A fictional short story based on the words and life of Captain Paul Watson. A new captivating episode every Friday.
The first rays of the Arctic morning sun fell on the white snowfield that stretched endlessly in all directions. It was 18 February 1976, and I knew that this day would change my life forever. The icy cold crept under my clothes as I stepped onto the deck of our ship, the "Brigitte Bardot", named after the icon who supported our campaign against seal hunting. Today was the day we would step onto the frontline of the fight for the environment.
I pulled my thick, lined jacket tighter around me and felt my breath condense in little clouds in front of my face. The crew was silent, almost awestruck. We had trained for months for this moment, had planned every detail of our mission. But now, as we approached the hunting zone, I realised that no amount of preparation could really prepare us for what lay ahead.
The radio crackled. "Paul, we're in sight," reported Peter, our navigator. I took the binoculars and pointed them into the distance. What I saw has stayed with me to this day: a vast, blood-stained snowfield. The white of the untouched icy landscape was speckled with deep red, which ran across the surface like grotesque patterns. It was as if someone had splashed a gruesome painting onto this pristine canvas. The hunters' tracks were like scars etched into the icy landscape - heavy boot prints and drag marks that revealed how they dragged their victims away.
In the midst of this nightmare, I saw movement. Men, clad in thick parkas, dragged themselves through the cold, their figures hunched under the weight of their actions. Their faces were hard, marked by the cold and perhaps also by their inner emptiness. Each of them held a club, a crude, deadly weapon that gleamed in the rising sun as if polished by the blood it bore. Their gait was determined, almost machine-like, as they headed for the nearest group of defenceless baby seals.
I could hear the sounds, even though we were still far away. The muffled clapping of the cudgels, the shrill cries of the animals, a sound that cut through the ice and penetrated straight into my soul. It was as if nature itself was crying out, a desperate cry for help that faded into the icy silence. The air was permeated by a metallic odour that could not be denied even out here in the cold. Blood, fresh and yet so out of place in this landscape that was supposed to symbolise purity and life.
My grip on the binoculars tightened as I watched the scene. Every detail was etched in my memory: the movements of the men, the twitching of the seals, the attempted
The snow was red with blood, but also marked with our footprints - a sign of resistance.
n, and the cold, cruel efficiency with which the hunters proceeded. It was a dance of death, choreographed by greed and dulled compassion. And yet it was real, so painfully real that I could feel my own breathing getting heavier, my chest tightening with outrage and grief.
"Get ready," I ordered in a firm voice. Our mission was clear: we had to stop the hunters, prevent them from taking any more lives. That meant putting ourselves between the seals and their perpetrators, with nothing but our courage and the firm conviction that we were doing the right thing.
As we approached the hunters, time seemed to stand still. The seal pups, helpless and naive, lay scattered on the ice, their large, dark eyes full of innocence. The hunters had set their sights on them. My anger boiled over. "We can't just stand by and watch," I said to Peter, who gave me a determined look.
We launched the dinghy and rowed through the icy water. Every stroke of the oars was an act of resistance. As we stepped onto the ice, I sensed the threat in the air. The hunters noticed us and stopped. Their gazes were full of contempt. "What the hell are you doing here?" shouted one of them, a tall man with a weather-beaten face.
"We're here to stop you," I shouted back, my voice firm even though my heart was racing. "This is a massacre, and we won't let it happen."
The next few minutes were chaos. We stood between the hunters and the seals, spreading out banners proclaiming our message: "Stop the slaughter!" The hunters got angry, shouted at us, but we didn't back down. It was a confrontation between unequal forces, but our determination made us strong.
Suddenly a rifle shot rang out. The bullet hit the ice near us and blew up a small fountain of ice and snow. The message was clear: they would not hesitate to use force. But we were not intimidated. Our cameras were rolling and we knew the world was watching. Every moment was documented, every atrocity recorded to mobilise the people at home.
