Open Arms appeals to Hollywood stars. The NGO is determined to call to testify at the Palermo trial in which Matteo Salvini is accused of kidnapping none other than Richard Gere, the actor who had gone to bring aid and solidarity on the ship. A move that appears more media than anything else, given that from what emerges from the hearings the defendant does not appear to be the then Minister of the Interior, but it is the conduct of the NGO that raises doubts and perplexities. “I discovered that in September Richard Gere will testify at the trial in Palermo. I will also call my mother, who is passionate about cinema, and then we will answer with Lino Banfi”, said Matteo Salvini, in a debate with Bruno Vespa at the Forum in Masseria .
The Pretty Woman actor was interviewed by the Guardian, and recalled his experience on the ship: “We saw more than a hundred people on board and I was ashamed that we have so much and are not able to embrace these other human beings, our brothers and sisters who were hungry, traumatized. If they had been told that the boat was going back to Libya, they would have jumped into the water and drowned themselves, and I felt it was our responsibility to bring in as much light as possible. I mean, in the ‘profoundly Christian Italy, how could this happen? Is it criminal to help people in need? It was astounding to me.”
Words that provoke the reaction of the League: “Tichard Gere announces that he wants to bear witness to the suffering of immigrants aboard OpenArms: he will be able to recall that the Spanish ship refused, several times and for several days, to go to a safe port indicated by Madrid. One solution that would have been natural and would have saved the immigrants days spent at sea and Salvini a process that speaks for itself.Or, Gere may recall that OpenArms refused to take on board immigrants from the other NGO Alan Kurdi, even though it was not overloaded”.
