The Astral sailboat arrived in Havana on Sunday carrying members of the “Rumbo a Cuba” (Heading to Cuba) solidarity project, a joint effort of Open Arms and other European organizations.
The Open Arms vessel crossed the Atlantic to support Cuba amidst the intensification of the blockade and energy embargo imposed on the island by the United States government.
The “Rumbo a Cuba” project aims to guarantee the energy independence of the Juan Manuel Márquez Pediatric Hospital, where the crew and the delegation that supported them on the voyage will arrive this Monday to deliver the donation.
In the Mediterranean, the Astral has helped save more than 15,000 lives by carrying out observation and surveillance missions for migrants shipwrecked in those waters, and it serves as a training ship in port for the Open Arms project.
The voyage had seven crew members and was led by Catalan rescuer Óscar Camps, founder and director of Open Arms.
The ship was welcomed by Fernando González Llort, president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP); the vice-governor of Havana, Reinol GarcÃa Moreiro; and the director of the Juan Manuel Márquez Pediatric Hospital, AraÃs Consuegro Otero.
Also participating in the reception were Laura Lanuza, head of communications for Open Arms; the Spanish activist and politician Miguel Urban Crespo, co-founder of the Podemos Party; and Ana Miranda Paz, Member of the European Parliament for the Galician Nationalist Bloc.
After complying with conventional protocols at the Havana Cruise Terminal, visitors are welcomed during a ceremony at the ICAP headquarters.
IMAGE CREDIT: Rodney Rafael Jimenez Muñoz / Photo: ICAP
[ SOURCE: AGENCIA CUBANA DE NOTICIAS ]
