ZARZIS, TUNISIA August 6—Tunisian fishermen blocked a boat carrying “Defend Europe” fascists from docking at their port, dealing one more blow to the campaign to stop migrants from reaching Europe from North Africa.
As the flow of migration from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia increases, over 10,000 desperate migrants have died in the Mediterranean since 2014. More than 600,000 people have been rescued from traffickers’ boats and taken to Italy.
In response, a number of privately funded and charity-run boats have joined a multinational search and rescue operation coordinated by the Italian Coast Guard.
The C-Star was chartered by the anti-immigrant and anti-Islam fascist group Generation Identity to block the boats that are saving migrants’ lives. It most recently harassed the Aquarius, operated by the French group SOS Mediterranée as it was conducting search and rescue operations off the coast of Libya.
But they have not gone unopposed. Planned protests in Greece and in Italy convinced the rulers to deny the C-Star port access. The day the boat was to arrive at the port of Catania, Sicily, activists spoke out. “We are Sicilians, our home is the Mediterranean Sea…acceptance and saving people is of the highest importance. We firmly support the operations of the rescue boats. We are against those who want to block the rescue operations,” said activist Piero Mancuso.
Fishermen in the Tunisian port of Zarzis took it to the next level. ““If they come here we’ll close the refueling channel,” said Chamseddine Bourassine, the head of the local fishermen’s organization. “It is the least we can do given what is happening out in the Mediterranean. Muslims and Africans are dying.” The C-Star was unable to dock.
As the article “Immigrants, Refugees & Citizens” says, this solidarity shows the potential of our class to fight for a communist world without borders, nations, or refugees.
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