That some human lives are worth more than others has sadly long been evident, but that some lives are worthless is profoundly shocking. The worthless come from poor countries. They have dark skin.
They don’t have money or papers. They lack status. And when they are at sea, on a boat, desperately escaping a life in which they see no future, when waves several meters high rock their flimsy boat, when the boat takes in water and starts to sink, their lives become so utterly worthless that we should let them drown.
You could call this the Maltese code of the sea: If you see a boat in trouble and that boat happens to be full of illegal immigrants, you should “monitor the boat and keep a distance away from them”. One or two might die — thirty as it happened off the coast in Malta in 2005 — but eventually, someone else will come and rescue them. And if they don’t, well, they were illegal immigrants, weren’t they?
And if you are a fisherman and you hear screams, don’t whatever you do respond to these cries for help, because in today’s world saving the lives of the worthless is a criminal act. Much better to do as the others do: Hit the desperate immigrants with bats and sticks and push them back in the water, stop them at all costs from boarding your boat, because if you help them, you are helping illegal immigration and that is a crime — a crime that will land you in jail for anything up to fifteen years. It’s not manslaughter to let people drown in front of your very eyes. It’s not a crime to let people die when you could pull them into safety. No, no, the crime would be to save them.
This is what happened to seven Tunisian fishermen whose trial started this week in Sicily. They saved the lives of 44 people and now face between one and 15 years in jail for doing so. They are charged with having helped illegal immigrant trafficking.
It all started on the morning of Aug. 8 this year. The fishermen woke to the sound of screams. Up ahead, in rough seas, a rubber boat crammed with people was taking in water. The fishermen struggled to get everyone off the sinking boat and unto their two boats. Two immigrants fell into the sea. The Tunisians jumped in and got them out.
Among the lives saved were 11 women and two children, including pregnant women. They were frail and hungry. One elderly man was sick and very ill.
The immigrants had radioed for help when their boat reported trouble, but no one had come. Other fishing vessels had seen them, but refused to rescue them.
But the brave Tunisian fishermen did come to their rescue. Once everyone was on board, they also radioed for help. They were in international waters, two miles off Italian waters. The Italian Navy sent a war vessel, the Vega, and the Vega, sent an inflatable boat with a doctor on board. He checked on the passengers and declared none of them to be in critical condition. Off he went, his conscience clear.
Where to now? The nearest port was Lampudesa in Sicily, 30 miles away. Their homeport, Monastir, was 90 miles away. The fishermen, quite logically, opted for the nearest port. They had a boat full of emaciated, hungry and dehydrated people, who had already eaten and drunk everything they had to give them. They needed to be on shore as quickly as possible. So they headed north and two hours later landed in Lampudesa where they were promptly arrested.
The Italian authorities accuse the fishermen of being human traffickers. Why did they not head back to their homeport as instructed by the Italian coastguard? And if they were fishermen, where were their nets? And where was the fish they had caught?
The fishermen practice traditional cianciolo fishing. This is a form of fishing that involves three boats. Two boats — the two that saved the immigrants — use light to attract the fish, whilst a third boat further away — in this case a boat called the Karim Allah — catches the fish in its nets.
This case has attracted widespread condemnation. More than 100 members of the European Parliament signed a petition for their release. The European Union and the International Maritime Organization are also looking into ways of clarifying who is responsible for rescues in international waters.
Most likely the fishermen will be acquitted but the damage will be done. The aim of this travesty of justice will be achieved: Fishermen will turn away from saving migrants in distress. After all, the seven Tunisian fishermen spent over a month in jail with their boats seized. That alone is enough to deter would-be rescuers. Some lives, it seems, are simply not worth saving.
