No. They cannot go with you. Yes. We know what might happen. No. We are not afraid, we came here knowing. Yes. There is a doctor on board who can tell us if there are men, women or children with infectious diseases among these 50 bodies looking at us with the fear of hope. No. The criminal has not contacted us. Yes. It is our duty not to let any of them die. No. We will not leave them to you. Your prisons are the horror from which they return. We will not send them back. Yes, we know what the Libyan safe zone is. It is a continuation of a prison at sea. It is a death sentence. Yes, we know that the Libyan Exclusion Zone makes our entry into your waters a trespass, but we don't believe that the sea can be yours or ours. And when there is a risk of death, the border is a weapon, like hot spots. A sign of state violence. Yes.
Il mare è di tutti come di tutti è il diritto di vivere. Di non essere torturato o rinchiuso se si fugge dalla guerra o dalla miseria o dalle torture. No. Non torneranno a Tripoli. No, non sono sicuri i vostri porti, sono luoghi osceni, sono scampoli di inferno, sono vergogne. Sì. Ora ci accostiamo al gommone e daremo inizio alle operazioni di sbarco. No, per favore non muovetevi così: salirete tutti, in Italia la famiglia è una cosa seria. Scusate se rido ma era per dirvi che non vi divideremo, non lasceremo indietro i padri. Sì. Abbiamo comunicato a Lampedusa che intendiamo dirigerci lì. No. Non ci hanno risposto. Sì, lo sappiamo che la tramontana comincerà il suo soffio di gelo, che le onde inizieranno la loro carriera in altezza. Sì. È bellissima questa gioia per ogni gamba che tocca la nave e poi per l’altra che la raggiunge lasciando il gommone. Sì. Ci sembra che sia questo passo la danza della vita.
The sea belongs to everyone, just as everyone has the right to live. Not to be tortured or imprisoned when fleeing from war or misery or torture. No, you will not return to Tripoli. No, your ports are not safe, they are obscene places, they are remnants of hell, they are disgraceful. Yes. We will now approach the dinghy and begin the disembarkation process. No, please don't move like that: you'll all get on, in Italy family is a serious thing. Forgive me if I laugh, but it was to tell you that we will not separate you, we will not leave the fathers behind. Yes. We told Lampedusa that we wanted to go there. No, they didn't answer us. Yes, we know that the north wind will begin its icy blast, that the waves will begin their high career. Yes. It is beautiful, this joy for each leg that touches the ship and then for the other that reaches it, leaving the dinghy. Yes. It seems to us that this step is the dance of life.
No. There are no conditions for staying on board for more than three days. We must disembark, now. Perhaps even sooner. No. The law teaches that any conflict between norms is resolved by a balancing of interests. There is no immigration norm that can be more important than the one that asks us to save these men from the drowning, silent and cemetery fate that has been the fate of too many before them and will be the fate of too many after them, if refusal can still be a minister's choice. Yes. This is Lampedusa. Yes, now we are getting closer. No, we can't go yet.
Yes. This cove so close to the harbour can protect us from the rain. Yes. We have food and water for now. Yes. We'll find a way to follow you when we disembark. No. We will not leave you. No. We are not afraid, we are in the right, there is no greater power. Yes. There are many who cheer for us, they are everywhere. No. Not a few of us are waiting for you. No. Not a few of us know that there is a 'right to escape', that it is just a way of trying to live.
Yes. Let the children go below. Yes, they tell us we can go. Yes, they tell us. Yes to these hugs. Yes to this speck that we are, this speck that has managed to jam the shame machine for a handful of hours. Yes to that. This battered ship, this shared dream, today is our future.
