Recognizing "the humanitarian feat" of the people who tried to save the lives of the victims of the Los Cocoteros boat. This has been the objective of the International Association of Volunteers, Rotary Club, which has honored Pedro Barrios and Christian Hunt for what, in their opinion, was "a heroic behavior" by "risking their lives to help the survivors" of the greatest tragedy recorded in Lanzarote. The shipwreck of the cayuco cost the lives of 26 people.
Both Barrio and Hunt, originally from Uruguay and residents of Lanzarote, were recently honored during a dinner and an event held by this association on the island at its headquarters, at the Hotel Lancelot, in Arrecife. The awards were presented by the Rotary Governor for Spain District 2201, José María Díaz Torres, the president of the club in Lanzarote, Wolfgang Heigl and the president-elect, Dr. Abelardo Cervera Pérez.
"The human feat and the heroic behavior of these two people", as noted by the Rotary Governor at the event, "was etched in the minds of the citizens of Spain, especially among the people of Lanzarote and the Canary Islands who, thanks to their courage and effort, some young people who yearn for a better life in the first world are still alive".
Institutional visit
Prior to the event, the members of the association paid an institutional visit to the president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Manuela Armas, at the headquarters of the first institution of Lanzarote.
Rotary Club is an international association of volunteers, present in more than 160 countries, which develop humanitarian and cultural actions through 33,000 clubs. In the Canary Islands there are 12. Rotary Club Lanzarote, created in 1992, is made up of about 40 prominent businessmen and professionals from the Island.
