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Almost 20,000 people have donated to support the captain of migrant rescue vessel Sea-Watch 3, who broke a naval blockade to bring rescued migrants to safety after a 16-day stand-off with Italian authorities.
Donations have surpassed €550,000 in less than 24 hours on the crowdfunding platform Leetchi after two German comedians created the campaign on Saturday night.
A parallel crowdfunder created by a factory worker in Milan has raised an additional £366,000 in four days, smashing its £312,000 target.
The boat’s captain Carola Rackete, 31, from Germany, is under house arrest after she was taken into custody early Saturday.
The Sea-Watch 3, which was carrying 40 rescued migrants, rammed an Italian border police motorboat that was blocking the path to the dock.
Show all 25 1 /25Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Prisca, 14-years-old, Congo refugee in Kyaka, Uganda Prisca lives with his family in the camp. His father was killed by rebels back in the Congo. On his first picture Prisca's drawing represent the violence that he saw in the Congo, he says: "We have been in Uganda for one year now.Our life in Congo was really hard, the rebels came into our village, and raided our homes and took everything and beat up everyone. And one day my father was taken from our house by the rebels and killed, so we decided to run for our lives. I have a very strong memory of the day he was killed. He pleaded for his life in vain. In the future I just want to live a normal life, get a job and live peacefully."
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Prisca, 14-years-old, Congo refugee in Kyaka,Uganda On his second picture, Prisca has drawn of his dream to be a good driver and his love of football, he says: "The picture of the car is about my dream that I will be a good driver. The picture of a standing child with the ball is me."
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Fatima, 13-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh Fatima lives with her parents, two sisters and grandfather in the camps. Her first picture shows her fears, she says: “When we first came to Bangladesh there were lots of dogs and snakes. It was scary. There were also no latrines to go the toilet. We could bring no clothes with us when we left our home, we suffered lots of difficulties. We also could not bring any cooking utensils to cook with. When we first arrived in Bangladesh a local family helped us to eat and we took shelter in their home. Gradually, over time we got the materials to build a house and things to cook with."
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Fatima, 13-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh Fatima's second picture shows her dream of being a teacher says: "I want to be a teacher in the future and I want to teach girls like me. It is important to teach girls so they can become educated and they can teach others. It is important that girls become educated.”
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Mamadou, 14-years-old, Congo refugee in Kyaka, Uganda Mamadou lives with his family in the camp. On his first picture Mamadou drawings represent violence, he says: "On my picture I have drawn people fighting each other. I have drawn a gun because it is what I experienced in the DRC."
Fredrik Lerneryd / Save The Children
Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Mamadou, 14-years-old, Congo refugee in Kyaka, Uganda On his second picture Mamadou's drawings represent his dreams of becoming a teacher and a footballer: "In my future first I need to be educated so I can be a teacher. After that, because here I learned football, I can combine that activity to play and be a teacher when there are holidays."
Fredrik Lerneryd / Save The Children
Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Hasina, 13-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh Hasina lives with her parents and four siblings in the camp. Her picture shows her fear of ghosts, she says: “I was afraid of ghosts when I first came to the camp because they make the people senseless and sometimes crazy. I saw some people acting crazy people because of ghosts, I was afraid that I might become one of them which was why I was afraid. Ghosts are what dead people become."
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Hasina, 13-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh Hasina's second picture shows her dream of being a tailor, she says: "I want to be a tailor when I am older because I want to sew clothes and make my own clothes. I want to be a tailor because with the clothes that I make I can earn money. With the money that I make I hope to buy new clothes which I could buy. I could also use this money to get treatment if I became ill and help my family.”
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Beaufret, Congo refugee in Kyaka, Uganda Beaufret lives in the Kyaka refugee camp in Uganda. On his first picture Beaufret draws his father being killed back in the Congo, he says: "Here is my house. Here is the person who cut my father. Here are the others, already dead. We are jumping over them while we are running. You can see the blood when they are dead."