A hunter charged towards me, his club raised. The world around me suddenly seemed to fall silent, with only the pounding of my heart in my ears. Time slowed down and I could watch every movement of the man - the determined expression on his weather-beaten face, the way his boots sank into the snow, leaving crunching tracks. The club in his hand seemed like an extension of his wrath, ready to come down on me.
I stopped, took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye. His anger burned like an open fire, but I withstood his gaze. The tension in the air was palpable, like an electric crackle before a thunderstorm. Every muscle in my body was screaming to move, to escape, but I remained motionless. My gaze was fixed on him, penetrating and calm at the same time. "Strike if you must," I said, my voice quiet but cutting through the silence like a sharp knife. "But know that the world will see."
He hesitated for a moment, his steps slowed, and the truncheon sank a little. I could see doubt flaring in his eyes, like a spark in the darkness. He paused, his breath coming heavy and visible in the cold air. The anger in him was fighting with something else - shame perhaps, or fear of the consequences. Finally, he lowered the cudgel, letting it dangle at his side, and took a step back. His shoulders slumped a little, as if he had just lost an internal battle.
Our operation lasted for hours. We couldn't save all the seals, but we managed to protect many of them. The snow was red with blood, a ghostly carpet that told the story of a fierce battle. But between these bloody stains, our footprints also bore witness to something greater. They criss-crossed the icy landscape like silent testimonies of our resistance, of a courage that had carried us through every danger. The imprints were deep, as if they had absorbed the determination of our hearts. For me, they symbolised the hope that even in the midst of this horror, traces of humanity remained visible. Each line, each imprint was a silent promise that we would not give up.
Legendary environmental activist Captain Paul Watson, co-founder of Greenpeace, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and founder of the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, was arrested in Greenland in July 2024. This was done at the request of the whaling nation Japan without an international or national arrest warrant and without there ever having been a judgement or even a trial. The Danish judiciary delayed the defence hearing month after month. Incriminating video footage that would exonerate Paul Watson beyond doubt was not released by the court for almost half a year. Paul Watson spent his 74th birthday in prison and was only released on 16 December 2024. The bland aftertaste of the blanket criminalisation of activism remains. Clearly a political issue, as the Danish Faroe Islands would have liked to see Watson die in a Japanese prison. It is unacceptable that people like Paul Watson should be extradited to an Asian whaling nation for allegedly causing minor damage to property when politicians have been lying to us with impunity on climate issues for half a century. For those of us who were there, who invested energy, time and a lot of money in Paul's rescue, it already feels like another adventure in Paul's heroic life, even though he has only been back in Paris for a week, at home with his wife and children. So that we never forget how important the fight for the earth is, I publish exciting short stories from Paul Watson's life from time to time. Of course, the storyboard is fictional, as I made it up. But it is based on Paul's stories, interviews, videos and reports. You can find all the sources in the list of sources.
