Verein Solidaritaet auf See
Marco Stricker
Loehliweg 19
3325 Hettiswil
Switzerland
info@solidaritaet-auf-see.ch
Account details:
Solidarität auf See SaS
Bern
CH29 0900 0000 6171 3127 8
PC 61-713127-8
To Escape is not a crime
Sea-Watch is a German nonprofit organization dedicated to the rescue of shipwrecked migrants in the Mediterranean. With their boat, the MS Sea-Watch, they were able to rescue about 2000 people trying to cross the waters between Libya and Italy in 2015 alone. In the meantime, the activities of Sea-Watch have been extended to the waters between Turkey and the Greek Islands.
The first season of 2015 saw the MS Sea-Watch, a former fishing trawler, being manned by volunteer crews of seamen and medical personnel operating in shifts of two weeks. The crew was always in close contact with official authorities. In the case of an emergency, water and lifejackets were handed out to the shipwrecked refugees. They were encouraged to stay calm until more help arrived as the MS Sea-Watch could not take hundreds of additional people aboard.
After the end of the first season in winter 2015 the work of Sea-Watch was evaluated. As a result of this, the MS Sea-Watch, over 100 years old and susceptible to failure, was put out of operation. The work of Sea-Watch continued with another boat between Greece and Turkey. A new ship, MS Sea-Watch 2, was entirely financed by donations and is patrolling between Libya and Italy since 2016.
From the beginning, the work of Sea-Watch has received a lot of media coverage. One of it´s founders, Harald Höppner, gained extensive publicity during a talk show on German television when he appealed for a moment´s silence in honor of the refugees drowned in the Mediterranean. In another action, one of the original rubber boats with a capacity of 30 persons was launched on the Spree river in the center of Berlin in an event for German members of parliament. That boat held over 120 persons when saved.
Migrant Offshore Aid Station
Moas (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to maritime salvage. It is a private initiative of US business entrepreneur Christopher Cantrambone and his Italian wife Regina. Based on the island of Malta, they operate boats for sea rescue and first aid of refugees in distress. Since its start in 2014, MOAS has helped more than 13 000 people. One of their ships is seasonally operating in the Mediterranean along the Libyan coast and since 2016, in the sea of Bengal. A second ship patrols the waters between Turkey and the Greek Islands.
Christopher and Regina Cantrambone started MOAS 2014 by buying a discharged fishing trawler and remodeling it into a ship fit for maritime salvage. The MS Phoenix is able to support 400 people aboard. Helicopter drones are able to locate boats in distress within a radius of one hundred kilometers.
The first season of the MS Phoenix was privately financed by the Cantrambones. During the second season in 2015 the operating expenses were financed completely via donations. During this season MOAS received medical equipment and personnel from Doctors Without Borders. In the beginning of 2016, another ship was purchased to patrol the waters near the Greek Island of Lesbos. At the same time the MS Phoenix was relocated to the Bengal Sea during the winter. In these waters, members of the Muslim minority group Rohingya attempt to reach Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
Alarm Phone
Alarmphone/Watch the Med is a nonprofit association founded in 2014 to support refugees in distress at sea. Over one hundred volunteers in Europe and Northern Africa staff a telephone hotline handling and monitoring emergency calls and redirecting them to the officials in charge.
Rescue activities are documented in real time and help is mobilised when necessary. Alarmphone also aims at monitoring the official rescue activities. Their documentation enables the refugees to have written evidence about the course of the rescue. Further Alarmphone/Watch the Med spreads information among refugees about possible risks of sea-crossings and shows ways to minimize them. All members of Alarmphone work as volunteers in shifts out of their homes or offices. They are organized in country as well as in regional units.
Nawal Soufi is providing services similar to Alarmphone. She is a young Italian with Moroccan roots. For many years, she has worked alone out of her home in Sicily. In the refugee community she is known as Lady SOS and her number is passed between refugees and via social networks. With her language skills in both Italian and Arabic she has already saved thousands of refugees over the years.
About us
We are a group of passionate sailors. We have all spent many days on memorable trips in the waters of the Mediterranean. However, right now there is a humanitarian catastrophe taking place. Sadly, thousands of people have drowned in recent years-and more are dying on a daily basis.
Standing by and letting people drown is not an option!
We feel obliged to adhere to the the rules of maritime salvage. However, at the same time we feel powerless in the face of the current events. We can neither solve the complex problems of the refugee crisis nor all go sail the Mediterranean rescuing people in distress. What can we do?
For this reason we founded the nonprofit organization „Solidarität auf See“ (Solidarity at Sea) at the beginning of 2016. Our objective is to have all participants involved in maritime activities, namely sailors, yacht charterers, agencies, marinas, boatshows or shipyards to provide practical and needed help for people in maritime distress. The existing private projects in sea rescue need assistance-be it monetary or idea creation.
As a first step we provide on our website several private initiatives dealing with maritime salvage of refugees. We hope you find these projects valuable and kindly request your donations. Further we would also like to ask all participants involved in maritime activities to link us to their respective websites. You will be named as supporters and as such are able to contribute to our cause in an easy and practical way.
For these and any further projects we of course need your support and strength in numbers is key: the more members the more gets accomplished. A heavy tailwind , as we maritimers say, in the form of a strong association with many members will make this organization a success. You are cordially invited to join as member of „Solidarität auf See“. New members, innovative ideas and energetic participation are welcome at any time. Please contact us!
In the name of „Solidarität auf See“
Marco Stricker
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