NGOs are smuggling immigrants into Europe on an industrial scale
QUOTE
For two months, using
www.marinetraffic.com, we have been monitoring the movements of
ships owned by a couple of NGOs, and, using data from
data2.unhcr.org.
We have kept track of the daily arrivals of African immigrants in
Italy. It turned out we were witness of a big scam and an illegal human
traffic operation.
NGOs [
Non-government organization ], smugglers, the mafia in
cahoots with the European Union have shipped
thousands of illegals into Europe under the pretext of rescuing people,
assisted by the Italian coast guard which coordinated their activities.
NGOs, smugglers, the mafia in cahoots with the European Union have shipped thousands of illegals into Europe under the pretext of rescuing people, assisted by the Italian coast guard which coordinated their activities.
Human traffickers contact the Italian coast guard in advance to receive support and to pick up their dubious cargo. NGO ships are directed to the “rescue spot” even as those to be rescued are still in Libya. The 15 ships that we observed are owned or leased by NGOs have regularly been seen to leave their Italian ports, head south, stop short of reaching the Libyan coast, pick up their human cargo, and take course back 260 miles to Italy even though the port of Zarzis in Tunis is just 60 miles away from the rescue spot.
The organizations in question are: MOAS, Jugend Rettet, Stichting Bootvluchteling, Médecins Sans Frontières, Save The Children, Proactiva Open Arms, Sea-Watch.org, Sea-Eye and Life Boat.
The real intention of the people behind the NGOs is not clear. We would not be surprised if their motive were money. They may also be politically driven; the activities of the Malta-based organisation, MOAS, by trafficking people to Italy is the best guarantee that migrants will not show up on the Maltese shore. MOAS is managed by an Maltese Marine officer well known in Malta for his maltreatment of refugees 1). It is also possible that these organisations are managed by naive “do-gooders” who do not understand that offering their services they are acting like a magnet to the people from Africa and thus they are willy-nilly causing more fatalities, not to mention that their actions are destabilizing Europe.
However high-minded the intentions of these organisations might be, their actions are criminal as most of these migrants are not eligible for being granted asylum and will end up on the streets of Rome or Paris and undermine Europe’s stability raising racially motivated social tensions.
Brussels has created particular legislature to protect people traffickers against prosecution. In a dedicated section of an EU resolution entitled On Search and Rescue, the text states that “private ship masters and non-governmental organisations who assist in sea rescues in the Mediterranean Sea should not risk punishment for providing such assistance.”2)
During the two months of our observation, we have monitored at least 39 000 Africans illegally smuggled into Italy, which was done with the full consent of the Italian and European authorities.
More information:
In October we discovered that four NGOs picked up people in Libyan
territorial waters. We have proof that these smugglers communicated their
action in advance with the Italian authorities. Ten hours before the
immigrants left Libya, the Italian coast guard directed the NGOs to the
“rescue” spot: Full account “Caught
in the act: NGOs deal in migrant smuggling”
The MOAS organisation has close links with the famous US military contractor “Blackwater”, the US army and the Maltese navy. Full account: “The Americans from MOAS ferry migrants to Europe”
There is a full account about the ships involved: “NGOs Armada operating off the coast of Libya" and how people are encouraged to come to Europe: “Death road to Europe promoted on the web”
Caught in the act: NGOs deal in migrant smuggling
Ship-tracking software and reports from journalists prove
that NGOs, the Italian Coast Guard and smugglers coordinate their
actions. The Automatic Identification System (AIS) exposes NGOs
operating in Libyan territorial waters. Since the ouster of President
Ghadafi, a growing number of Africans are smuggled into Europe.
They travel via Libya from where they cross the Mediterranean. Different
“humanitarian” organisations or NGOs involved are an indispensable part
of the smuggle route to Europe. We noticed that the Italian coast guard,
NGOs and locals coordinate their actions. Whatever they call it
themselves, these operations cannot be classified as genuine rescue
operations.
