Open Arms makes port
The 60 migrants drifting on the Libyan coast and rescued by Open Arms have been transfered to centres in the capital; they have 30 days to demand asylum
Barcelona was the scene yesterday of the long-awaited welcome of refugees fleeing from the Syrian war and from hunger, slavery and persecution in other African countries. Expectation was high to receive the 60 immigrants rescued by the NGO ProActiva Open Arms ship but most of the people who went to the port to show their welcome were kept at a distance.
At 11:30 a.m. the ship entered the Port of Barcelona and escorted in by frigates of the Marine Salvage and the Guardia Civil, and another Open Arms vessel, the Astral. Other historic vessels ships left port to accompany the ship as it approached its berth. At the same time, Open Arms activists scaled the statue of Columbus and hung an orange lifejacket from his arm in the hope that world and European politicians will take note of the thousands the Mediterranean has claimed.
The 50 men, five women and five minors, three travelling alone, had been shipwrecked four days ago before they were rescued, and neither the ports of Italy nor Malta wanted to receive them. Open Arms organiser Anabel Montes said she is happy they had been saved but that their future is still uncertain. Now, after health checks and being given accommodation at the capital’s Sport’s Institute, the migrants , who are from 15 different countries will have 30 days in which they can ask for asylum or begin an onwards journey to another destination.
Mayoress Ada Colau pointed out that the 60 visitors were not the first migrants to come in recent times. In fact, in the space of only a few months some 500 migrants have arrived in the capital from other parts of the state.