 - Middle East Eye
▻https://www.middleeasteye.net/fr/opinions/la-nuit-o-les-forces-isra-liennes-ont-pris-d-assaut-notre-flottille-d(...) Mais ils n’avaient pas compris qu’une fois le moteur arrêté, ce bateau ne pouvait être redémarré que manuellement dans la salle des machines, au niveau de la cabine, à l’étage inférieur. Arne, le machiniste, a refusé de redémarrer le moteur ; les Israéliens ont donc fait descendre Herman et l’ont frappé devant Arne, précisant qu’ils continueraient de frapper Herman si Arne ne voulait pas démarrer le moteur.
Arne, qui a 70 ans, a cédé lorsqu’il a vu le visage de Herman prendre une couleur grisâtre et a alors démarré le moteur manuellement.
(...) Au poste suivant, nous avons été soumis à une fouille au corps et ce n’est qu’en rassemblant mes affaires après avoir été déshabillée que je me suis rendu compte que ma ceinture porte-monnaie n’était plus avec moi.
Des voleurs de bas étage
Je savais que j’avais quelques centaines d’euros et qu’ils essayaient de me les voler. J’ai exigé qu’on me la rende et j’ai refusé de quitter le poste tant qu’ils ne s’exécutaient pas. C’était la première fois que je criais. J’étais contente de l’avoir fait car d’autres personnes s’étaient également vu dérober leur argent. Le journaliste d’Al Jazeera, Abdelkarim Alkahlout, avait perdu toutes ses cartes de crédit et 1 800 dollars, ainsi que sa montre, son téléphone satellite, son téléphone portable et sa carte d’identité.
Il pensait que ses effets personnels étaient conservés avec son passeport, mais lorsqu’il a été libéré pour être expulsé, il a appris avec amertume qu’il ne récupèrerait que son passeport. L’argent et les objets de valeur n’ont jamais été retrouvés. Ils ont tout simplement disparu.
Nous avons été passés de poste en poste dans cette zone militaire fermée, fouillés à nu à plusieurs reprises et dépouillés de nos effets personnels, jusqu’à ce qu’il ne nous reste que les vêtements que nous portions et rien d’autre qu’un bracelet avec un numéro. (...)
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Code pénal | Legifrance
▻https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCode.do;jsessionid=8DA8D8549A3107CE6F15ABD73FC6CBE4.tplgfr21s_Partie législative
Livre III : Des crimes et délits contre les biens
Titre Ier : Des appropriations frauduleuses
Chapitre Ier : Du volSection 1 : Du vol simple et des vols aggravés
Article 311-4
...
Le vol est puni de cinq ans d’emprisonnement et de 75 000 euros d’amende :
2° Lorsqu’il est commis par une personne dépositaire de l’autorité publique ou chargée d’une mission de service public, dans l’exercice ou à l’occasion de l’exercice de ses fonctions ou de sa mission ;
...
4° Lorsqu’il est précédé, accompagné ou suivi de violences sur autrui n’ayant pas entraîné une incapacité totale de travail ;
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Israël intercepte un second bateau de militants anti-blocus au large de Gaza
AFP / 04 août 2018 08h37
▻https://www.romandie.com/news/ZOOM-Isra-l-intercepte-un-second-bateau-de-militants-anti-blocus-au-large-de-Gaza/942631.romLa marine israélienne a annoncé samedi avoir intercepté un bateau au large de la bande de Gaza, le second en moins d’une semaine avec à son bord des militants dénonçant le blocus imposé par l’Etat hébreu à cette enclave palestinienne depuis plus d’une décennie.
Selon l’armée israélienne, l’embarcation transportant 12 personnes et battant pavillon suédois a été « interceptée conformément à la loi internationale » et acheminée vers le port d’Ashdod, dans le sud d’Israël.
Le bateau baptisé « liberté pour Gaza » a « violé le blocus naval légal imposé à la bande de Gaza », a ajouté l’armée, précisant que les passagers avaient été emmenés pour être interrogés.
La marine israélienne avait déjà arraisonné dimanche le bateau « Awda » ("Retour", en arabe) qui battait pavillon norvégien avec 22 personnes à bord.