The Dutch, Maltese and German based NGOs are part of the human smuggling network and one wonders, are these NGOs themselves criminal organisations.
Whatever the motives of these NGOs, their behaviour is illegal, and in countries governed by a constitution, i.e. European states, crime should be prosecuted regardless of the intention of its perpetrators.
We followed the movements of the Golfo Azzurro on 12 October. We used AIS Marine Traffic signals, twitter and the live reports of a Dutch journalist on board of the Golfo Azzurro.
On the evening of 12 October at 21:15,
113 people were picked up 8.5 nautical miles off the Libyan Mellitah
Complex, by four NGO ships; the Phoenix, the Astral, the Iuventa and the
Golfo Azzurro. At that moment these four ships were within the
territorial waters of Libya.
During this transport, 17 persons were reported missing, including a
three-year-old child.
Wednesday 12 October eight o’clock in the morning, the Italian coast guard informed the Golfo Azzurro about the coming “rescue” operation, 10 to 12 hours in advance; they directed the Golfo Azzurro to a location within the Libyan territorial waters. Eveline Rethmeier, a Dutch journalist, was on board of the Golfo Azzurro. At 20:23 (UTC time 18:23) she posted a video were ‘Chief of the Mission’ Mateo told the crew something was coming. In her blog she wrote: “At eight o’clock in the morning we got the messages that there is a ship with problems 30 nautical miles away from us. The Italian coast guard asked assistance in the area. We were briefed by ‘Chief of the Mission’ Mateo. He told us that we should be prepared for guests.”1)
The Italian coast guard did not only direct the Golfo Azzurro to the Libyan territorial waters but also the Phoenix, the Astral and the Iuventa. According to the Malta Today: “It was around 7 pm (12 October) when the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Rome contacted Phoenix. Still, it was only at 9.20pm that the rubber boat was sighted by – making use of the Schiebel drones on board the Phoenix. In cooperation with the other search-and-rescue NGOs in the area, a rescue operation was swiftly launched.”2) The Golfo Azzurro was told at 8.00 AM that there was a ship with problems while the Phoenix was contacted 10 to 11 hours later!
During the week that we monitored the area, four Italian tugboats, among them the Megrez, were stationed at the Mellitah Complex, and they were idle most of the time.
While the Golfo Azzurro started its 30-mile trip to assist the boat 6 to 9 nautical miles off Mellitah, it took 10 hours before the Megrez, one of the four tug boats, left the port of Mellitah (20:00 pm) in the direction of the “rescue” point.
The Megrez sailed 6 nautical miles into the open sea, 2 nautical miles from the rescue point. Around 20:40 it reached its end point and without stopping it turned around and went back to Mellitah, where it arrived at 21:17. The whole trip including time, date and speed is recorded by the different AIS tracking websites.
The Megrez, an Italian registered tugboat, sailed in a straight line up and down without stopping and without participating in the “rescue” operation. It looks like the Megrez just dropped something in the open sea and immediately returned home. Forty minutes later after the Megrez turned around, perfectly timed, the Phoenix spotted a boat with migrants.
8.5 nautical miles off Mellitah, within Libyan territorial waters, the four ships, belonging to European NGOs, started their “rescue” mission and picked up 113 persons. The closest safe port is Zarzis in Tunis, about 65 nautical miles west from the “rescue” point. This port is frequently visited by the ships that operate for these NGOs. Instead of bringing the migrants to Zarzis, the Phoenix brought the immigrants 275 nautical miles north to Italy. Of course, the 113 passengers paid 1000 to 1500 euro to be shipped to Europe and not to be transported to Tunis.
On the basis of our observation, it turned out that the Italian authorities knew in advance that there would be a “rescue” operation that night.
