Today Begüm Başdaş talked with researcher and activist Dr. Maurice Stierl on the current developments of Search and Rescue operations at the Mediterranean Sea, particularly after the elections in Italy and the win of an openly anti-migration government. Dr Stierl also talked about the life saving support of Alarm Phone, a hotline for people in distress along the maritime borders of the EU, for the last eight years. Focusing on the criminalization of solidarity with people on the move in Europe, Stierl highlighted the case of El Hiblu 3, where three young African men who fled Libya, are facing serious charges of terrorism in Malta.
Dr Maurice Stierl, leads the research group “The Production of Knowledge on Migration” at the Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies, Osnabrück University in Germany. Before, he was a lecturer in International Relations at the University of Sheffield. His research focuses on migration struggles in contemporary Europe and (northern) Africa. His book ‘Migrant Resistance in Contemporary Europe’ was published by Routledge in 2019. He is also a member of the activist network Alarm Phone, a hotline for people in distress along the maritime borders of the EU, since its foundation in 2014. He is a member of “Free the ElHilblu3”, a campaign that calls on Malta to end the criminalisation of three young African men who were key in preventing a pushback to Libya.
