Die Toten Hosen – Europa

TW: drowning, death, panic, child harm

English Translation:

Down at the harbor, they set the sails,
go out to the open sea, their families waving their goodbyes
watching them for a long time,

and the water is like a mirror
as they silently move through the darkness,
less than 50 miles to the goal that’s so close in front of them.

Tell me that it’s just a fairy tale
with a happy end for all the people
and if they haven’t died yet
they’ll live happily ever after

They come by the thousands,
but the vast majority will never reach the promised land
‘cause the patrols will pick them up
in order to deport them on our behalf and the rest,
the rest will drown in the mass grave of the Mediterranean

‘Cause it’s not all a fairy tale here
no happy end for all the people
and if they haven’t died yet
they’ll die this very day, they’ll die this very day.

In 2014 at least 17.000 people died trying to seek refuge across the Mediterranean. Sea Watch has for over 3 years been trying to stop the dying. In the three years that Sea Watch has been active they
have saved
37,000 people. That’s over a thousand people each month.

Since 2 July 2018 Sea Watch has been prevented from doing so. forced to stay in the harbor while sea rescue is criminalized. Other rescue ships have been prevented since late June.
In the middle
of summer, with many ships ready to operate, they could have saved many
thousands of people.