They contacted the Golfo Azzurro in advance as the ship was more than 30 nautical miles off the Libyan coast. The captain knew that he was scheduled to pick up migrants, although there was not yet a distress signal. At that moment the migrants were probably still in Libya. At 19:00 the Phoenix was warned by the coast guard and directed to the pick-up point. At 20:00 the Megrez left Libya. 2 nautical miles from the pick-up point, at 20:40 hours it turned around. Forty minutes later the Phoenix spotted the rubber boat. The whole operation was perfectly scheduled. 3)
It looks like the “rescue” is a part of a well organised hazardous
human trafficking operation. The fact that 17 people went missing does
not make this a rescue mission. The organisers and those involved are
entirely responsible for the safety of their passengers and should be
held accountable.
1.
Live: zoeken naar
vluchtelingenbootjes, zo gaat dat, RTL.
2. Boy, 3, among missing
migrants believed to have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, Malta
Today.
3. Boat sinking in Strait of
Sicily, 3-year-old missing, ANSA.
The Americans from MOAS ferry migrants to Europe
MOAS stands for Migrant Offshore Aid Station.
It is a Malta-based non-governmental organisation, which set itself the
task of patrolling the Mediterranean and rescuing people in high seas,
lifting them up from dinghies, rafts and boats onto the Phoenix, the MOAS-owned trawler, a vessel complete with drones for scanning the
waters, and ferrying migrants from places several miles off the Libyan
shore to Sicily. The organisation is run by Chris Catrambone (35) and
his wife Regina.
Chris Catrambone, a Louisiana-born American, having graduated from college, ran and owned a steamboat restaurant, worked at the U. S. Congress in Washington, D.C., and then landed a job as an insurance investigator. In this capacity he was sent to the world’s most dangerous places, such as, among others, Iraq and Afghanistan. Having gathered enough experience, and accidentally survived the 2005 Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, a year later Chris Catrambone (25) founded Tangiers Group, a global business specialising in “insurance, emergency assistance, on-the-ground claims handling, and intelligence services.”1)Initially operating from the USA, in order to better handle the expanding enterprise, he relocated his business to Italy (where he met his future wife) and then to Malta. It is here that in 2013 Chris Catrambone (32) founded the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) to assist the third-world population in crossing the sea in search of a better life. Catrambone and his wife are said to have spent 8 million of their own money towards this end because, as the MOAS founder confessed, he, too, once had lost his home due to Katrina, so now he understood the plight of others.
Ian Ruggier is a member of the MOAS board. This erstwhile Maltese major made headlines with the plan that he had forged to curb the rioting migrants in Malta. The police units were told to surround the crowd and select, isolate and overpower ringleaders, which was supposed to prevent further demonstrations. Yet something went wrong and it came to blows, with pro-immigrant organisations raising a huge outcry and the courts having the case on their hands.2) After a 25-year service Ian Ruggier found employment with MOAS: a man in charge of curbing migrants turned into someone who is on their side: Saul became Paul. Maybe.
What if Ian Ruggier is merely the man whose task it is to ensure that the migrants rescued or smuggled into Europe should not end up in Malta? Why, the MOAS boats are stationed in Malta, from where they operate. Once loaded with immigrants, they pass the port of Valletta and head for Italy to unload their human cargo in Europe.
Robert Young Pelton is MOAS’s strategic consultant3) and the founder of Migrant Report.4) He also owns Dpx (Dangerous Places Extreme) Gear, which sells heavy-duty knives5) to people who go to conflict zones from which, strangely enough, come the people whom his activities within the framework of MOAS and Migrant Report are supposed to help. As a free-lance journalist he came into contact with Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater [ Renamed Xe then Academi after bad publicity - Editor. ], an American private military company (present-day mercenaries) engaged in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq; incidentally Blackwater was also employed in Louisiana, during the time when Hurricane Katrina struck: Chris Catrambone happened to be there at precisely that time. Robert Young Pelton fell out with Eric Prince over financial matters.
