Here’s how to stamp out Germany’s double game on NGOs and migrants
The disembarkation of the castaways in the first safe port was also good, according to the current procedures, therefore in Italy. But on the condition of their immediate transfer, by airlift or other logistics, to the owner's territory of residence, i.e. Germany, who will then take care of the related tasks. All on the basis of a binding agreement at European level. Comment by Gianfranco Polillo
It would take the verve of Stefano Ricucci to describe the behavior of the German Government on immigration. Do you remember one of the famous phrases of the King of Zagarolo, as well as an illustrious exponent of the "smart guys in the neighborhood": "what do fags want to do with other people's asses"? An undoubtedly vulgar expression, but effective in capturing a contradiction that is impossible not to see. The German thesis is that the NGOs, which operate in the Mediterranean and intercept emigrants, must be able to act without any conditioning and be helped, with opposing public funding (at the moment only German, tomorrow we'll see), in carrying out their tasks.
The spirit invoked is humanitarian. Which only does credit to the proponents. But on condition that the necessary coherence is then shown. Which must be followed to the end and not, as happens today, only at the moment of rescue: a simple first step in an intervention that is much more difficult and complicated to complete. In fact, it is not just a matter of rescuing people in danger of their lives, but of offering them a perspective. Knowing full well what their hope is: that of stabilizing themselves in a European country. Fulfilling a dream that, more often than not, leads them to risk their lives. There is a profound difference here with the normal figure of the castaway. Which, by definition, is the passenger or crew member who falls into the water from a ship, and is the subject of search and rescue operations.
The difference is implicit in the probabilistic calculation, which is much less favorable to emigrants, for a thousand reasons, including the inadequacy of the hulls with which they set sail. Regulated by the same rules of the sea that prohibit, in theory, that you can sail with those boats. Starting from this distinction is therefore important to understand how different the two situations can be and, consequently, the principles that should regulate the relevant cases.
The obligation to rescue at sea obviously arises from an emergency. And this is the common element, but also the only one, with the drama of the journeys of hope. In the past, the legal regulation on shipwrecked people had been launched to balance the weight of the different interests at stake. The cargo ship, which abandoned its navigation route to intervene at the site of the disaster, could be asked to save human lives, but not to sacrifice any other objective to look after the shipwrecked person. Hence the provision that allowed him to be disembarked in the "nearest port" on the sole condition that it was "safe". Placing the task of subsequent assistance on the host state.
In any case, these would have been relative numbers. And of limited commitment. How many shipwrecks in a given period of time? Not to mention that, once saved, they asked for nothing more than to return to their normal activity and to the loved ones they left behind in their own country. A whole different story, as can be seen, when compared with migratory flows that have very different motivations and an immeasurable numerical dimension. Therefore, referring to common principles, always and in any case valid outside the relative context that legitimizes them, is just a truffle operation, easy to unmask.
And it is precisely for this reason that the behavior of the German Government, incapable of resisting the pressure of the Greens, appears particularly reprehensible. The attempt is to expand the meshes of the current international conventions beyond measure to realize one's own political aspirations, but without paying the price. And in fact he is willing to finance NGOs, in their role as serial saviors, but on the condition that the migrants are then disembarked in the "first safe port". Intended to coincide with an Italian one. All motivated, as we said at the beginning, by noble feelings. You forget, however, that the good Samaritan does not leave the job halfway, but completes it to the end. Taking full responsibility for the related consequences.
The right Italian reaction, obviously, was not long in coming, with a counter-proposal which at the beginning seemed only a tactical move and which, instead, could prove decisive. The intervention of the NGO boats was good, – this is the meaning of the counter-proposal – which do not fly the Italian flag. The disembarkation of shipwrecked people in the first safe port was also good, according to current procedures. But on the condition of their immediate transfer, by airlift or other logistics, to the owner's territory of residence. Who will then take care of the related tasks. All on the basis of a binding agreement at European level. Which would allow, among other things, reconciliation with the rules that are the basis of international law. The vessel flying the foreign flag is also the territory of that country. On board, outside Italian territorial waters, the relevant civil and criminal provisions therefore apply.
If the principle were accepted, a plan with relative coherence would emerge. Each nation would, in fact, be placed in the position of following its own morality, obviously bearing the relative costs that such a choice entails. Its individual citizens, in turn, would be forced to follow the laws of their country and incur the relevant sanctions in case of violation. Which with the help, if necessary, of other EU members could be sprayed during any stopover in the relevant marinas. In the end, as can be seen, a fair compromise is the embryo of a common vision. Too rational? Perhaps. Still better than the current chaos, in which in the end it is the European Union that risks sinking.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/ecco-come-stroncare-il-doppio-gioco-della-germania-su-ong-e-migranti/ on Fri, 29 Sep 2023 14:48:15 +0000.