1France24. (2024). Japan asks Denmark to extradite anti-whaling activist Paul Watson [Article]. Available at: https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240801-japan-asks-denmark-to-extradite-anti-whaling-activist-paul-watson Accessed on 7 December 2024 2n-tv. (2024). Whaling opponent Paul Watson still imprisoned. Available at: https://www.n-tv.de/panorama/Walfang-Gegner-Paul-Watson-noch-immer-in-Groenland-inhaftiert-FreePaulWatson-setzt-sich-fuer-Freilassung-ein-article25173640.html Accessed on 7 December 2024 3YouTube. (2023). Paul Watson: The Whale Warrior - A Pirate for the Sea [Video]. Available at: https://youtu.be/Fm2kMu8Jrs4 Accessed on 7 December 2024 4YouTube. (2023). Eco Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson - Documentary [Video]. Available at: https://youtu.be/dfWvnc,,Y1_ww Accessed on 7 December 2024 5ARTE. (2023). Paul Watson - Protector of the Oceans | Documentary HD | ARTE [Video]. Available at: https://youtu.be/2fVJyAE3J0M Accessed on 7 December 2024 6Frankfurter Allgemeine. (2014). International Court of Justice: Japan may no longer hunt whales in the Antarctic. Available at: https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/internationaler-gerichtshof-japan-darf-in-der-antarktis-keine-wale-mehr-jagen-12872493.html Accessed on 7 December 2024 7Sea Shepherd Germany. (2024). Campaigns in the Faroe Islands - Sea Shepherd. Available at: https://sea-shepherd.de/kampagnen/kampagnen-auf-den-faroer-inseln Accessed on 7 December 2024 8YouTube, 15 YEARS LIABILITY for ANIMAL PROTECTORS?! Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson arrested | Robert Marc Lehmann from 20.08.202. Available at: https://youtu.be/qY4vM2tVSsk?t=75 Accessed on 2.12.2024 9YouTube. Joel V, CONFESS OF ECO TERRORIST 1. available at: https://youtu.be/7X7TfMY3g7g Accessed on 2.12.2024 10YouTube. Information Archive, Eco Pirate The Story Of Paul Watson - Documentary - 2011. available at: https://youtu.be/dfWvncY1_ww Accessed on 2.12.2024 11YouTube., INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVE de Paul Watson - #QuelleEpoque 21 décembre 2024. available at: https://youtu.be/oFvN45XcRMk Accessed on 2 January 2025 12YouTube. Vakita, Paul Watson : l'interview en prison avec Hugo Clément from 09.12.2024. Available at: https://youtu.be/G7MKZovUp1s Accessed on 2 January 2025 13YouTube. Greenpeace: Pioneers of Environmental Activism | SLICE EARTH | FULL DOC from 04.05.2024. Available at: https://youtu.be/Pc28_flxAtg Accessed on 1 December 2024 14YouTube. A Decade of Change - Greenpeace in the 1970s [Documentary]uploaded on 16.12.2011. Available at: https://youtu.be/h5GUl7ZGwyk Accessed on 1 December 2024 15YouTube. Paul Watson The Whale Warrior A Pirate for the Sea. Available at: https://youtu.be/Fm2kMu8Jrs4b Accessed on 1 December 2024 16YouTube. Capt Paul Watson: Guardian of the Seas 1/2 Available at: https://youtu.be/PQdBjMHbDTc Accessed on 1 December 2024 17YouTube. Am Ende der Welt (2010) [Documentary] | Film (German). Available at: https://youtu.be/U1J58njPuAI Accessed on 1 December 2024 18YouTube. Weber State University, Paul Watson - "Sea Shepherd's Mission: Conservation". Available at: https://youtu.be/rQBnAs2aAN0 Accessed on 1 December 2024 19YouTube. TEDx Talks, TEDxSF - Captain Paul Watson - 4/27/10. available at: https://youtu.be/Y0XOx_UVRPo Accessed on 1 December 2024 20YouTube. TEDx Talks, If our oceans die, we die | Captain Paul Watson | TEDxNoosa from 25 June 2015. Available at: https://youtu.be/Bwgx9DaiE2g Accessed on 5 January 2025 21YouTube. Whale Wars - Confessions of an Eco Terrorist 1, 2011 Available at: https://youtu.be/7X7TfMY3g7g Accessed on 26 