Migrants, Sánchez government awards honor to Open Arms founder

Madrid (Spain), 14 Jan. (LaPresse) – The Spanish government of Pedro Sánchez has awarded the founder of Open Arms, Oscar Camps, the Encomienda de Número of the Order of Civil Merit, an official honor of the Spanish state, for the rescue activities carried out. The recognition was received with deep gratitude by the NGO Open Arms. The ceremony took place today at the Moncloa Complex, where Sánchez presided over the awarding of the honor, as provided for in the official program of the government presidency. “At a time when humanitarian aid has been criminalized and used as a pretext for policies based on fear and exclusion, stating that saving lives is a civic value and not a crime carries real weight. I receive this recognition with gratitude, but also with a sense of responsibility, because it is not an endpoint but an opportunity, perhaps the last one, to truly change before it is too late,” Camps said, stressing that this merit does not belong only to him, but “to all the people who for ten years, with Open Arms, have been operating at sea while institutional decisions that could save lives are delayed or avoided.” “In the Mediterranean, the silence of states continues to kill. Thanks to those who today choose to affirm, with this gesture, that saving lives is a principle that cannot be negotiated,” he added.