Depuis plus de dix ans, la bande de Gaza, contrôlée par le mouvement islamiste Hamas, étouffe sous un strict blocus israélien. Les habitants de l’enclave souffrent notamment de coupures d’électricité provoquées par la suspension des livraisons de fioul.(...)
#Flottille #Gaza-
SOS - Pascal Maurieras, Français, est maintenant capturé et emmené en Israël contre sa volonté.
4 août 2018
▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwMIGN28iTM -
L’armée israélienne arraisonne un bateau à destination de Gaza
4 août 2018 Par Agence Reuters
▻https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/040818/larmee-israelienne-arraisonne-un-bateau-destination-de-gaza
La marine israélienne a arraisonné samedi un bateau humanitaire battant pavillon suédois qui tentait de rejoindre la bande de Gaza, enclave palestinienne sur laquelle Israël impose un blocus.
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Israël : les militants dénoncent l’interception d’un bateau anti-blocus
Libération - Par Hala Kodmani — 3 août 2018 à 15:01
▻http://www.liberation.fr/planete/2018/08/03/israel-les-militants-denoncent-l-interception-d-un-bateau-anti-blocus_167(...) L’illégalité de l’intervention israélienne dans les eaux internationales ne suscite pas la même protestation partout. Mardi, le gouvernement norvégien a exhorté Israël à lui procurer les raisons juridiques de son action, y compris sur les circonstances de cet arraisonnement. « Israël a violé toutes les règles. C’est terrifiant qu’ils arraisonnent un navire norvégien dans les eaux internationales et lui imposent de s’amarrer en Israël », a dénoncé le capitaine du bateau Herman Reksten dans la nuit de mercredi à jeudi à son retour en Norvège, après avoir passé trois jours dans une prison israélienne. Dans le même temps, le ministère norvégien a indiqué dans un communiqué que ses diplomates en Israël avaient fourni une assistance consulaire à cinq Norvégiens qui faisaient partie des 22 passagers et membres d’équipage à bord de l’Al-Awda.
En France, « l’attitude du gouvernement a été exécrable », juge Pierre Stambul, qui se plaint de l’absence de réponses à ses sollicitations auprès de la cellule de crise au Quai d’Orsay. Les autorités consulaires françaises en Israël ont pourtant bien rendu visite à Sarah Katz en prison et organisé son rapatriement. Mais les militants de l’UJFP, soutenus par le PCF et la CGT, dénoncent l’attitude politique du gouvernement. Mercredi, lors des questions au gouvernement à l’Assemblée nationale, la députée communiste Elsa Faucillon a interpellé la ministre aux Affaires européennes, Nathalie Loiseau, au sujet de la flottille. Cette dernière a surtout rappelé la position générale de la France, demandant la levée du blocus de Gaza et une solution politique à deux Etats entre Israël et les Palestiniens.
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[#Vidéo] Le retour de Sarah Katz à Marseille salué en gare St-Charles - Journal La Marseillaise
Écrit par La Marseillaise jeudi 2 août 2018 21:12
▻http://www.lamarseillaise.fr/marseille/societe/71594-video-le-retour-de-sarah-katz-a-marseille-salue-en-gare-st-char
▻https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6r8ndtAprès quatre jours d’incarcération à la prison Givon à Ramleh, Sarah Katz, militante de l’Union juive française pour la paix (UJFP), est rentrée ce jeudi en France. Des soutiens sont venus l’accueillir en gare Saint-Charles à Marseille.
Premier bateau de la flottille de la liberté, partie de Scandinavie le 15 mai dernier, le Al-Awda (« le retour ») sur lequel se trouvait Sarah Katz, militante de l’Union juive française pour la paix (UJFP), avait été intercepté dimanche par la Mmarine israélienne.
“““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““
France - 2 août 2018
Retour de Sarah, après l’attaque de la Flottille de la Liberté pour Gaza
▻http://www.ism-france.org/temoignages/Retour-de-Sarah-apres-l-attaque-de-la-Flottille-de-la-Liberte-pour-Gaza-
Après avoir vécu l’arraisonnement du bateau Al-Awda de la Flottille pour Gaza et l’attaque violente des passagers par la marine israélienne, puis 4 jours d’incarcération à la prison Givon, à Ramleh, Sarah Katz est rentrée en France ce matin. Premier témoignage.Merci à Front Social 75 de nous avoir permis de retrouver notre amie sans être sur place.
