Geert Mak - In Europa

Laws of the sea (3x9)

: 16, 2020

At one time, boat refugees in distress were helped and received hospitably on the European mainland. Those times are over. Now, thanks to European money, the Libyan coastguard plays gatekeeper on the Mediterranean Sea and deliberately causes people to drown. Captains who do lend a helping hand are regularly taken to court for human smuggling. In this episode Captain Stefan Schmidt, who was arrested in 2004 to his astonishment when he tried to dock in Italy with 37 African drowners. At the time, Abdul Aziz was one of 37 migrants who had saved Captain Schmidt from drowning. Abdul's European adventure disappointed him so much that he now, back in Ghana, visits schools to imprint children that they should stay at home. And Pia Klemp, a young captain of rescue organization Sea Watch, who did not shy away from a strong confrontation with the Libyan coastguard, but is now forced to stay at home. She is facing twenty years in prison for helping her with illegal migration.