The summer in the Mediterranean
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Raised
A graphic novel on the world's deadliest external border
My name is Adrian Pourviseh and I need your support for my graphic novel about a sea rescue mission in the central Mediterranean sea.
Funding period
1/25/22 -
2/12/22
Realisation
April 2023
Minimum amount (Start level): 4,500 €
Für zehn Monate Lebensunterhalt und Materialkosten
City
Marburg
Category
Comic
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What is this project all about?
My name is Adrian and I was a media coordinator for the sea rescue NGO Sea-Watch. I am writing and drawing a graphic novel about this particularly difficult rescue mission in the summer of 2021.
During the two weeks at sea, the crew rescued 278 people. We faced threats from the so-called Libyan Coast Guard and experienced some of the most difficult rescues in recent years, severe medical evacuations, and serious delays in assistance from the Italian and Maltese authorities.
The events of this mission exemplified all the absurdity, tragedy and shame of what happens every day in the Mediterranean Sea, which has become the world's deadliest maritime border due to European policies. What is happening in the Mediterranean is dramatic.
Time and again, friends cautiously ask me about what I have experienced. When I show people my diaries, tell them how such a mission goes and what happens, most of them are speechless. These images have such power to convey feelings, to touch people. I think a graphic novel is the best medium to explain and show the reality at the European external border.
I need your help to turn this story into a graphic novel. So that people can understand what is happening at the European external border, and so that something will change.
What is the project goal and who is the project for?
All people who are politically interested in what is currently happening at the external borders of Europe.
Why would you support this project?
What is currently happening on the Mediterranean is a humanitarian catastrophe. What is happening at our external borders will be recorded in the history books of the future. Currently, many actors and NGOs observe that the situation is getting worse and Europe's policy is losing more and more humanity. I believe that this book can educate, awaken and inspire people. The more people understand what is going on out there at sea, the more hope there will be for change. Please help me make this book real.
How will we use the money if the project is successfully funded?
I'll be writing and painting on the Novel full time from January to November. That's eleven months during which I have no other income. To cover my living expenses and material costs I need 8000€ in this time. Honestly, I would start the project at 4500€ and cover the rest of the costs from my own savings if I don't get more support.
Who are the people behind the project?
Adrian Pourviseh was born in Koblenz in 1995. He studied B.A. Oriental Studies with a focus on Economics in Marburg and Rabat, attended summer schools in Tehran, Alexandria and Uppsala and finished his Master in Development Economics at Lund University in 2020. He worked in climate research projects in Namibia and Pakistan and for the United States Agency for International Development. In 2015, Adrian started working as a translator for refugee youth while studying. In 2019, he went on the Sea-Watch 3 as a translator and photographer and helped as a volunteer on the island of Lesbos. His experiences on the Sea-Watch 3, told through his illustrated diary entries, were exhibited at Frankfurt's Weltkulturen Museum as part of 'SW5Y - Five Years of Civilian Sea Rescue'. In his current graphic novel project, Adrian aims to recount his experiences on a sea rescue mission in August 2021.
Denis (co-founder of Startnext)