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Claims of violence as Israel deports crew of Gaza aid vessel
Activists say they were tasered and beaten as Israeli military says it used ‘proportional force’
▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/02/claims-of-violence-as-israel-deports-crew-on-gaza-aid-boat?CMP=share_bt -
« Israël a soustrait deux millions de personnes à l’humanité » déclare Sarah Katz
vendredi 3 août 2018
Article paru dans le journal La Marseillaise du 3 août 2018 page 20
▻http://www.ujfp.org/spip.php?article6575Sarah Katz, militante de l’Union juive française pour la paix (UJFP) a retrouvé le sol français après avoir passé quatre nuits dans les prisons israélienness. Elle a été ensuite expulsée du territoire ou elle était venue porter assistance à la population palestinienne via une flottille internationale.
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Sarah Katz : « j’ai entrevu les méthodes d’un Etat fasciste »
Dimanche, 5 Août, 2018 - Eugénie Barbezat
▻https://www.humanite.fr/sarah-katz-jai-entrevu-les-methodes-dun-etat-fasciste-658887De retour en France après 3 jours dans les geôles israéliennes, la passagère française de l’un des bateaux de la flottille pour la liberté, arraisonné illégalement en eau internationales à une quarantaine de miles de Gaza, témoigne de la violence des soldats qui ont intercepté le bateau et de l’arbitraire total qui règne dans la prison de l’office d’immigration où elle a été incarcérée et interrogée avant d’être « déportée » (selon le terme de l’administration israélienne) en France.
Sarah Katz nous a raconté raconte par le menu l’arraisonnement musclé de l’al Awda ainsi que ses conditions de détention ans la prison de Givon, après que la marine militaire israélienne ait pris illégalement les commandes du navire, en eaux internationales, pour amener ce bateau humanitaire pourrir avec d’autres embarcations, « capturées » dans le port d’Ashdod près de Tel Aviv. Malgré cette expérience douloureuse, et cette nouvelle tentative avortée de briser le blocus que asphyxie gaza depuis plus d’une décennie, Sarah Katz reste déterminée à « ne pas oublier » les palestinien et à repartir s’il le faut. Elle va entamer une action en justice contre la capture illégale du bateau, un acte de piraterie, selon la loi, et son enlèvement.
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Gaza : le capitaine d’un bateau de militants accuse Israël
AFP / 02 août 2018 13h20
▻https://www.romandie.com/news/Gaza-le-capitaine-d-un-bateau-de-militants-accuse-Isra-l/942051.romOslo - Le capitaine norvégien d’un bateau de militants pro-Gaza, intercepté dimanche par Israël, a accusé l’État hébreu d’avoir violé le droit en arraisonnant le navire dans les eaux internationales et en molestant l’équipage, des accusations rejetées par les Israéliens.
Le gouvernement norvégien dit pour sa part avoir demandé des explications à Israël sur les circonstances de cet arraisonnement et « les allégations de recours à une force excessive ».
« Nous avons été arraisonnés dans les eaux internationales et nous étions plus près de l’Égypte que d’Israël », a affirmé le capitaine du bateau Herman Reksten dans la nuit de mercredi à jeudi à son retour en Norvège, après avoir été détenu trois jours dans une prison israélienne.
« Israël a violé toutes les règles. C’est terrifiant qu’ils arraisonnent un navire norvégien dans les eaux internationales et lui imposent de s’amarrer en Israël », a-t-il dit, cité par la radiotélévision norvégienne NRK.
L’armée israélienne avait annoncé dimanche l’arraisonnement d’un bateau au large de la bande de Gaza avec à son bord des militants dénonçant le blocus terrestre et maritime imposé par l’État hébreu à cette enclave palestinienne depuis plus d’une décennie.
Bateau battant pavillon norvégien, le Kårstein comptait 22 personnes à bord. Toutes ont été relâchées depuis et ont été expulsées d’Israël ou sont en voie de l’être, selon l’organisation Ship to Gaza Norway. Seul le sort d’un Canadien souffrant de problèmes de santé n’était pas totalement éclairci jeudi.
Herman Reksten a aussi accusé les soldats israéliens d’avoir fait usage d’armes à impulsion électrique contre les militants. « J’ai encore mal à la tête depuis que j’ai été frappé en prison », a-t-il précisé.
