https://twitter.com/DefendEuropeID/status/895714465903017984
While most Americans today are more familiar with the ongoing immigration debate(s) here in the United States, the massive rush of Syrian and other refugees across Europe has dominated the world stage in recent years. Especially in and around the Mediterranean Sea, where refugees attempting to flee to Europe often find themselves at the mercy of their tattered, haphazard ships, torrential weather, and the actions of anti-refugee groups like the far-right Generation Identity. The latter even deployed a boat called the C-Star, with the help of YouTubers, in the Mediterranean to block those trying to gain entry to Europe.
According to BuzzFeed News, however, things didn’t go according to plan when the C-Star suffered mechanical failures off the coast of Libya. A Facebook post published by the refugee rescue operation Sea-Eye indicated the C-Star was “in distress at sea,” and the Italian marine rescue service (MRCC) had dispatched their ship to assist them as it was the closest. “To help those who are in distress is the duty of everyone who is at sea,” said Sea-Eye Chairman Michael Buschheuer in a statement. “No matter their origins, skin color, religion or views.”
++La Sea-Eye é stata contattata dal MRCC per fornire aiuto alla #CStar. L'equipaggio si sta quindi dirigendo verso la nave di DefendEurope++ pic.twitter.com/rE33q0GXrb
— Sea-Eye It (@SeaEye_It) August 11, 2017
BuzzFeed News confirmed with a EU NAVFOR spokesperson that the C-Star had been in international waters at the time reported, and that the boat had “experienced an engine breakdown.” Even so, Generation Identity’s Defend Europe campaign — which more or less spearheads the crowdfunded C-Star operation — issued its own statement on Twitter claiming the boat was experiencing “technical difficulty,” but there was “no distress.” After explaining the issue, they concluded “[t]he problem is about to be resolved.”
https://twitter.com/DefendEuropeID/status/895966208419393536
(Via BuzzFeed News)