ACTOR Richard Gere took parcels of food to the Spanish rescue boat Open Arms for the 121 migrants on board.
The craft, run by the charity of the same name and one of only two vessels currently working in the central Mediterranean, has been trying for over a week to get authorisation to dock.
So far, Italy and Malta have refused and Spain has not given a straight answer.
Meanwhile, Hollywood star Gere, 69, arranged for boxes of non-perishable food, plus fruit, vegetables and bottles of water, to be delivered by boat to the Open Arms and helped load it on board himself.
The charity tweeted: “Being a father means not caring about colours or borders. Richard Gere is one, too.”
His most recent child was born to his Spanish wife Alejandra Silva, 36, in February.
“Finally, some good news. Provisions are arriving at the Open Arms and we’ve got an exceptional new crew member with us – Richard Gere,” the charity said on its Twitter site, @openarms_fund.
A passionate activist, the Pretty Woman star is actively involved in his Galician wife’s Rais Foundation, a charitable network of homeless shelters in Madrid and the Basque Country, and also owns the Buddhist Centre in Pedreguer, northern Alicante province.
For the moment, the Open Arms remains adrift in the Mediterranean with 121 Africans on board wo were rescued when attempting to make the dangerous crossing to Europe on jerry-built rafts.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com