But coming back to Chris Catrambone. A young man, a college graduate, someone else’s employee, sets up a company (Tangiers Group), which quickly extends its activities to over fifty countries, bringing in so much profit that a few million can be spared for a charity which is called MOAS. MOAS employs men who were at a time either involved with private military companies or in charge of curbing the influx of people trying to cross the Mediterranean. This non-government organisation is not competing with the European governments in collecting the seafarers: rather it complements them, in recognition for which his founder receives awards.6)
Some questions arise. How did Chris Catrambone amass such a fortune at an early age on a market of insurance?7) Is his charity just an expression of his own personal convictions? Does he serve any political purpose? His Tangiers Group operated in war-stricken zones: by pure chance? He was employed at the U. S. Congress in Washington, D.C. Some of his co-workers happened to be in the same dangerous zones where Tangiers Group operated. Again, pure chance?
There appears to be a
close relation between MOAS and the Maltese Navy as well as the US
military. MOAS is led by a navy officer [ It seems to be
Martin Xuereb,
a brigadier i.e. a army man, the point about brutality is unconfirmed - Editor
] that is known for his harsh
treatment of immigrants; it is promoted by a business partner of
Blackwater, which
is well known for its ruthless actions against civilians; it is owned by
a person who made his fortune taking advantage of the US military
operations in Afghanistan, the Middle East and North Africa. The same
money that is in one way or another earned by creating mayhem in Africa
and the Middle East and causing a refugee crisis is now used to ship
thousands of undocumented Africans into the European heartland, causing
problems in Italy, France, Greece and Germany. One cannot help but
wonder whether the MOAS people are honest saviours or they are on a
mission to destabilise Europe even further.
PS The
Telegraph says that MOAS was founded by
Regina Catambrone
They’re facilitating the invasion/destruction of Europe…They’re helping to implement the Kalergi plan for European genocide…they should be arrested..
Death road to Europe promoted on the web
Jonathan Samuels, Sky News Correspondent, and his team discovered a discarded handbook, printed in Arabic, on the shore of the Isle of Lesbos, providing the migrants with detailed information on the routes, important phone numbers, non-government organizations that aid the migrants and on their rights in target countries1). Watch The Med (watchthemed.net and alarmphone.org/en/) and w2eu (w2eu.info and w2eu.net) [ i.e. Welcome to Europe - Editor ] are among the organizations listed in the said rough guide.
The w2eu.info website with its subheading that reads ‘independent information for refugees and migrants coming to Europe’ tells about itself that it intends to support the migrants’ efforts because ‘freedom of movement is everybody’s right.’ Its activists who are located in different EU countries claim they do their work free of charge. The website provides information on such topics as Contacts, Overview, Safety at Sea, Dublin III, Asylum, Gender, Minors, Regularization, Detention, Deportation, Living, Family, Medical, and Work relative to all EU countries. Thus, for instance, under the heading Safety at Sea the migrant is informed that he may call WatchTheMed, which will in turn notify of the distress or catastrophe at sea the coastal guard, pressure it into rescuing the endangered or capsized boats; it will also let the media know about the event, and exert (moral) pressure on central or local authorities to act. Under the heading Gender the migrants are informed about their rights in, say, Denmark, where, if they claim to be persecuted, discriminated against, degraded or otherwise treated inhumanly due to their sex, gender or sexual orientation, they won’t be deported. The heading Deportation instructs the migrant how to avoid being deported or how to make such a decision ineffective. The heading Family for Austria explains the right of family reunification i.e. the way to get other members of the migrant’s family over to Europe. And so on.
