Stefan Schmidt (captain)

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Stefan Schmidt (2011)

Stefan Schmidt (born October 9, 1941 in Stettin ) is a German captain and refugee commissioner for the state of Schleswig-Holstein . He became known for rescuing 37 people from distress with the ship Cap Anamur in 2004. For this he was accused of smuggling by an Italian court and only acquitted in 2009. In 2011 and again in 2017 he was elected voluntary state refugee and immigration officer by the state parliament of Schleswig-Holstein.

Life

Schmidt made his captain's license at the seafaring school in Lübeck . When he was not at sea, he worked in maritime land positions, among other things as a shipping line inspector or head of a seaman's school in the South Pacific . For several years he represented the third smallest country in the world, Tuvalu , as honorary consul in Germany. In this capacity, Schmidt came into contact with Elias Bierdel , who was then chairman of the “Cap Anamur Committee”. Stefan Schmidt later worked as a lecturer for ship safety at the Schleswig-Holstein seaman school in Travemünde. Schmidt is divorced and has three adult sons.

According to his own statement, Schmidt lived until 2004 as “a person with little interest in politics”. In 2004, however, he and others founded the association “Borderline Europe - Human Rights Without Borders” to draw attention to the situation of refugees on Europe's external borders.

Cap Anamur

Schmidt got involved with Cap Anamur and found the ship Andra for the organization . Under his direction, it was converted into an auxiliary and hospital ship in Lübeck over a period of three months for 1.8 million euros. When the ship set out on its first voyage from its home port of Lübeck to Africa, he was in charge of nautical management. Between Lampedusa and Malta, the Cap Anamur encountered 37 partly exhausted men, crowded tightly into a rubber dinghy, who had neither drinking water nor food. The engine had failed, the chambers lost air and the boat threatened to overturn. Schmidt took the men on board. He planned to take them to the port of Porto Empedocle and leave immediately.

In Porto Empedocle, an entry permit that had been granted was withdrawn without a reason. The Italian military circled the rescue ship for several days. The humanitarian situation on board became increasingly dramatic. After almost three weeks of blockade, Schmidt threatened to make an international emergency out of the matter and the Cap Anamur was allowed to enter Porto Empedocle on July 12, 2004.

All the castaways were in custody because they had stated that they came from the Sudanese crisis area of Darfur . In fact, they were from Nigeria , Niger, and Ghana . The ship Cap Anamur was seized by the Italian authorities at the same time. The then German Interior Minister Otto Schily and his Italian colleague Bepe Pisanu declared that it was important to prevent a “dangerous precedent”.

Schmidt, the head of the Bierdel organization, and Schmidt's first officer Daschkewitsch were arrested for aiding and abetting illegal entry, but were released five days later. On October 7, 2009, acquittals were made, which were initially not final. In Germany, Schmidt and Bierdel were accused of staging the rescue as a media spectacle and wanting to enrich themselves from it. Schmidt rejected this and said that people could have been saved elsewhere for the legal fees that the aid organization was now taking over. On July 16, 2004, Schmidt, Bierdel and Daschkewitsch were released. With the exception of one Nigerian and one Ghanaian refugee, all were deported to their homeland. As a result of this action, Cap Anamur voted out its first chairman, Elias Bierdel. The Cap Anamur was only released after months and was later used again as a cargo ship.

It was not until October 7, 2009 that Schmidt, Bierdel and Daschkewitsch were finally acquitted by a Sicilian court.

Refugee Officer

In 2011, the Schleswig-Holstein State Parliament unanimously awarded Stefan Schmidt the position of State Refugee and Immigration Officer. He replaced Wulf Jöhnk , who had held the office since 2004. In October 2017, Schmidt was elected for a further 6 years.

Honors

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ CAPTAIN SCHMIDT: Troubled after the Kirchentag . In: Ankerherz Verlag . May 29, 2017 ( ankerherz.de [accessed June 13, 2017]).
  2. ↑ Peter Brandhorst: Portrait of Stefan Schmidt: "Actually, you can only apply for asylum from us if you jumped out of an airplane with a parachute". In: North Church . November 1, 2013, accessed December 19, 2015 .
  3. ^ The Commissioner for Refugee, Asylum and Immigration Issues for the State of Schleswig-Holstein to the President of the Schleswig-Holstein State Parliament. In: Schleswig-Holstein State Parliament . Retrieved December 19, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Ex- "Cap Anamur" captain remains refugee officer . Die Welt, October 13, 2017.
  5. ^ "Cap Anamur": Stefan Schmidt took 37 African boat refugees on board Lübeck captain accused of smuggling , by Karin Lubowski, Hamburger Abendblatt February 14, 2009
  6. ↑ Award for Ferenc Kőszeg and Stefan Schmidt: PRO ASYL-Hand awarded for the first time in 2006 , Pro Asyl on August 31, 2006
  7. ↑ Award of the Georg Elser Prize 2007 to Mr. Elias Bierdel November 8, 2007
  8. ↑ Awarded the Carl von Ossietzky Medal 2009 International League for Human Rights July 17, 2009
  9. ↑ Stefan Schmidt receives Carl von Ossietzky Medal 2009 Pro Asylum July 17, 2009
personal data
SURNAME Schmidt, Stefan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German navigator and captain (Cape Anamur)
DATE OF BIRTH October 9, 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH Szczecin