Fredrik Lerneryd / Save The Children
Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Beaufret, Congo refugee in Kyaka, Uganda On his second picture Beaufret drawings represent his hope to be a doctor and his love of football
Fredrik Lerneryd / Save The Children
Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Aleisha, 13-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh Aleisha lives with her brother, sister and parents in the camp. On her first picture Aleisha drawings represent her fear of dogs, she says: "I am very afraid of the dogs. When I first came to the camps there were lots of dogs and I was really frightened. When we came to Bangladesh there were lots of dogs and I was really afraid because they could take a bite from me. I was very scared in the camps."
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Aleisha, 13-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh On her second picture Aleisha's drawings represent her dream of working in the Child Friendly Space at the camp, she says: “When I grow up I want to work at the Child Friendly Space and be a staff person. I want to help other children. I want help children get better, like me, I have become educated and happier. The Child Friendly Space is my favourite place to be.”
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Fadi, 17-years-old, Syrian refugee in Za'atari, Jordan Fadi lives with his family in the camp. On his first picture, Fadi has drawn an airstrike on his family home back in Syria, he says: "We had to flee my neighbourhood and my house when there was an airstrike, like you can see here. Life in Syria was so good. We used to be in school. We used to have a home but it was destroyed. After the war started, the bombing began and the army came to our school. One day, we were playing football and they took our ball and ruined it on purpose."
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Fadi, 17-years-old, Syrian refugee in Za'atari, Jordan On Fadi's second picture his drawings represent is dream of being a footballer: "I want to be a footballer when I grow up. My favourite footballer is Messi! I have drawn some stars as well, because this is where I am going – to be a superstar!”
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Alizia, 13-years-old, Congo refugee in Kayaka, Uganda Alizia lives in the camp with her family. Her drawings represent her memories and dreams.
Fredrik Lerneryd / Save The Children
Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Alizia, 13-years-old, Congo refugee in Kayaka, Uganda Alizia hopes to be a nurse in future, she says: "I wish we could settle in one place instead of having to move around, so that I can study, I want to become a doctor or a nurse."
Fredrik Lerneryd / Save The Children
Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Tomal, 14-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh Tomal lives with his grandparents in the camp. His parents live nearby but Tomal has chosen to live with his grandparents as the quality of teaching is better in their area of the camp. His first picture shows his fear of dogs and elephants, he says: “When I first came here, I was afraid of dogs and elephants, especially in the night time. I was so afraid of dogs as they are always barking and seem like they are going to attack you. I was also afraid of tigers roaming in the forest. Since I was not a citizen of Bangladesh and came here for the first time, I was worried about Bangladesh and the people of this country.”
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Tomal, 14-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh Tomal's second picture shows his dream of teaching English: “I love to study and my favourite subject is English. I am learning English so that I can teach other people. English will help me get a job in the future. I want to teach my siblings including my friends English. I think I am doing very well and have a lot to teach younger people, so I want to teach in the future. I also have an interest in cricket and football."
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Marwa, 14-years-old, Syrian refugee in Zaatari, Jordan Marwa lives with her family in the camp. On her first picture Marwa's drawings represent her dream of being an artist, she says: “I have loved painting since I was little and I want to be a painter when I grow up. That’s why I have drawn a brush. I also love birthdays!"
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Marwa, 14-years-old, Syrian refugee in Zaatari, Jordan On her second picture Marwa has written of her dream to be a teacher, she says: "I also wrote here that I want to be a teacher as this is what I was probably going to be if I lived still lived in Syria”.
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Omar, 15-years-old, Syrian refugee boy in Zaatari, Jordan Omar lives with his family in the camp. On his first picture Omar has drawn a number of incidents from his life back in Syria: "This is a story of a military car that fired at another car carrying lots of normal people who were killed. Here is an airstrike and the house it destroyed and the dead people I used to see all on the street in my neighbourhood all the time. I never told anyone how I felt, I kept it to myself, but it made me so depressed that I wouldn’t come out of my room because I was crying. I would sometimes get bullied on the way home from school back in Syria.” Drawings include a military car shooting a normal car (bottom), an airstrike destroying a house (top right) and Omar getting bullied (top left).