November 2024 22YouTube, Sharkwater - When sharks die. Available at: https://youtu.be/7LE3JHUPRJA Accessed on 30/06/2023 23YouTube. ARTEde, Paul Watson - Schützer der Meere | Doku HD | ARTE from 28.9.2024. Available at: https://youtu.be/2fVJyAE3J0M Accessed on 24 November 2024 24YouTube. Captain Paul Watson Foundation, Paul Watson: Exclusive Interview with Wild Actual from Anstalten Prison, Greenland. Available at: https://youtu.be/XX63OOV1moA Accessed on 23 November 2024 25Nachrichten.fr, Paul Watson still in custody: Agnès Pannier-Runacher demands release of the whale protector, 25.10.2024, https://nachrichten.fr/paul-watson-weiterhin-in-haft-agnes-pannier-runacher-fordert-freilassung-des-walschuetzers/ 26Martin Fritz, Sea Shepherd founder - Free Paul Watson, taz, 17.10.2024, https://taz.de/Sea-Shepherd-Gruender/%216040251/ 27Rolf Arndt, Activist Paul Watson still imprisoned, Activist Paul Watson still imprisoned, Dänische Allgemeine Zeitung, 2 October 2024, https://www.daz.dk/2024/10/02/aktivist-paul-watson-weiterhin-inhaftiert/ 28Danish Parliament Confirms Faroe Islands Tip-off Led to Paul Watson's Arrest, Captain Paul Watson Foundation, https://www.paulwatsonfoundation.org/danish-parliament-confirms-faroe-islands-tip-off-led-to-paul-watsons-arrest/ 29Whale conservationist Paul Watson remains in custody on Greenland, DiePresse, 4.9.2024, https://www.diepresse.com/18828121/walschuetzer-paul-watson-bleibt-auf-groenland-in-haft 30Sophie Bachet, A dilemma of law and ethics: Denmark to decide fate of imprisoned anti-whaling environmentalist Paul Watson, The Copenhagen Post, 3.9.2024, https://cphpost.dk/2024-09-03/news/a-dilemma-of-law-and-ethics-denmark-to-decide-fate-of-imprisoned-anti-whaling-environmentalist-paul-watson/ 31Nicolai Kampmann, Paul Watson will remain behind bars in Greenland until December, The Copenhagen Post, 13.11.2024, https://cphpost.dk/2024-11-13/news/round-up/paul-watson-will-remain-behind-bars-in-greenland-until-december/ 32Thomas Borchert, Denmark and the case of Paul Watson, Frankfurter Rundschau, 11 August 2024, https://www.fr.de/panorama/daenemark-und-der-fall-paul-watson-93236487.html 33Japan asks Denmark to extradite anti-whaling activist Paul Watson, France24, 1.8.2024, https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240801-japan-asks-denmark-to-extradite-anti-whaling-activist-paul-watson 34Greenland arrests environmental activist Paul Watson, WeLT, , 26.7.2024, https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/prominente/article252635096/Paul-Watson-Groenland-nimmt-Umweltaktivisten-fest-Haftbefehl-aus-Japan.html 35EU Öko Abschiebehaft, Patrick Ruppelt, published on Instagram on... damn, where can I find the date of a post on Instagram? The post was published on my blog on 29.7.2024, https://www.instagram.com/p/DAogVosupRT/ 36Patrick Ruppelt, That's why cow's milk is always cruelty to animals, 20/11/2024, https://paddys.de/darum-ist-kuhmilch-immer-tierquaelerei/ 37Mark Benecke, "Time is Up!" - Mark Benecke in the EU Parliament, Martin Sonneborn, 24 July 2024, https://youtu.be/Z_p9yYXZuCI 3810üPatrick Ruppelt, Canada, oh Canada, Where senses and mind meet, 8.11.2024, https://paddys.de/kanada-oh-kanada/ 39Sebastian Schuster, Animals and animal welfare in Japan, Japan my love, 14 October 2024, https://japanmeineliebe.de/2021/03/10/tiere-und-tierschutz-in-japan/ 40 Kyoko Hasegaw, Japan shows first commercial fin whale catch in 48 years, Japan Times, 11.9.2024, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/09/11/japan/commercial-fin-whale-catch/ 41Patrick Ruppelt, EU Öko Abschiebehaft, Where senses and reason meet, 29 July 2024, https://paddys.de/eu-oeko-abschiebehaft/ 