Since the end of July, the journey of the C-Star, a ship organized by racist groups from Germany, France and Italy, on the Mediterranean to prevent migrants from reaching European coasts, has raised questions over the standards of human rights in Europe. Perhaps more than questions, we can find answers concerning the real standards of democracy and human rights in Europe.
This is a ship with a racist, fascist, anti-immigrant flag sailing on the sea to track migrant boats and ships owned by nongovernmental organizations providing assistance to refugees and migrants. That is the story, which is just the tip of the iceberg. The racists on this boat tried to force a ship owned by Doctors Without Borders to change its route. They also searched for migrant boats in order not allow them sail to Europe.
The group, which calls itself Defend Europe, is formed by a group called Generation Identitaire, a racist, fascist, political reference throughout Europe.
In fact, the trip of that ship is a real sign of the level of human rights and democracy in the Old Continent. The ship is currently near the Tunisian coast, according to news reports. There are different episodes of that journey near other Mediterranean coasts, which need to be discovered and talked about, such as interdictions at the Suez Canal.
Contrary to the determination of Tunisian fishermen to prevent the boat from a possible trip along their coast, no real reaction was shown by European authorities to stop the racist act.
When we look back a little bit, we will remember a complaint made by Italy about the silence of its European allies in regards to finding a solution to the flow of refugees from Libya to its coasts. And France made a proposal to cooperate with Italy to find a formula to solve the crisis.
On the other hand, a migrant camp in the French city of Calais was being destroyed, leaving hundreds homeless. Efforts by nongovernmental organizations to find urgent solutions for urgent needs of migrants and refugees such as hygiene and water were being prevented by local authorities.
And of course, the case of Cedric Herrou was another clear sign of the newly undeclared European policy on migration. Herrou, who was a figure for helping refugees, was being prosecuted and punished in France because of his humanitarian assistance to migrants.
Now, the C-Star case is a perfect symbol of EU standards on migration, which is a racist chase of migrants on the open sea. As a citizen of Turkey, which has taken in more than 3 million refugees, I can see the shameful picture in Europe concerning that serious humanitarian crisis.