L’ambassade d’Israël à Oslo a rejeté les accusations. (...)
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« Flottille de la liberté » : Une Française détenue par Israël libérée aujourd’hui
Par Times of Israel Staff Aujourd’hui, 15:42
▻https://fr.timesofisrael.com/flottille-de-la-liberte-une-francaise-detenue-par-israel-liberee-a(...) A son bord, se trouvaient plusieurs personnes aujourd’hui incarcérées dans la prison de Givon en Israël, une information confirmée au Times of Israel par l’autorité des prisons israéliennes et le ministère des Affaires étrangères français.
La porte-parole de l’autorité des prisons affirme qu’il reste actuellement sept personnes issues du Al Awda dans la prison de Givon, dont une Française, Sarah Katz.
« Tous seront libérés aujourd’hui », le 1er juillet, explique-t-elle.
Dans une interview, Sarah Katz expliquait avoir « vécu deux années à Gaza ».
Du côté de l’ambassade de France en Israël on refuse de commenter « les circonstances de l’arrestation de Mme Katz ». L’ambassade explique cependant être « naturellement en contact avec les autorités israéliennes ainsi qu’avec l’intéressée au titre de la protection consulaire auquel elle a droit ».
De source diplomatique, on précise qu’une « visite consulaire lui a (…) été rendue le lundi 30 juillet » et que « l’ambassade et le consulat général de France à Tel Aviv sont mobilisés pour lui porter assistance, dans le cadre de la protection consulaire ».
Dans un communiqué paru sur un blog du site Mediapart, Pierre Stambul le compagnon de Sarah Katz, et coprésident de l’UJFP, précise qu’elle est la « fille de celui qui était le ‘Docteur Laffitte’ dans la Résistance, juif communiste né en Roumanie où une bonne partie de sa famille a disparu » et accuse le gouvernement français de ne pas avoir réagi à l’arraisonnement du Al Awda, alors qu’il aurait eu lieu dans « les eaux internationales par la marine israélienne à cinquante milles nautiques de Gaza ».
L’autorité des prisons précise que si l’âge et l’état de santé d’un prisonnier sont pris en compte et peuvent modifier ses conditions d’incarcération, en aucun cas « son passé familial » ne pourrait lui servir de passe-droit.(...)
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Piraterie en mer : Israël aborde violemment le bateau Al-Awda de Freedom Flotilla et maltraite son équipage
31 juillet 2018 – Freedom Flotilla – Traduction : Chronique de Palestine
▻http://www.chroniquepalestine.com/piraterie-en-mer-israel-aborde-violemment-le-bateau-al-awda-de-fFreedom Flotilla – La déclaration faite par les autorités israéliennes selon laquelle le bateau Al Awda de la Freedom Flotilla Coalition a été intercepté, pris der force et dérouté de Gaza à Ashdod [Palestine de 1948] le 29 juillet, sans incident, est fausse.
Selon les témoignages directs que nous avons recueillis, les Forces d’Occupation Israéliennes (FOI) ont violemment attaqué notre bateau battant pavillon norvégien « Al Awda » (Le Retour) alors qu’il naviguait dans les eaux internationales.
Avant que toutes nos communications électroniques soient coupées vers et depuis notre bateau, au moins quatre navires de guerre étaient apparus. Suite à l’envoi par radio de quelques directives radio totalement illégales à notre capitaine et face à notre insistance pour que nous ayons un droit de passage dans les eaux internationales, des soldats armés et masqués sont montés sans aucune autorisation à bord d’Al Awda.
Ils ont agressé plusieurs participants en les frappant et en utilisant des pistolets paralysants, certains de nos participants ayant légalement tenté de résister à cette tentative de détournement, en s’appuyant sur deux jours d’entraînement à la non-violence à Palerme. D’autres participants ont également été frappés par des soldats, la « raison » invoquée ne pouvant être que l’exercice pacifique en question.
Trois des nombreuses personnes que les soldats israéliens ont agressées étaient : le Capitaine Herman Reksten, Mike Treen et le Dr Swee Ang. Toutes ces agressions, y compris la frappe d’une chirurgienne de 69 ans, faible de constitution, franchissent une ligne qui doit faire l’objet d’une enquête et les criminels doivent être tenus responsables.
