Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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‘Europe will continue with its border control policies, and we will continue fighting for human rights’
INIGO MIJANGOS tells Ben Cowles how his charity's ship, the Aita Mari, was seized in Italy after saving the lives of 47 refugees
Chairman of the Basque refugee charity Humanitarian Maritime Rescue (SMH) Inigo Mijangos and the charity's ship, the Aita Mari
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
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NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
“WE WERE on our way back from Syracuse to Spain when we received a message from Malta of some boats adrift to the south,” Inigo Mijangos, chairman of the Basque refugee charity Humanitarian Maritime Rescue (SMH) tells me.
“There was no rescue crew or medical team on board the Aita Mari at the time because we were in transit,” he says describing how his charity’s humanitarian ship was seized in Italy last month.
“We told Malta RCC [Rescue Coordination Centre] that all we could do was find the boats and then wait for their instructions. And that is what we did.”
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