Naeblys/iStock FILE(NEW YORK) — Dozens of people were allowed to disembark a rescue ship on the Italian island of Lampedusa, ending a 19-day standoff between the Spain-based rescue organization and the Italian government.
The Open Arms ship, managed by an NGO of the same name, had been waiting in the central Mediterranean with nearly 100 migrants, largely from Africa, to be allowed port on Lampedusa.
However, the Italian government, under Interior Minister Matteo Salvini — the leader of the country’s anti-immigrant party — has not allowed private migrant rescue ships to dock in Italian ports. And the Open Arms refused to move elsewhere.
Minors and those needing medical treatment were eventually taken to the shore, but nearly 100 people remained on board. After more than two weeks on the ship, some migrants chose to jump overboard this week, attempting to swim to shore.
They were rescued by Italian coastguard operations.
“And finally, after 19 captive days on the deck of a ship, all of the people on board will walk on hard land,” Open Arms tweeted in Spanish, along with a video of people apparently on the ship hugging and celebrating.
Y por fin, después de 19 días cautivos en la cubierta de un barco, todas las personas a bordo pisarán tierra firme.
¡¡Boza!! pic.twitter.com/W2CCYtKIIA— Open Arms (@openarms_fund) August 20, 2019
The NGO added in another tweet that there were 83 people aboard and that they would be receiving immediate assistance on Lampedusa.
??#ULTIMAHORA ??
La fiscalía de Agrigento dictamina desembarco inmediato de todas las personas a bordo #OpenArms en el puerto de #Lampedusa y la incautación provisional del barco.
Por fin,se acaba la pesadilla y las 83 personas a bordo recibirán asistencia inmediata en tierra pic.twitter.com/z4rYtTmtP0— Open Arms (@openarms_fund) August 20, 2019
Salvini, who took office last summer, did not appear cowed. He livestreamed a video of himself on Facebook discussing the Open Arms ship, with a caption referencing past investigations of his migrant policies.
“I am not afraid,” he said in part in Italian, “[but] proud to defend the borders and security of my country.”
The arrivals came as tensions between Salvini and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte reached a head, fueled in part by the Open Arms crisis. Among other disagreements, Conte had urged Salvini to “urgently adopt the necessary measures to ensure assistance and protection for minors present in the boat,” according to CNN.
After an apparent power play by Salvini calling for a non-confidence vote in Conte and for new elections, Conte resigned Tuesday, criticizing Salvini along the way.
In the meantime, people are still attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has called on Italy to change its policies and allow rescue ships to dock.
At least 576 people have died so far this year trying to cross the sea on the Central Mediterranean route to Italy, according to the International Organization for Migration’s latest report through Aug. 4. Last year, the UNHCR found that while fewer people are attempting to make the crossing, it had become deadlier.
Copyright © 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.