Nine days at sea, 629 people who were on board the ship of Sos Mediterrane ', landed in Spain. The first 274 arrived at dawn aboard the Dattilo ship of the Italian Coast Guard, then the same Aquarius arrived, which still had 106 people on board, and finally the Orione of the Italian Navy with 249 migrants. At pier 1 of the port of Valencia, migrants received a first health screening in two large tents set up by the Red Cross. Those in poor health conditions, pregnant women and children were taken to hospital while the others were directed to the various reception centers set up by the Valencian Generalitat throughout the region. 700 journalists from all over Europe were present on the quay. Sos Mediterranee also posted a video in which migrants on ships can be seen dancing and cheering at the sight of the Spanish coast.
Welcome to the House, bring the banners on the quay, in all languages, except the Italian one.
"Italy rejected us but God will never do it“, One of the migrants aboard the Aquarius would have said. The Doctors Without Borders NGO warned that "as long as European governments do not assume their responsibilities, Aquarius will continue to operate in the Mediterranean".
Meanwhile, however, the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini, claimed the success of the landing in Valencia: "For the first time", he tweeted, "a ship left from Libya and destined for Italy docks in a different country: a sign that something is changing, we are no longer the doormats of Europe". "I thank the Spanish Government", He added speaking at a meeting in Seregno,"but I hope that it will receive more 66mila and I hope to receive also French, Portuguese, Maltese and others". An appeal for the reception of migrants was launched by Pope Francis: "We share the journey of migrants and refugees with concrete gestures of solidarity“, He tweeted in support of a Caritas campaign. Then, at the Angelus, he recalled that Wednesday will be the World Refugee Day which falls "in the midst of government consultations for a global pact" on refugees to guarantee "safe migration". "I hope that the States involved will reach an understanding to ensure the protection of those who are forced to leave their country with responsibility and humanity". In the same hours as the docking in Valencia, near Lampedusa, the 42 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean by the American warship Trenton were transferred to the Italian Coast Guard ship Diciotti. These are the survivors of the shipwreck that caused the death of 12 other people. The Coast Guard vessel now has a total of 523 migrants and one body on board (a deceased migrant, before being transferred to the Diciotti. The ship, before reaching a port yet to be defined, will remain for a few hours in international waters.
The reaction in Germany and France
Horst Seehofer, the leader of the Bavarian Christian Socialists, who is also the Federal Minister of the Interior, would have confided in some collaborators, not once but twice, according to rumors gathered by the Welt am Sonntag, expressing strong skepticism about the possibility of a continuation of the collaboration with Chancellor Angela Merkel. "I can not work with this woman anymore“, Seehofer said, referring to Merkel, during a summit among the CSU members in government with the Bavarian group leader Alexander Dobrindt last Thursday in Berlin. Against the background of the unprecedented tensions between the CDU and the CSU is the policy on migrants and in particular the will of Seehofer, as Minister of the Interior, to push refugees registered in other EU countries back to the German borders. Merkel, on the other hand, wants this decision to be taken only in agreement with the other EU states and therefore wants to wait for the European Council at the end of June.
It is "impossible" to calculate how many Aquarius migrants will be welcomed by France, which will examine the situation "case by case". The spokesman for the French government, Benjamin Griveaux, said to the microphones of France 3. "They have just arrived, it takes time to understand what nationality they are, by what capacity they are seeking asylum ...", explained Griveaux. "We will see what are the different situations and nationalities" and "it takes time", he added. France offered to welcome part of the Aquarius migrants and yesterday the Spanish government reported that it accepted this proposal, calling it a signal of the European "cooperation" and "solidarity" needed to tackle the migration crisis.