Shocking revelations about migrants and people smugglers – videos

Shocking revelations about migrants and people smugglers – videos

Apparently, France has shot itself in the foot with migrants on board the Ocean Viking, as most of the minors have left after one day. However, authorities say this is not a problem, it was to be expected. Meanwhile, a right-wing French politician has highlighted the link between the people-smuggling mafia and the migrant-rescue NGOs.

WORLD POLITICS NOVEMBER 19. 2022 13:51

The case surrounding the migrants on board the Ocean Viking, an NGO ship granted reception by France, continues to escalate. Following a lengthy debate, the French government has issued a permission to the migrant rescue boat to dock in the port of Toulon. The cabinet’s decision was, however, sharply criticised by the opposition on the grounds that it was not France’s job to rescue the 234 migrants on board. During a parliamentary session, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin described the government’s decision as justified, and he asked the MPs of the right-wing National Rally whether – had it been their responsibility – they would’ve let the 44 children on board to die.

CNews journalist Jean-Marc Morandini’s attempt to film at one of the reception centres where the migrants in question were housed was rejected by the police chief, because – as least in the reporter’s account – the refugees were apparently busy playing football, even though a „press statement” said that they were utterly exhausted. In his coverage, Morandini stressed that the refugees were extremely picky and refused to accept the shoes offered by the Red Cross. Some complained that they had too much wear and tear, while others simply just disliked how they looked, the reporter said.

Eventually, the journalist and his team have made it to a reception centre in the resort village of Giens, in Loiret department. Upon inspecting the list containing the names of the accommodated refugees, Mr Morandini was surprised that the list also included Egyptian and Moroccan nationals, even though there is no war in those countries. The migrants are very well looked after by the French state, as they are provided with everything they need, including coffee and hot chocolate at any time during the day.

Footage taken at the site shows that the migrants are housed in a stunning location, with a view of the Mediterranean Sea, and the reception centre has a truck equipped with a mobile satellite communication device to allow them to contact their loved ones back at home by phone.

However, it appears that the centre’s comfort and the French state’s hospitality have proved insufficient for some 26 minors, who left the town just one day after their admission. According to sources close to Le Figaro, 26 of the 44 underage migrants on board the Ocean Viking simply left the centre one day after they had been admitted. The region’s Republican president, Jean-Louis Masson (LR) said the case was immediately reported to the public prosecutor’s office.

Regarding the runaway minors, Christophe Paquette, Deputy Director General for Solidarity at the Var County Council, said that they had expected that the children would not stay at the centre, as most of them were Eritrean nationals who were seeking to join their relatives in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Germany. The migrant minors in question were not housed in a guarded area because the authorities’ aim is to protect them, not to detain them, Mr Paquette said, adding that the migrant children who left had shown exemplary behaviour by thanking the authorities before they left.

However, the most surprising facts about migrants are not the ones presented above. using photos and previous newspaper articles, as well as a UN report as evidence, French right-wing politician Damien Rieu has proved that there is a link between NGOs and people smugglers. On a series of photographs, the Open Arms NGO ship and Alanqa 3, the most frequently used boat of one of the most notorious people smugglers, Abd Al-Rahman Milad (aka Al Bija), are shown side by side.

Al Bija was released in 2021 in Libya, where he had been imprisoned on charges by the UN Security Council of involvement in the sinking of boats carrying migrants. The military prosecutor’s office in Tripoli ruled that there was not enough evidence to prove that he was guilty of the charges brought against him, and he was released after a few months in prison, The Guardian reported. The decision was strongly criticised in Italy after Al Bija had previously made death threats against two Italian journalists who were the first to report on the serious crimes he committed in 2016.

Al Bija was the first person the US entrusted with the creation of the Libyan Coast Guard, receiving significant funds and equipment in exchange for controlling illegal immigrants leaving Libyan territory, Mr Rieu went on to write on Twitter.

An investigation by the UN Security Council found that Al Bija’s good intentions did not last long, as he soon allied himself with Libyan smugglers, the right-wing politician recalled.

However, the photo is not the sole proof of the relationship between Al Bija and Open Arms. Italian journalist Francesca Totolo took a video showing the crew of the migrant rescue boat and Libyan smugglers chatting amiably, with the smugglers explaining to the NGO members that they were helping the refugees on the boat.

Al Bija was part of an unprecedented criminal network that committed crimes ranging from oil theft to the direct supply of migrants to NGOs, Mr Rieu highlighted. The man was linked to the mafia, with his foot soldiers transporting migrants directly to the NGO boats.

Al Bija’s shady dealings were reported in detail in 2017 by Italian journalist Nancy Porsia, who wrote that the Libyan man is a key member of the Coast Guard mafia, which has established a highly lucrative people smuggling network in and around Zawiya.

Nancy Porsia is one of the two Italian reporters who received death threats and had to be placed under police protection, The Guardian notes in its article.

 

WORLD POLITICS

Tags:

france, human smugglers, migrants, Ocean Viking, open arms, relationship