Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘23,000 Lives’ (originally titled ‘23.000 Leben’) follows the story of a group of people who come together to change the world for the better. It begins with a young man named Markus, moved by a desire to save the lives of refugees with no government support. He is joined in this endeavor by his friends, and soon they are surrounded by young volunteers who support their cause. Through crowdfunding, they buy a ship to save the lives of thousands of refugees. However, this work also begins to take a toll on them, especially as they find the government and its legal machinery their biggest hurdle. Directed by Markus Goller, the German drama film portrays the courage and strength of real-life volunteers and the challenges they face as they try to do good. SPOILERS AHEAD.
23000 Lives is a Fictionalised Version of Jugend Rettet’s Real Rescue Missions
‘23,000 Lives’ follows the true events surrounding the origins of the German NGO Jugend Rettet and its rescue efforts aboard the ship Iuventa. The screenplay by Oliver Ziegenbalg, written in collaboration with Michele Cinque, presents a fictionalized version of the story, condensing the timeline and casting real-life people as different characters to create a tense, high-stakes narrative that shows the struggles of the volunteers within the movie’s limited time frame. Still, almost everything we see in the movie is based on the real events from 2015 to 2024. Jugend Rettet was founded in October 2015 to rescue people in the Mediterranean and provide humanitarian relief. In 2016, the NGO bought an old ship, which was financed by crowdfunding.
The team worked together, often joined by volunteers, to patch up the vessel and make it fit to return to the sea and save people. It was named Iuventa, which is Latin for “youth.” It made its first voyage in July 2016, patrolling for ships and providing help and rescue. The people they picked up at sea were taken to the coastguard, where they were handed over to the authorities for proper government assistance. Reportedly, between July 2016 and August 2017, the Iuventa crew saved the lives of over 14,000 people. In 2020, the crew received the Amnesty Human Rights Prize. While they were celebrated for their good work, the crew and the NGO came under scrutiny after being accused of colluding with smugglers.
As shown in the movie, in August 2017, Iuventa was made to dock at Lampedusa, where it was searched, and the crew was interrogated. The next day, the vessel was seized by the Italian authorities, citing preemptive measures. Prior to this, the government had asked organizations to sign its newly established code of conduct, but Jugend Rettet refused, claiming it would have hindered their efforts to provide aid and rescue. Soon, charges were filed against four crew members: Dariush Beigui, Sascha Girke, Kathrin Schmidt, and Uli Tröder. They were accused of “aggravated facilitation of illegal immigration.” These charges were also levied against six other people from organizations such as Save The Children International and Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). If found guilty, the accused would receive 5-20 years in prison and a hefty fine.
The Case Against the Iuventa Crew Eventually Fell Apart
Over the years, several pieces of evidence were presented to support the prosecution’s charges. They cited one episode in September 2016 and two in June of the next year, where the Iuventa crew allegedly made contact with human smugglers. Reportedly, undercover agents had been sent to the boat to collect evidence by bugging devices and tapping phone calls of the crew members. Even as the NGOs vehemently denied these accusations, the Trapani Prosecutor’s Office filed formal charges in March 2021. A total of 21 people, along with a shipping company and two NGOs, were charged with “aiding and abetting illegal immigration to Italy.” The preliminary hearings began in May 2022.
By February 2024, in the final phase of the hearings, the prosecution cited insufficient evidence and unreliable witnesses to have the charges dismissed. Soon, the judge dismissed the case, stating that there were no grounds to proceed against the accused. At the same time, the legitimacy of the aid provided by the crew was also recognized and deemed necessary. While the charges on the crew were pending in court, Iuventa remained with the authorities. Over the years, it fell into a state of such disrepair that by the time it was handed back to Jugend Rettet, it was, reportedly, in no condition to go back into the sea.
The NGO claimed they found significant damage to the ship’s structural integrity due to the alleged lack of maintenance, despite a court order requiring it. Eventually, they found that the cost of rebuilding it was well above its market value, so the ship was not put back to work. Reportedly, Jugend Rettet has sued the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, demanding compensation for the damage. Meanwhile, the NGO’s work has set a strong precedent in humanitarian work. It has inspired many people to take action to change the world for the better, but the challenges it faced, especially during the trial, have also highlighted the bureaucratic problems that aid workers still face today.
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