https://www.flickr.com/photos/54731278@N03/21624374159
On 12 June 2019, Sea-Watch 3, captained by Carola Rackete, rescued 52 migrants at sea. A “place of safety” is immediately requested. The captain requests permission to enter an Italian port. On the night of June 29th (after 17 days at sea), Carola starts her engines and heads towards the quay of the port of Lampedusa, where, finally, she docks accidentally bumping into a Guardia di Finanza patrol boat. Carola Rackete is arrested in flagrante delicto and placed in Lampedusa. From this moment on, she becomes the target of a long series of violent racist and sexist attacks. An exemplary affair that passes very quickly from everyday life to social life to the courtrooms. Carola’s entire path is marked by a series of legal measures, that, once issued, become a pretext to justify public denigration. The story of Sea Watch 3 first, and the one linked to the fate of its captain then, manage to show the worst of the hate speech and fake news of recent years. Carola is an example, because despite the heavy insults received, she has been able to face everything with enormous dignity. Moreover, because despite so much hatred and doggedness, she has always managed to remain “free” and not homologable. To read the reconstruction of the facts, download the contribution here.
