High seas justice

>> Sea Shepherd confronts whalers and
other eco-criminals armed only with a
ship and the UN’s charter

by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Kalifi Ferretti-Gallon

Age: 24

Occupation: Environmentalist/conservationist

Bio: This well-rounded and delightfully erudite NDG gal was a year-and-a-half into her PoliSci studies at Concordia when her father, a co-founder of Greenpeace, suddenly passed away, leaving the young lass understandably bummed and eager to travel and re-evaluate her own life. Soon afterwards, a well-connected friend suggested she hook up with maritime environmental warriors the Sea Shepherds, and, before you could say “Aye matey,” Kalifi was in Bermuda getting ready to set sail on the mighty Farley Mowat, where she would challenge maritime eco-villains on the high seas for the next 18 months of her life. Now back in Montreal for the comparatively dull purpose of finishing her degree, Kalifi says, “In my heart I know I’ll go out again. I have to. You just don’t get this kind of adventure out of your blood easily.”

A few places the Sea Shepherds took her: The Galapagos Islands, Antarctica, South Africa and Australia.

The kind of stuff Sea Shepherds do: Viewing themselves as “international law enforcers,” they regularly ram boats engaged in illegal environmental practices. “I guess we’re kind of like a vigilante in some ways. But we always have the UN charter of the environment on our side.”

Something you want to have around before sideswiping some vessel full of rowdy Portuguese sailors: The media. “Their ships are usually a lot bigger than ours, so it’s a lose/lose situation if we actually get in to full-on collision with them. So we just try to scare them a bit. But we have to be extreme when the cameras are on us or there won’t be enough international spotlight on the situation. Nobody sees what’s going on in the oceans, it’s not like cameras are out there every day.”

The kind of thing that’ll get your boat rammed: “Well, in Antarctica, we rammed a Japanese boat that was whaling illegally, breaking several international laws, not the least being whaling for endangered species in a whale sanctuary.”

Did she ever think she was about to die on the high seas? “Oh yeah, it’s like some crazy dream when all of a sudden you see this big fuckin’ ship in front of you that you’re pretty well doing battle with. It’s really surreal, but your adrenaline is going and you’re forced to be rational. You just don’t have the option of freaking out, and that really helps you get through those moments.”

Is it quite possibly hell on earth to be stuck on a boat with only righteous activist-types for company? “Well, I loved it, but yes, a lot of squabbling goes on.”

Is everybody looking to fuck each other on these boats? “Oh yeah, it’s kind of difficult not to. It’s not like you can shut down your drive for intimacy, and there you are, on the ocean in this romantic setting, underneath the stars, fighting for the rights of the world, hanging out with these same people on a regular basis, so obviously you tend to develop feelings for people.”

Musical preferences: Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie, the Go Set.

Last book read: The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka.

Words of wisdom: “Be a bad-ass catalyst for good change.”

Comments: dimwit@hdot.net