“To be the target of hatred from certain individuals is a badge of honour.” This was Open Arms’ response to the far-right leader Santiago Abascal, who on Thursday called for the ship, which arrived just a day earlier on the coast of Tenerife, to be “sunk” and “confiscated” amidst the ongoing relocation process of migrant minors reaching the Canary Islands.
The NGO, which conducts humanitarian work in the Mediterranean, felt it necessary to clarify its mission to the president of Vox, given Abascal’s apparent lack of understanding. In a statement shared via social media, titled “Unsinkable Determination,” they defended that their boats have saved over 70,000 lives. “To accuse us of being ‘slave traders’ is an insult to the truth and an indecency,” they added.
“When the far-right loses credibility, it always resorts to a desperate strategy: making noise,” declared their Instagram post in response to the latest “outburst” from the far-right leader. “We are an NGO of rescuers that helps people in desperate situations. Our boats are strong, but our spirit is unsinkable,” it continued.
Open Arms expressed pride in being “attacked by the enemies of the world,” referring to Vox and its hate speeches. The Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, warned on Thursday that such rhetoric “ends up justifying physical violence.”
“Even if all our boats were to sink, our determination will never falter,” concluded the organisation’s post, which included the caption: “Here we are, and here we shall remain. In the face of fear and hatred.”
The director of Open Arms, Òscar Camps, responded immediately to Abascal’s remarks. “To say that a ship that saves lives should be sunk is pure fascism,” wrote the NGO’s founder on his personal profile.
The government responded to Abascal’s comments. Alongside Bolaños, the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, lamented the “lack of humanity” displayed by the far-right party leader. Clavijo, who governs alongside the PP, labelled Abascal a “genuine fascist”. “This is nonsense; it breeds tension and discomfort, and it does a disservice to democracy, unless Abascal has an issue with democracy as well, which some of us now doubt,” he emphasised.
The PP, however, refrained from commenting on Abascal’s words. When specifically asked, Miguel Tellado stated that it was not their role to “comment” on what Vox said, yet the PP has directly depended on the support of the far-right to govern in many of the regions it controls.