Nous continuons d’essayer d’obtenir des preuves et nous ferons en sorte que la justice prévale.(...)
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i24NEWS - Flottille/Gaza : la Norvège exhorte Israël à s’expliquer
Mis à jour le 01/08/2018 11:34:08
▻https://www.i24news.tv/fr/actu/international/moyen-orient/180717-180801-bateau-intercepte-a-gaza-la-norvege-demande-des-explications-a(...) Le ministère norvégien a indiqué dans un communiqué que ses diplomates en Israël avaient fourni une assistance consulaire à cinq Norvégiens qui faisaient partie des 22 passagers et membres d’équipage à bord du navire « Awda » ("Retour", en arabe) qui battait pavillon norvégien, arraisonné par la marine israélienne.
« Nous avons demandé aux autorités israéliennes de clarifier les circonstances concernant l’interception du navire et de fournir les bases juridiques de l’intervention », a déclaré le porte-parole du ministère norvégien.
« Il s’agit du premier navire norvégien envoyé à destination de Gaza pour aider les Palestiniens. C’est un bateau pacifique, en aucun cas il ne menace la sécurité d’Israël », a estimé le chef de ’Ship to Gaza Norway’ qui a organisé l’expédition, Torstein Dahle. (...)
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Norway Demands Explanation for Israeli Seizure of Gaza-bound Boat
August 2, 2018
▻http://imemc.org/article/norway-demands-explanation-for-israeli-seizure-of-gaza-bound-boatReuters reported, according to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, that Norway has asked the Israeli government to explain the legal grounds for detaining a Norwegian-flagged fishing boat seized, while activists tried to sail with aid to the Gaza Strip, Norway’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
The ministry said its diplomats in Israel had been providing consular assistance to five Norwegians who were among the 22 passengers and crew detained onboard the vessel Kaarstein, on Sunday. Two Israelis on board were quickly released.
”We have asked the Israeli authorities to clarify the circumstances around the seizure of the vessel and the legal basis for the intervention,” the spokesman for the Norwegian foreign affairs ministry in Oslo said. A spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
Torstein Dahle, head of the group Ship to Gaza Norway which organized the shipment, said it was the first Norwegian aid vessel to attempt to breach the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
The captain had been struck on the head by Israeli soldiers who ordered him to sail for Israel, but no one was seriously hurt, Dahle said.
“This is a peaceful boat; it’s impossible that it can threaten Israel’s security,” he said.
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La Norvège demande des réponses sur la saisie d’un bateau à destination de Gaza
Les activistes de la flottille disent que les soldats les ont frappés ; Tsahal répond qu’il « a fait preuve d’un usage raisonnable de la force pour maîtrise les passagers résistants »
Par Times of Israel Staff 1 août 2018, 14:24▻https://fr.timesofisrael.com/la-norvege-demande-des-reponses-sur-la-saisie-dun-bateau-a-destina
(...) Tsahal a justifié l’usage de la force pendant la prise du navire, déclarant dans un communiqué cité par Hadashot TV qu’ »une enquête sur l’incident a montré que lors de la prise du bateau un usage raisonnable de la force avait été employé afin de maîtriser les passagers résistants ».
Audun Lysbakken, le chef du parti Socialiste d’opposition de Norvège, a appelé le ministère des Affaires étrangères du pays à protester contre le « piratage » du navire par Israël, déclarant que les marins avaient le droit de protester contre le blocus et demandant la libération des activistes.
Le ministère des Affaires étrangères d’Israël a déclaré qu’il allait répondre aux plaintes de la Norvège plus tard dans la semaine.
Le « Retour » était le premier des deux navires dans la « Flottille de Liberté » à essayer de forcer le blocus maritime qu’Israël impose à Gaza.
A bord de ce bateau, on pouvait notamment retrouver le Professeur Ismaïl Nazari, président de la campagne de boycott contre Israël en Malaisie, le Suédois Charlie Andreason, qui a été détenu en Israël pour son rôle sur le Marianne, un chalutier battant pavillon suédois qui conduisait une flottille de bateaux en juin 2015, l’activiste juif espagnol Zohar Shamir Chamberlain et Heather Milton-Lightening, une activiste de la cause des indigènes canadiens.
