Twenty-four volunteer rescue workers connected to the group Emergency Response Centre International face trial for human smuggling in Greece for giving life-saving assistance to thousands of migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, fleeing violence, poverty and persecution. A European Parliament report described the trial as Europe’s “largest case of criminalization of solidarity.” We’re joined by New Yorker staff writer Alexis Okeowo. Their latest piece, “The Crisis of Missing Migrants,” covers the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean and the tens of thousands of people who have gone missing en route to Europe. “It’s so inhumane, the way people are being forced to cross to Europe. And that is, by the way, because there are not safer migrant crossings. There are not more open migrant routes. We are forcing migrants to do this,” Okeowo says.
Please check back later for full transcript.
Urgent! Deadline tonight at midnight
Truthout is conducting a crucial fundraising campaign to support our work. We have until midnight tonight to raise $11,000.
Every single day, our team is reporting deeply on complex political issues: revealing wrongdoing in our so-called justice system, tracking global attacks on human rights, unmasking the money behind right-wing movements, and more. Your donation at this moment is critical, allowing us to do this core journalistic work.
Help safeguard what’s left of our democracy. Please make a tax-deductible gift before time runs out.