By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol participated in the rescue efforts of the non-profit organization Proactiv Open Arms in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea to help save the life of a Cameroonian woman.
Gasol was on board of the “Astral” ship and, together with other Proactiv Open Arms volunteers, prevented the woman from suffering the same tragic fate that befell many migrants and refugees who are forced to leave their poverty-stricken or war-ridden countries in search of a better future, only to be drowned in the waters of the Mediterranean.
This experience left an emotional mark on Gasol who tweeted the following: “Frustration, anger, and helplessness. It’s unbelievable how so many vulnerable people are abandoned to their deaths at sea. Deep admiration for these I call my teammates at this time @openarms_fund”
Per Spanish newspaper El Pais, “Astral” found the remains of a rubber boat that had been destroyed, allegedly by the Libyan coastguard. Together with the pieces of the boat, floated the corpses of a woman and a child. There was only one survivor, the aforementioned Cameroonian woman.
“On Monday, we overheard conversations between a Libyan patrol boat and a merchant ship asking for it to set course for a specific position where a boat in danger. Then we found out that tthe Libyan patrol ship took the castaways back to Libya and destroyed the boat. But they left at least three people abandoned,” Gasol told El Pais.
“Then we followed a search protocol,” Gasol said. “This morning (Tuesday), we spotted a semi-submerged inflatable boat. We went there. The water was full of gasoline and very corrosive. At first, it seemed that there was no one alive. But when we came a little closer we saw that there was a woman. She was holding only one arm to a piece of wood, only a half meter long, not more. There was another woman a dead child.”
“We climbed aboard the boat and then the doctors followed. I was shocked, scared. We told her we were going to help her. We learned that her name is Josephine and she is from Cameroon,” mentioned the Spanish player.
Gasol explained what set him on the path of volunteering and providing a helping hand to the people working in the initiative. “No concrete reason. Of course, the photograph of the Syrian boy (Aylan Kurdi) who died on the Turkish coast in 2015 provoked a sense of anger and at the same time, it made me see that we all have to do our part in such cases. That’s when I met Oscar Camps and the people of Open Arms. They made me understand that this is the that many children around the world experience.”
“We have to set an example, demonstrate the seriousness of what is happening. I want to be a direct 2witness and save people,” Gasol answered when asked about the potential risks he faces also in regards to his career as an NBA player. “The risk that you can assume is irrelevant. There’s no better example than the volunteers who are here.”
Photo: @MarcGasol