Of Courage & Convictions 36:00, 2001 (Ref: EU01819)

Description

Helping illegal immigrants who arrive at your home can been a difficult decision. But this is what many residents in Tarifa in southern Spain face on a daily basis. What do you do if an illegal immigrant turns up on your doorstep begging for help? Over the years thousands of boat loads of illegal immigrants from northern Africa risk their lives in a desperate attempt to enter Europe – those who survive arrive wet, injured, hungry and thirsty. It is of course illegal to aid illegal immigrants – but inhumane to turn away somebody in need of food and shelter. The number of people offering clandestine aid to immigrants is growing by the day. Paqui Gil is one of the growing number and has been arrested and fined for doing so. And yet the authorities are doing nothing to deal with the situation – without the courage and convictions of people like Paqui Gil – these immigrants would suffer further.