• Italy. The 29 minors will be able to disembark today from the Open Arms, in whose interior "security is not guaranteed"
  • 'Ocean viking'.The Doctors without Borders ship awaits authorization to dock in Italy or Malta with 356 migrants on board
  • Salvini, a minister with powers over the head of state

The Italian justice has ordered a medical inspection in the Spanish humanitarian ship Open Arms to verify the hygienic-sanitary conditions in which the 134 migrants are on board after more than two weeks crammed on deck.

The order has been given this Saturday by the Prosecutor's Office of the city of Agrigento ( Sicily ), which since yesterday investigates for an alleged crime of kidnapping people - not against anyone in particular - and the doctors in charge will especially verify the status of the 29 minors who , according to Italian Government sources consulted by EL MUNDO, they will disembark in Lampedusa throughout the day.

If you do not speak with the local accent, in Lampedusa the question is quick and simple: "Tourist or journalist?". The inhabitants of the island furthest from the rest of Italy live these days with attention and some concern what is happening aboard the Open Arms. "These migrants are simply people with bad luck. I don't know what it is for them to be here adrift next to them. Maybe it would be better to help them in their countries, right? I don't know. Would they really be better here? With these politicians we have in Italy, who are fighting all day? Probably better here than on their land. Namely what they have lived, "says EL MUNDO Calogero , 65-year-old islander with the four car lights on.

His thinking is a good summary of the opinion of many of the premises around the central Via Roma , the only avenue in Lampedusa. With a little good view, the Open Arms can be seen even from the island's own coast.

16 days adrift

Oscar Camps from the Open Arms: "This is unjustifiable" THE WORLD

The situation remains totally blocked for the ship, which has been drifting for 16 days , although it is now only one kilometer from the Italian mainland . The 134 migrants who are still on board at the moment are increasingly demoralized because they do not know what will happen or how long they could be landed, so the Open Arms has declared this Saturday "in a state of necessity."

"After 16 days waiting for a safe port where to disembark, 6 medical evacuations and having informed the authorities about our situation, without obtaining any response, we are in a situation of need and we can no longer guarantee safety of the 134 people on board ", inform those responsible, according to Efe.

"The situation is out of control. Escape to our capacity," said Open Arms founder Oscar Camps in a video made from a boat in front of the ship, "as of today we cannot feel responsible or guarantee the safety of 134 people or the 19 crew volunteers, who are kidnapped, because it is impossible to remain calm. At any moment a collective action is unleashed and we cannot stop it. "

"There are 100 ways to self-harm on a ship like the Open Arms and 100 ways to commit suicide on board. We don't have the capacity and we can't stop them, much less be controlling these 134 people," he added.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini continues to make sovereign propaganda by taking advantage of his position of power as he is the key figure in this sine die blockade.

According to him, the health emergency aboard the Open Arms is a "nonsense": "We are facing the nth tease of the Spanish NGO that for days has erred in the Mediterranean with the sole objective of collecting as many people as possible to bring them only and exclusively to Italy. " And he adds: "This type of NGO only makes political battle over the skin of migrants and against our country. But I don't give up."

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  • Open arms
  • Italy
  • immigration

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