Thousands of people drown every day in the Mediterranean Sea. They are both adults and children, mothers and siblings, young and old, who find their death on the most dangerous sea route in the world. For this reason, many people from Germany and Europe are committed to civil sea rescue: they want to contribute their share to saving people. Pia Klemp is one of them. More than 1.000 people owe their lives to the captain.
Rescuing people from distress at sea is one of the most fundamental humanitarian agreements. Regardless of skin colour, nationality and gender. And every captain to do so. But for saving people from the sea off the Libyan coast, Pia Klemp has to stand trial. She, the captain of the Iuventa and Sea-Watch 3, is accused of aiding and abetting illegal immigration.
As not to tolerate this situation any longer, facts and fiction, together with Hans Mörtter (Lutherkirche Südstadt) and Stefan Kriegeskorte, joined Pia Klemp and all committed people to set an statement for more humanity. A statement in the form of a solidarity concert: On October 3, 2019, musicians, orchestras and celebrities performed in the completely sold out Cologne Philharmonic Hall in front of about 2000 visitors.
The evening's program was as impressive as the message it was intended to convey. The actresses Sabine Postel and Kristin Steffen read from "Lasst uns mit den Toten tanzen" and "Eine Hoffnung trug mich über das Meer", Captain Pia Klemp reported on her experiences as a civilian sea rescuer. The experiences on the Mediterranean Sea were brought to the Cologne philharmonic hall and framed by musical interludes. All performing artists waived their fees for their performances. At the end of the evening, a donation of around 7.930 euros was collected.
facts and fiction was responsible for the entire conception and organisation of the event: artist support, design development, conception and maintenance of the website, social media communication, organisation of a press conference as well as the implementation of further PR activities.
The evening paid tribute to the work of Pia Klemp and many other volunteers on the Mediterranean Sea and made clear that the rescue of refugees must be a matter of course.
Pictures: Simin Kianmehr