24. The Story of Banksy’s Pink Search-and-Rescue Boat, with Crew Members Vanessa and Dickon

Asylum Speakers Podcast with Jaz O'Hara: Stories of Migration and Displacement

You might remember that at the end of last summer, UK artist Banksy hit the news when he funded a new search and rescue boat in the Mediterranean. He painted it bright pink, with a girl in a life vest holding a heart-shaped safety buoy painted on the side, and it was named the Louise Michel after a French feminist anarchist.

The Louise Michel has so far made one rescue mission, on which it brought 219 people to safety. In this episode you will hear the story of what happened on that rescue mission from two of its crew members, Vanessa and Dickon, or V and D as they call each other. V and D met on a previous Search and Rescue mission, fell in love and have gone on to set up their own organisation - Search and Rescue Relief.

We recorded this conversation at their home in South London before the most recent lockdown, where I also met their puppy Marmite…who makes an appearance in the episode too.

V and D will be sure to leave you totally in awe of what they have achieved and been through together.

To find out more about V and D's work, follow them @sar_relief and check out their website here: https://sarrelief.org/

To support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

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