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Omar, 15-years-old, Syrian refugee boy in Zaatari, Jordan On his second picture Omar's drawings represent his dreams: “I have drawn a doctor because this is what I want to be – I want to build a hospital and call it Syria. My dad hopes I will become a doctor. I also want to be a footballer. I also want to help all the refugees in the future. Like provide aid for them and help them access education because I’m a refugee too." Drawings include a house and car (bottom), a doctor (top left) and a hospital (top right).
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Farah, 13-years-old, Syrian refugee in Zaatari, Jordan Farah lives with her mother and uncle in the camp. On her first picture Farah has drawn about her love of football, she says: "I wrote I love football because I love to play with my friends and brothers and I used to play in Syria."
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Farah, 13-years-old, Syrian refugee in Zaatari, Jordan On her second picture Farah's drawings represent her dream of being a doctor: “I want to be a doctor because I want to help people and make sure they get the treatment they need or I could be a teacher. For children to reach for their dreams, they need to be able to write and read and I want to help them”.
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Child refugees share their hopes and fears on World Refugee Day Mohammad. 15-years-old, Rohingya refugee in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh Mohammad lives with his grandmother, aunt and younger brother. His parents separated from the family and live in Malaysia. On his picture Mohammad has represented a number of his hobbies and dreams including teaching, football and maths.
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No one was injured but the motorboat’s side was damaged. If convicted, the 31-year-old risks up to 10 years in prison for resisting a warship.
Ms Rackete’s lawyer, Salvatore Tesoriero, told reporters Sunday that she “had no intention of hurting anyone” and only wanted to help “desperate” migrants and get them safely to land. She has allegedly apologised to Italian authorities for ploughing into the boat.
Matteo Salvini , Italy’s far-right interior minister and de-facto leader, called her a “criminal” who committed an “act of war” by ignoring orders to keep out of Italy ’s waters.
Salvini told RAI state radio that he also ordered that authorities sequester the ship, “which went around the Mediterranean breaking laws”. He praised the Italian police units who “risked their lives” because of Sea-Watch 3’s actions.
“For days they have been defending the legality and the Italian borders, forced to work overtime by a pirate ship,” he tweeted.
Sea-Watch 3 had rescued 53 people on 12 June, but had since been waiting off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa after authorities prevented it from docking.
On 14 June, Italy passed a law backed by Salvini that criminalises private rescue boats. This means that Ms Rackete also risks a fine up to 50,000 euros.
But Sea-Watch, the NGO that owns and runs Sea-Watch 3, defended Rackete’s actions. “She enforced the rights of the rescued people to be disembarked to a place of safety,” it said in a statement.
The statement refers to the 1979 Hamburg Convention , which prescribes a duty to rescue boats in distress and take them to a place of safety.
But a Sicily-based prosecutor, Luigi Patronaggio, indicated otherwise. "Humanitarian reasons cannot justify inadmissible acts against those who work at sea for the safety of everybody," Italy’s Ansa news agency quoted the prosecutor as saying.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas also appeared to criticise the Italian decision to arrest the captain.
“Saving lives is a humanitarian duty,” he said on Twitter. “Rescue at sea must not be criminalised. It's up to the Italian justice system to swiftly resolve the allegations.”
A judge will decide after closed-door hearings in coming days whether Rackete should be freed or stay under house arrest while the investigation continues.
The 40 refugees on board hugged the crew and kissed the dock when they arrived on Saturday morning.
“We are not relieved, we are angry,” said Ms Rackete in a statement at the time. “This disembarkation should have taken place more than two weeks ago and it should have been coordinated instead of hindered by the authorities.
“European governments in their air conditioned offices have gambled with these people’s lives for more than 16 days. Not a single European institution was willing to assume responsibility, until I was forced to do so myself.”
Various research institutes, including the Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) and the Forensic Oceanography department at Goldsmiths, University of London, have rebutted the theory that the activity of NGO rescue boats drive increasing refugee boat crossings.
The Leetchi crowdfunding campaign, which was started German comedian Jan Böhmermann , will remain open until 31 July.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
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