Marco Damilano hosts Richard Gere in “The Horse and the Tower”, the Rai 3 program, on the day of Matteo Salvini's River hearing in Palermo on the Open Arms trial. As we know, the Hollywood actor was called as a witness in court because he came on board in Italy to bring help to the migrants at the time when the NGO ship was at sea waiting to disembark. However, the star preferred not to make his contribution to the trial in person: “I preferred a remote intervention and offered a written statement, but it was not accepted. “It's not easy to get to Palermo, but I'm happy with this invitation.” (on TV, editor's note), because it's very important to calmly express yourself about what happened on that ship.” he says via connection from New York.
Damilano lets him speak practically without interruption, although surreal aspects also emerge. Gere says he was in Italy with friends and saw pictures of the OpenArms ship, an NGO he knew. “They had rescued people in Greece and then off the coast of Libya, and I heard that this cruel law was passed in Italy,” the actor says of the safety regulations. “I heard that this ship couldn't reach the port of Lampedusa,” so he decided to try to get on board. Curious when he says that the operator of a boat refused to leave territorial waters to reach the NGO ship after a “police visit”. But then he saw a video of Gere “with the Dalai Lama” and was convinced.
Migration “is a responsibility that belongs to the whole world: when I talk about this issue, I am referring to a global phenomenon, not an Italian problem: the European Union, the UN, must be involved, we must create the resources and .” “Structures to deal with migration, especially of Italians,” said the actor. “I think the Italians have done an excellent job of welcoming these people,” Gere continued. “Obviously you are very close to Libya, and the refugees tend to arrive in Malta, Italy and Spain, and Italy has had to bear a significant burden and I admire that.” Thank you for the work you have done on this “To help people in need,” says Gere, obviously ruining the show’s plans. Hosted, which obviously infuriates the league: “Richard Gere was so affected by the suffering of immigrants on Open Arms that he walked out of Salvini's trial in Palermo, but now he finds time to barge into Marco Damilano's little red living room. We are at the doorstep of a bad film,” write Giorgio Maria Bergesio, Ingrid Bisa, Stefano Candiani, Elena Maccanti, Clotilde Minasi and Elena Murelli, Lega Nord parliamentarians who are members of the Rai supervisory commission.