Since its founding in 2015, the sea rescue association has saved the lives of more than 42,000 castaways in distress. Testimony, report and meeting in the evening “L’Escale Solidaire” at the Châtelet on December 1.
I have supported SOS Méditerranée since the association’s inception, in 2015. What always excites me is its very clear slogan. This is not a matter of ideology, but a matter of implementing maritime law. During the rescue, we did not ask for their papers that we took out of the water, we did not look at the color of their skin. We save everyone. This is international law.
I’ve been furious since the August 24 attack on the Ocean Viking, which received little coverage in traditional media. On board the SOS Méditerranée ship, there were survivors present, but also several European rescuers and members of the Red Cross. They were shot. I was shocked, appalled, hurt by my European aspirations, to see the EU institutions in cahoots with Libyan pirates. This wall they are trying to erect in the Mediterranean is a fascist and racist border. You can’t stop people with walls, it never works. The older I get, the more I rebel. I have been involved in the community sector for fifteen years, in associations supporting exiles. In France, getting a residence permit is very difficult. Unfriendliness is orchestrated down to the smallest detail. This is embarrassing.
I boarded the Ocean Viking last January. I saw the team work, I was trained, and I actively participated in the rescue. It changed my life. It was very real, very physical, being in a semi-rigid boat going out to meet boats in danger, looking into the eyes of shipwrecked people, holding children to take them to safety… First I held a baby, then a little girl, then a second – that was the mission of the journalist on board (in this case, the writer) to save the youngest. At one point, I was like a bunch of kids. This was a surprising experience. I had the impression of finally serving something, and being where I belonged, in the Mediterranean area off the coast of Tunisia and Libya that I thought represented the center of the world today. Luckily, I have been well trained not to let myself be overwhelmed by emotions. I had a lot of trouble finding grounding, adjusting to our streets, our cities, which seemed indifferent to the unfolding tragedy. I think that’s the nature of a sailor’s life. I really admire them.
I boarded the Ocean Viking with the idea of writing a play reflecting the actions of SOS Méditerranée. Many testimonies from survivors have been collected, and it is much better. With this project, I wanted to be on the side of the rescuers, telling their lives and the time they spent on the ships. Part of the profits from the show, which I worked on with director Arthur Nauzyciel, will of course be donated to SOS Méditerranée.