The same website provides leaflets, instructions and ‘visit cards’ to be printed in such languages as English, French, Arabic, Farsi (or Persian, spoken in Iran and Afghanistan), Pashto (one of the two official languages in Afghanistan), Tigrinya (spoken in Ethiopia and Eritrea) and Somali. The visit card gives WatchTheMed Alarm Phone on one side and a very short guidance on two cases: Distress at Sea and (Danger of) Pushback, on the other2). The brochure entitled ‘Risks, Rights and Safety at Sea’ (there are versions for the West Mediterranean, Central and the Aegean Seas) provides instruction on how to prepare for the journey in a boat across the sea. The migrant is told to make sure the boat is seaworthy; that he has enough food, water, and clothing; that he has his GPS and mobile phone with fully charged batteries, paid for overseas calls; he is advised to notify his relatives and friends in the target country as well as in his home country of the place and time of the departure and arrival, so they know when to inform the services in case the arrival is overdue; to have warning signals to attract the attention of the vessels passing by, since, as it is stated, every captain has the obligation to rescue seafarers without regard for their nationality or legal status; how to behave during the rescue operation; and, once on European soil, how to claim the right for asylum under the 1951 Geneva Convention. The migrants are told in no uncertain terms what they must say in order to be granted asylum, which is granted because of prosecution for race, religion, nationality, membership of a social or political group. The migrant is also encouraged to report any violation of his rights.
[ See the video at https://www.youtube.com/embed/uZ3xbinSN6M ]
The brochure entitled ‘Welcome to Greece’ of October 2015 explains that although pursuant to the Dublin Regulation the migrant needs to seek asylum in the first country he arrives in, still the EU countries have given up on this convention; a clear tip to proceed with the journey further inland in Europe. It also informs that economic migrants will not be granted the asylum; again a clear hint at what to say in order to be qualified. And it provides the timetable for ferries and ships complete with the price of the fare. There is also information on the geography of Athens, addresses of aid organizations and a short list of useful phrases in Greek.
Watch The Med (MTM) is a sister organization or, as it claims, an online mapping platform that monitors deaths and instances of violation of human rights at the maritime borders of the EU.
References
Sky Finds 'Handbook' For EU-Bound Migrants
The "rough guide" contains maps, tips and phone numbers of organisations which might help refugees making the perilous crossing.
By Jonathan Samuels, Sky News Correspondent, Lesbos, Greece
Refugees arriving in Greece on people smugglers' boats are given a 'migrants handbook' packed with tips, maps, phone numbers and advice about getting across Europe.
Among discarded life jackets and punctured rubber dinghies, Sky News discovered a tattered copy of the unique travel guide washed up on a beach on the Greek island of Lesbos. The booklet's cover features a photograph of a young man on a beach at sunset, looking longingly out to sea, with oars at his feet after making the treacherous crossing.
The 'rough guide' is written in Arabic and contains phone numbers of organisations which might help refugees making the journey, such as the Red Cross and UNHCR. Among those behind the booklet are organisations called Watch The Med-Alarmphone and w2eu, which means 'Welcome to Europe'.
Sonia, who did not want to give her surname, is a volunteer with WatchTheMed and told Sky News: "Activists from our network distribute the guides for free in Turkey". The guide is distributed to refugees as they come ashore on the Aegean Islands and in Athens and other Greek cities.
She added that other leaflets about safety at sea were distributed to would be migrants before they set out on their journeys with advice on what to do if they get into trouble on the water. The guide Sky News found also contained a 24-hour hotline number for migrants to call so volunteers can then pass their details to the relevant coastguard.
"We take information about how many people are in the boats if they get into trouble" she said. "It's a life-saving service we give to refugees. They are going to go anyway, so it's better if we give them advice." Arabic speaker Sonia takes calls from her home in Austria and is one of a number of volunteers for WatchTheMed.
Saving Refugees At Sea
"We are a big group of about 100 people" she said. "We are based across Europe and North Africa."
The pocket-sized guide has a handy map of Europe detailing the areas boats tend to land in. Marked in red are what it describes as "detention/reception/screening sites". On the back page are photographs of sun-drenched Greek islands, the main port on Lesbos, Mitilini, and a smiling man alongside the caption: "When I arrived at the shores of Mitilini I came to understand that I am no child anymore."
W2eu's website says "We welcome all travellers on their difficult trip and wish you all a good journey - because freedom of movement is everybody's right!". It goes on to say they aim to offer contacts and counselling to refugees and migrants: "At the outer borders of Europe, people are refused entry, they are imprisoned and deported.
"Nevertheless people are coming. W2eu.info is supporting you who come to Europe in your struggle for a better life".