After traveling around 10,000 kilometers across the Atlantic Ocean, the sailboat Astral, from the Spanish NGO Open Arms, arrived at the port of Havana on Sunday with seven tons of humanitarian aid — including solar panels, replacement batteries, medical materials and children’s books — destined for the Juan Manuel Márquez Pediatric Hospital.
The cargo was delivered this Monday (20) as part of the “Rumbo a Cuba” campaign, a fundraising initiative promoted by more than 150 social and political organizations, with the aim of denouncing the blockade that the United States maintains against the island.
Thanks to the contributions of more than 4 thousand donors, the campaign raised around 160 thousand euros (932,402 reais), resources used to finance equipment destined for the pediatric hospital.
The donation seeks to contribute to the energy autonomy of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the intermediate care area and the health center’s clinical laboratory, with the aim of reducing the effects of energy asphyxiation imposed by the United States government against Cuba, which affects the functioning of children’s medical care.
The Astral departed Barcelona in May and sailed approximately 6,200 nautical miles. In an interview with Brazil in factMiguel Urbán, former MEP and current coordinator of “Rumbo a Cuba”, explained that the mission seeks to repay the solidarity that Cuba has offered for decades to other peoples.
“In any just cause, in any humanitarian crisis, there was a Cuban doctor. With this action, we wanted to give back to the Cuban people and their health system some of that solidarity that he spread throughout the world,” he stated.
“With the situation that the Cuban people are experiencing right now, how can we not be in Cuba? We are facing an authentic medieval siege, a war crime on the part of US imperialism against the Cuban people”, he continued.
From rescues in the Mediterranean to international humanitarian missions
Founded in 2015 by rescuer Óscar Camps, Open Arms is a Spanish non-governmental organization and humanitarian foundation, based in Catalonia. Its work began with sending rescue vessels to the Mediterranean Sea to assist vulnerable migrants and refugees.
In recent years, in addition to rescue operations, the organization has developed several humanitarian missions to bring medical and logistical assistance to regions affected by conflicts or disasters.
“For us, solidarity between people is fundamental. In fact, Open Arms was born from the so-called — mistakenly — refugee crisis, when thousands of people risked their lives in the Aegean Sea to try to reach the shores of Greece, fleeing conflicts, wars and violence”, he explained to Brazil in fact Laura Lanuza, Director of Communication and Projects at Open Arms.
“From that moment on, we put our hands to work to help and prevent any lives from being lost at sea. That’s what we’ve been doing for ten years.”
The organization’s first intervention took place in 2015, on the Greek island of Lesbos and in the Aegean Sea, where it rescued thousands of refugees and immigrants trying to reach Greece from Turkey.
Lanuza recalled that, since then, the organization has worked uninterruptedly to save lives. In 2024, Open Arms integrated a maritime humanitarian corridor to transport tons of food and medical supplies to the Gaza Strip. Currently, in addition to the solidarity mission in Cuba, the organization also collaborates in rescue operations in Venezuela.
“It is precisely the demonstration that the civilian population, with our solidarity and our principles, can do many things and, in some way, put a mirror in front of administrations and States so that they realize that it is possible to act. Many times, things are not done due to a deliberate lack of action on the part of States, but the civilian population, from a boat like ours, from Open Arms, can do many things, as can many other civil society organizations”, he stated.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
