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The name of the ship is that of a feminist anarchist, Louise Michel. The painting on the cover bears Bansky’s signature, making it practically a floating work of art. The captain, or the captain you see, is called instead Pia Klemp, less famous than Carola Rackete but not entirely unknown to Italy. Already in command of the ships Iuventa and Sea Watch 3, Pia’s story deserves some attention in the face of renewed activism by NGOs in the Mediterranean. Yes, because while the Italian Coast Guard comes to the aid of Louise Michel and embarks 49 migrants out of the 219 on board, she is under investigation for aiding illegal immigration and risks “up to 20 years in prison.” The Italian judiciary investigates, returns to the sea, the government extends its hand. If it cannot be called an absurd situation, at least a little strange.
Pia Klemp’s story in the waves begins with the organization Sea Shepherd which fights against “illegal activities on the high seas”. After years of activity on board, he obtained the captain’s license. A 36-year-old biologist, she was born in Bonn but when she is not, she wanders between her hometown, Berlin, Hamburg and Brussels. In 2017 she embarks on the first humanitarian missions in the Mediterranean: she drives the Iuventa Youth saves; then becomes manager of one of the first four missions of Sea Watch 3, the same ship that Carola Rackete commanded when the controversy of the onslaught, the arrest and everything else broke out. It is precisely because of her participation in the Iuventa activities that Pia ends up under the lens of the Trapani prosecutor along with nine other crew members and the staff of Doctors Without Borders and Save The Children. It was on August 2, 2017 when the Iuventa was seized in the port of Lampedusa along with mobile phones, on-board computers and other electronic devices. The investigation triggered a political earthquake in Italy, the first act in a series of operations by Sicilian prosecutors against NGO ships. The accusation that still hangs on the captain’s head is that of help and incite illegal immigration: according to prosecutors, there were contacts between crew members and human traffickers. The magistrates, focusing on three separate rescue operations that took place in 2016 and 2017, also hypothesize that the smugglers were also returned to the ships for reuse in new ones. traffic of human flesh. The organizations, on the other hand, deny everything and swear that they have carried out the operations in accordance with the law and international law. Three years later, the procedure is still hanging by a thread, as in the most classic of Italian court cases. But in the meantime, Pia Klemp didn’t stop. First the Sea Watch 3, now the Louise Michel. “I do not see the rescue at sea as a humanitarian action, but as part of an anti-fascist struggle,” Pia told the guardian. For Italy, the result is essentially the same: hundreds of refugees flocked off Libya and, if possible, were brought to the shores of the beautiful country.
At 31 meters in length, already owned by the French customs authority, the Louise is faster than other boats Ngo but less spacious. The objective is to reach the Libyan Coast Guard, financed and also supported by Italy, to prevent them from returning immigrants to Tripoli. Last Friday the 10 activists of the crew already had 89 people on board when they assisted another 130 refugees. Too many for that narrow little bridge. So the ship began to appeal to the Maltese and Italian authorities, who eventually sent a patrol boat to board 32 women and 13 children. The others will be uploaded by the other NGOs active on the site, Sea Watch 4 and the Mediterranean Ionian Sea.
In short: not even 15 days at sea and Bansky’s work already speaks of itself. La Louise set out on August 18 from the port of Burriana, Spain, not far from Valencia. But the work had begun long before in great secrecy. Collaboration between too me Bansky was born with a sudden email. “Hi Pia, I read about your story in the newspapers. The artist writes to him one day. You seem like a tough guy. I’m an artist from the UK and did some work on the migration crisis, obviously I can’t keep the money. You could use it. to Buy a new boat or something? Please let me know. Well done. Banksy. ” Klemp thinks of a joke, then has to change his mind. The money arrives, the boat too. And so the “captain” returns to ride the waves and “challenge” Italy. Despite the investigation against him.
