‘Buon viaggio’: Salvini mocks Catalan rescue ship with 87 migrants on board

Italy has rejected offering a safe harbor to Proactiva Open Arms’ ships after the Catalan NGO rescued 87 people from drowning in the Mediterranean.

“Open Arms has rescued 90 immigrants from Libyan waters. Considering that 20 days ago they said that ‘Italian ports were not safe’ due to Salvini, I’m sure they’ll bring them anywhere but to Italy,” said interior minister Matteo Salvini. He added, mockingly: “Buon viaggio” (Have a safe trip!).

La nave spagnola Open Arms ha raccolto a bordo 90 immigrati nelle acque libiche. Visto che venti giorni fa aveva dichiarato che “i porti italiani non sono sicuri” perché c’è Salvini, sono certo che porteranno questi immigrati ovunque, tranne che in Italia. Buon viaggio! pic.twitter.com/IEPBDgSpZ0

— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) August 2, 2018

As the leader of Italy’s far-right League, Salvini has prompted the government to adopt a harsh stance on immigration. Last June, he declared victory after a standoff over the fate of 629 people rescued at sea ended with Spain accepting them.

Proactiva founder Oscar Camps responded to Salvini via Twitter and said that he “seemed obsessed" with the NGO. “Aren’t there more important problems in Italy which the interior minister should be taking care of? Obviously, he doesn’t know how to face them.”

It’s the second time in two weeks that Italy blocks Proactiva’s ships from docking in the country. On July 20, the NGO arrived on the island of Mallorca with one woman and two dead corpses, including a dead child, after Salvini rejected them.