Bringing Sea Migrants to Italy: Who Is Financing?

Below is an article from Il Giornale that I am translating from the Italian for Vlad Tepes and Gates of Vienna. It reveals who is financing NGOs that send ships off the Libyan coast to bring migrants to Italy. Not surprisingly, George Soros is among them.



http://www.ilgiornale.it/news/politica/nomi-finanziatori-e-intrighi-ecco-tutti-i-segreti-delle-navi-1388158.html

Names, Financiers and Intrigues. Here are all the secrets of the NGO Ships

From Soros to a fan of Hillary Clinton, here is where the NGOS who bring migrants to Italy get their money and how they spend it.

NGOs again in the eye of the cyclone. After the accusations of Frontex,investigations by three prosecutors, and suspicion of "dirty affairs", yesterday Matteo Renzi also accused the humanitarian organizations of "not respecting the rules" 

Giuseppe De Lorenzo - Ven, 21/04/2017 - 15:09

Is it true? Who knows? For certain, there are many dark sides in which it is necessary to shine a little light.

Doctors Without Borders

We begin with the largest associations. At the top of the list is obviously Doctors Without Borders, which in 2016 could count three ships:  Dignity I, Bourbon Argos and Aquaria. Today only one remains active, Aquarius, to which, however, has been joined the new acquisition, Prudence, a commercial ship of 75 meters and 1,000 posts on board. A giant rescue ship.

The activity that DWB carries forward in the world is nothing to laugh about. One has to smile, however, at the fact that  among its founders is Bernard Kouchner, a medical doctor who has seen more political buildings than operating rooms. In 2007, in fact, he was nominated minister of foreign affairs by Nicolas Sarkozy, or that government that bombarded Mohammad (sic) Ghaddafi and transformed Libya into the port without laws from where today depart boats laden with immigrants.

That is how in some way, people involved with DWB are at the same time the cause and the (palliative) treatment of the migration crisis. Today, the association , to save foreigners, incurs huge expenses, but the funds don't seem to be a problem. In 2016 (DWB) collected 38 million euros thanks to the contributions of 319,496 donors. 9.7 million euros from 5 to 1000 (of which 1.5 (million) went for the Bourbon Argos) and 3.3 million from companies and foundations. Of these, who appears? The Open Society Foundation of George Soros. The Hungarian magnate with he vice of good luck. Moreover, the Open Society Foundation and DWB are used to exchanging collaborators as if they were things within the family. An example? Marine Buissonniere, for 12 years a DWB employee, then director of the Soros program for public health, and now again consultant for  migration for the NGO.

Save The Children

Coincidentally, Soros has financed (even if for other initiatives) also another organization very active in the recovery of clandestine (immigrants): Save the Children.  The noted international association has has among its fleet of ships, Vos Hestia, a ship of 62 meters that flies the Italian flag and uses two rescue boats. The money? No problem. In 2015, 80.4 million euros in proceeds were recorded in their balance sheets.

Proactiva Open Arms

A year ago, the famous fishing boat, Golfo Azzuro, caught by radar picking up foreigners off the coast of Libya was managed by the Dutch Life Boat Refugee Foundation. From the beginning of 2017, the organization doesn't organize any more rescues at sea, the Golfo Azzurro continues its work in the service of the Spanish NGO, Proactiva Open Arms, which once used the luxury vessel Astral. For their ships, the Spaniards spend 1.4 million euros, of which 95% are used per rescue actions (700,000 euros along the length of Libya and 700,000 at Lesbo) and the rest in infrastructure, communication and so on. The proceeds are much higher, however, with fund collections that exceed 2.1 million euros. According to the director, Oscar Camps, the Golfo Azzurro can accommodate 400 people on board, and one day of navigating costs "only" 5,000 euros.

SOS Mediterranée

The Italo-French- German NGO SOS Mediterranee, founded by ex-Admiral Klaus Vogel, on the other hand, spends almost double. To sustain 24 hours at sea on the Acquarius requires 11,000 euros. And if you desire to make a donation, you should know that with 30 euros you can only succeed in putting a lifeboat in the sea for one hour.

Sea Watch Foundation

The mystery thickens observing the activities of the Sea Watch Foundation. In 2014 Harald Hoppner and an associate invested 60,000  euros in the acquisition of an old Dutch fishing boat. Today it boasts state of the art equipment. In addition to the two naval units, (one flying the Dutch flag and the other the flag of New Zealand) the Sea Watch Air, a plane tasked with patrolling the high Mediterranean, should be operating soon. Where is the money coming from? That is not known.

Life Boat

Both Sea Watch and and its sister Life Boat share an interesting curiosity.  Among its partners stands out la FC St Pauli, a sporting society of Hamburg more famous for combining goodwill causes with soccer merits. To give one, it is the first team to ban entry into the stadium by rightist fans. Besides picking up (migrants) the operations base would be at Malta, but the crew of the Minden seems to prefer Italian ports to unload the migrants. They usually perform 10 day missions with 24 hours of sailing and the daily cost of fuel is about 25 euros. On the platform, Betterplace.org, they have succeeded in collecting 6, 000 euros for radar and satellite communications, 7,500 euros to buy a life boat and 12,000 euros for fuel. Too little  for such a ship, and for now generous supporters have given only 1,800 euros.

Sea-Eye e Jugend Rettet

Absent from the five German NGOs are the Sea Eye and the Jugend Rettet. The first was founded  in 2015 by Michael Buschheuer, counts about 200 volunteers and on its site is written that 1,000 euros is enough to pay for an entire day looking for clandestine migrants. The second, however, was formed by a group of guys, who for 100,000 euros bought the fishing boat, Iuventa. Each mission at sea costs about 40,000 euros a months and is financed  by private donations. Their financial collection functions very well given that from October 2016 to today, they have raked in 166, 232 euros.

Moas

The most curious case is that of Migrant Offshore Aid Station, a Maltese association with two ship (Phoenix and Topaz Responder), various life boats Rhib and some drones. Moas was founded in 2013 by two Italian-Americdan entrepreneurs, Christopher and Regina Catambrone, who became millionaires thanks to the Tanghere Group, an insurance agency specializing in :"emergency assistance and intelligence services". Among its varied (and rich) partners, it has received 500,000 euros from Avaaz.org, that is the group traced back to Moveon.org, which in turn, is headed by the omnipresent George Soros. That's not all. Because Christopher has been among the financiers (416,000 dollars) of Hillary Clinton during the last disappointing electoral campaign, and over the years has been surrounded by characters to say the least. In his circle of friends appears Robert Young Pelton, owner of a business (Dpx) that produces combat knives. Exactly. Knives already tested in conflict zones like Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq and Burma. Is that not enough? A chair of the Moas council is reserved to Ian Ruggier, ex Maltese official famous for having violently  repressed the protests of migrants lodged on the island. Strange, isn't it? Professing reception and then using the "hard fist". Other than having some dark sides, it seems the NGOs also have a consistency.