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Minister of Foreign Affairs fails to address the issues
▻https://kiaoragaza.wordpress.com/2018/07/31/minister-of-foreign-affairs-fails-to-address-the-issuesKia Ora Gaza has finally received a reply from Rt Hon Winston Peters, minister of Foreign Affairs, to our letters calling for our government to demand that Israel end the illegal blockade of Gaza, and allow safe and unhindered passage for the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza, with New Zealand human rights advocate and union leader, Mike Treen on board. After the flotilla boat was unlawfully hijacked by Israeli forces in international waters on Sunday night, we asked Mr Peters to also demand the immediate release of the boat and its passengers and cargo of medical aid.
Unfortunately Mr Peter’s reply failed to address any of the issues we raised. Here is his letter received today, followed by our response reiterating our requests:
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Israel deports Freedom Flotilla activists
Aug. 1, 2018 11:55 A.M.
▻http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?ID=780567BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Gaza’s National Committee for Breaking the Siege announced on Wednesday that the Israeli authorities began deporting several of the international solidarity activists, who were aboard the Al Awda ship of the Freedom Flotilla.
Gaza’s National Committee confirmed that the activists deportation back to their countries, comes two days after being detained following an attack by Israeli naval forces on the ship in international waters.
Zaher Birawi, head of the committee, said in a statement that a number of international activists have already been deported on Tuesday, including a Malaysian professor, Dr. Mohd Afandi Salleh, and on Wednesday the rest would also be deported.
Birawi stressed that many of the activists rejected to be voluntarily deported, preferring to delay it for more than 72 hours, the legal deadline for accepting voluntary deportation from the country.
Birawi continued that the activists are attempting to delay their deportation, in order to appear before an Israeli court to expose the unjust practices of Israeli naval forces who attacked the humanitarian ship in international waters, and to later prosecute Israel for its actions.
The committee quoted the testimonies of some of the activists as being exposed to “beatings and violence” including the ship’s captain, his assistant, and other solidarity activists.
Swedish human rights activist, Divina Levrini, who was among international detainees, said in a statement that she declares a hunger strike, as a form of protest against the treatment she received by Israeli forces and against the harsh conditions she is going through while being detained in the Israeli Givon prison.
Levrini had conducted an interview with Ma’an in July, while aboard the Freedom Flotilla ship, in which she discussed the Flotilla’s intention on raising awareness about the Israel-Gaza conflict and on breaking the illegal and inhumane Israeli blockade of Gaza.
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Questions publiques au gouvernement français
31 juil. 2018 Par Pierre Stambul Blog : Le blog de pierre Stambul
▻https://blogs.mediapart.fr/pierre-stambul/blog/310718/questions-publiques-au-gouvernement-francaisMonsieur Emmanuel Macron, Monsieur Edouard Philippe, Monsieur Jean-Yves Le Drian,
Vos discours sont lisses quand vous parlez d’Israël/Palestine. Vous prenez un ton grave pour parler de paix, de sécurité. Mais vos actes disent le contraire.
Alors répondez aux vraies questions :
Al Awda, bateau de la flottille de la liberté en route pour Gaza a été arraisonné en eaux internationales par la marine israélienne à cinquante milles nautiques de Gaza. Il y a eu des blessés et tous les passagers ont été transférés dans la prison de Givon. Cet acte est-il légal, oui ou non ?
L’article 224-6 du code pénal dit que « Le fait de s’emparer ou de prendre le contrôle par violence ou menace de violence d’un aéronef, d’un navire ou de tout autre moyen de transport à bord desquels des personnes ont pris place, ainsi que d’une plate-forme fixe située sur le plateau continental, est puni de vingt ans de réclusion criminelle. » Allez-vous poursuivre en justice l’État d’Israël conformément à nos lois que vous avez le devoir de faire appliquer ?
Après Salah Hamouri détenu sans procès depuis de nombreux mois, c’est Sarah Katz, citoyenne française également, qui est en prison en Israël. Pourquoi n’avez-vous pas fait une déclaration publique exigeant sa libération ?
Pourquoi vos services (cellule de crise du Ministère des Affaires Étrangères ou Consulat de France à Tel-Aviv) sont-ils à la limite de l’impolitesse et ne montrent aucune intention d’aide réelle quand on les interroge sur le sort de Sarah Katz ? Vous la jugez coupable de quelque chose ?
