Migrant Rescue in the Mediterranean – Dialogue (10/15)

Our next events deal with a migrant rescue project in the Mediterranean that Sandro Mezzadra and Michael Hardt (mostly Sandro) have been engaged with. In brief: the launching of a rescue ship (“Ionian Sea”) is part of an activist project to aid migrants in distress in the Mediterranean. By launching the ship we also seek to create a platform, called simply “Operation Mediterranean,” to facilitate and foster discussion and action to contest the current migration policies and moreover challenge the aggressive atmosphere of racism. We’ll have a ‘mapping’ meeting on Wednesday 10 October and our dialogue event on Monday 15 October. Both are at 12pm-1pm, in the Social Movements Lab (Smith Warehouse, Bay 5). We will provide lunch for participants on both days. Please see below for background texts to read for Wednesday. Background readings:  First, read this brief description of the rescue ship project written by Michael and Sandro: https://sites.fhi.duke.edu/socialmovementslab/files/2018/10/Migrant_rescue_ship.pdf —————— Second, look at these newspaper accounts of the government actions against other Italian migrant aid projects in recent months: – Oct 2018: Arrest of the mayor of Riace for aiding migrants: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/02/pro-refugee-italian-mayor-arrested-suspicion-aiding-illegal-migration-domenico-lucano-riace – August 2018: Government refuses to let migrants disembark from a Coast Guard rescue ship: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/21/italy-refugees-salvini-refuses-coastguard-ship-docks-diciotti – June 2018: Government refuses to allow a humanitarian rescue ship to port: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/17/aquarius-refusal-was-betrayal-of-european-values-says-charity-boss —————— Finally, if you have time, here is a somewhat longer piece on the current Italian government and its racist policies: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/aug/09/how-matteo-salvini-pulled-italy-to-the-far-right Location:  Social Movements Lab, Franklin Humanities Institute, Smith Warehouse, Bay 5, Duke University, 114 S. Buchanan Blvd., Durham, NC For Parking and Accessibility info, see: https://fhi.duke.edu/contact-us