42Japan hunts whales in the whale sanctuary], Greenpeace e.V., Background, https://www.greenpeace.de/biodiversitaet/meere/fischerei/japan-jagt-wale-walschutzgebiet 43Valentin Schatz, Whaling Convention without Japan - The end of hide-and-seek, Legal Tribune Online, Wolters Kluwer, 2 January 2019, https://www.lto.de/recht/hintergruende/h/japan-austritt-walfangkonvention-voelkerrecht-moratorium-politik 44Patrick Ruppelt, DAS hat Japans Walfang mit deutscher Milch in Afrika zu tun, Where senses and reason meet, 15.10.2024, https://paddys.de/das-hat-japans-walfang-mit-deutscher-milch-in-afrika-zu-tun/ 45Japan hunts whales in the whale sanctuary], Greenpeace e.V., Background, https://www.greenpeace.de/biodiversitaet/meere/fischerei/japan-jagt-wale-walschutzgebiet 46International Court of Justice : Japan may no longer hunt whales in the Antarctic, Frankfurter Allgemeine, 31/03/2014, https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/internationaler-gerichtshof-japan-darf-in-der-antarktis-keine-wale-mehr-jagen-12872493.html 47Katrin Matthes, Japan out of control? The fin whale quota disaster, 30.7.2024, https://de.whales.org/2024/07/30/das-desaster-um-die-finnwal-quote/ 48Bianca König, 31 July 2024, https://de.whales.org/2024/07/31/japan-jagt-finnwale/ 49Mars, NASA, https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/humans-to-mars/ 50Cedric Engels, Doctor Whatson, How will we live in 2050? Doctor Whatson: Live from the future, 21 April 2024, https://youtu.be/nKrvDNk5D84 51Our research and conservation projects, Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), https://de.whales.org/wale-delfine/artenschutz-und-forschung/wdc-forschung-schutzprojekte/ 52International Court of Justice : Japan may no longer hunt whales in the Antarctic, Frankfurter Allgemeine, 31/03/2014, https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/internationaler-gerichtshof-japan-darf-in-der-antarktis-keine-wale-mehr-jagen-12872493.html 53Selbstjustiz, die, Der deutsche Wortschatz von 1600 bis heute, DWDS - Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, https://www.dwds.de/wb/Selbstjustiz 54ARTEde, Sea Shepherd - Pursuit on the high seas | Doku HD Reupload | ARTE, 12.10.2024, https://youtu.be/dkPzZU-Dm3E 55Ten years in prison for Japanese whale conservationists?, Greenpeace Switzerland, 16 February 2010. https://www.greenpeace.ch/de/story/16118/zehn-jahre-gefaengnis-fuer-japanische-walschuetzer/ 56Sea Shepherd - Japanese arrest whaling opponents, stern, 12.3.2010, https://www.stern.de/panorama/wissen/natur/sea-shepherd-japaner-nehmen-walfanggegner-fest-3569918.html 57Paul Watson Controversial whale conservationist arrested in Greenland, 22.7.2024, https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/europa/paul-watson-festgenommen-100.htm 58The structure of the government, https://old.visitfaroeislands.com/de/ueber-die-faeroeer-inseln/die-struktur-der-regierung/ 59Campaigns in the Faroe Islands - Sea Shepherd, https://sea-shepherd.de/kampagnen/kampagnen-auf-den-faroer-inseln/ 60Sea Shepherd, https://sea-shepherd.de/kampagnen/kampagnen-auf-den-faroer-inseln/ 61cpwfgermany - The Faroe Islands and Denmark must stop the grindagrap! https://www.instagram.com/cpwfgermany/reel/DAB0PNqNs8P/ 62Sabine Oelmann, Whaling opponent Paul Watson still imprisoned, ntv Panorama, 22 August 2024, https://www.n-tv.de/panorama/Walfang-Gegner-Paul-Watson-noch-immer-in-Groenland-inhaftiert-FreePaulWatson-setzt-sich-fuer-Freilassung-ein-article25173640.html 63Patrick Ruppelt, in Held braucht deine Hilfe, Wo Sinne und Verstand aufeinander treffen, 17.11.202,4, https://paddys.de/ein-held-braucht-deine-hilfe/