Deux millions de Gazaouis vivent depuis de nombreuses années dans une prison à ciel fermé bouclée par terre, par mer et par air. Approuvez-vous ce blocus inhumain ?
Les soldats israéliens ont tiré impunément sur une foule désarmée à plusieurs reprises à Gaza. On en est à 150 mort·e·s et 15 000 blessé·e·s. Les balles explosives sont interdites contre les éléphants mais on les utilise contre les Gazaouis. Vous n’avez rien à dire là-dessus ? Pourquoi ce silence ? Vous approuvez ? (...)
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Déclaration de la Coalition sur la Flottille de la Liberté - [UJFP]
mardi 31 juillet 2018 par Freedom Flotilla
▻http://www.ujfp.org/spip.php?article6552
▻http://www.ujfp.org/local/cache-vignettes/L466xH263/djw4v_luyaifpjn-8a621.jpg?1533022698 Photo de basse résolution transmise depuis le Al-Awda pendant les dernières heures de navigationBien que les forces d’occupation israéliennes affirment que la capture de notre navire s’est déroulée « sans incident exceptionnel », Zohar Chamberlain Regev, témoin oculaire, rapporte qu’au moment de l’embarquement : « Les gens à bord ont reçu des décharges électriques par taser et ont été frappés par des soldats masqués. Nous n’avons pas eu nos passeports ou nos effets personnels avant de descendre du bateau. Ne croyez pas les rapports sur une interception pacifique. »
Nous avons besoin d’urgence de connaître les détails sur qui a été blessé, le degré de gravité des blessures et quel traitement reçoivent les blessés, le cas échéant. Une attaque militaire contre un navire civil est un acte violent et une violation du droit international. Emmener 22 personnes des eaux internationales vers un pays qui n’est pas leur destination constitue un acte d’enlèvement, ce qui est également illégal en vertu de la Convention internationale sur le droit de la mer.
Depuis le moment où nous avons perdu le contact vers 13h15 heure locale dimanche, nous savons que l’IOF a bloqué tous les signaux de communication, y compris les téléphones satellites. Nous sommes très préoccupés par cette violation du droit des journalistes de se présenter librement et nous restons gravement préoccupés par leur capacité à conserver leur équipement professionnel et leurs supports de stockage.
Comme l’a récemment observé le journaliste australien Chris Graham : « Des choses graves se produisent lorsque de bonnes personnes gardent le silence, comme le prouve l’histoire. Mais des choses horribles se produisent lorsque les médias sont empêchés de scruter les actions d’un État. »
Deux de nos participants, citoyens israéliens, ont été accusés d’avoir tenté d’entrer à Gaza et d’avoir comploté pour commettre un crime, et ils ont été libérés sous caution ce matin. L’un d’eux, le chef de bateau Zohar Chamberlain Regev, rapporte avoir vu du sang sur le pont de l’’Al Awda’ alors que les derniers participants étaient traînés hors du navire.
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Flottille de la liberté pour Gaza : qui sont les passagers ?
L’Humanité | Mercredi, 25 Juillet, 2018 | Eugénie Barbezat
▻https://www.humanite.fr/flottille-de-la-liberte-pour-gaza-qui-sont-les-passagers-658525Après 5 jours de mer la flottille de la Liberté trace sa route vers Gaza. A l’occasion de son passage au Large des cotes de la Crête, nous avons pu établir une communication avec notre correspondante à bord Sarah Katz, qui dresse un aperçu des personnalités présentes à bords et de leurs motivations pour se lancer dans cette périlleuse aventure afin de sensibiliser le plus grand nombre sur la situation des Palestiniens, en particulier à Gaza.
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From the Freedom Flotilla, Former Israeli Air Force Pilot Calls for a Boycott of Israel
July 17, 2018
▻https://therealnews.com/stories/from-the-freedom-flotilla-former-israeli-air-force-pilot-calls-for-a-boDIMITRI LASCARIS: This is Dimitri Lascaris, reporting for The Real News Network from the port of Naples, Italy. We are seated in front of the ships of the Gaza flotilla, the Freedom Flotilla, which have been docked here for a couple of days, and I’m pleased to be joined today by Yonatan Shapira. Yonatan is a former rescue pilot in the Israeli Air Force. He’s also a founding member and prominent activist of the Israeli movement Boycott From Within. (...)
