The largest floating bookstore in the world is evangelical, it arrives in Argentina and provokes controversy

LA PLATA.- Former US President, Jimmy Carter, spoke to him. It was the same for the cousin of a Sultan of Oman, South Asia, and the Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands. They said about the ship Logos Hope that it is more than the world's largest floating bookstore, which serves as a beacon of desperate humanity. However, with his arrival in Argentina, the controversy began.

The Logos Hope ship has been sailing the world's ports since 1970 with a particular proposal: selling a million pounds of 5,000 different titles. More than half they are in Spanish; the rest, in English. Its next destinations are Rosario (from May 30), Buenos Aires (Puerto Madero, from June 27) and finally Mar del Plata.

This morning, the booksellers of the city of Buenos Aires sounded the alarm and issued a statement in which they worried about the arrival of the ship, signaling a religious bias in the choice of books and books. unfair competition.

"We do not know what taxes will be paid in Argentina, but the $ 1 million project is funded by OM International, a Pentecostal organization whose team is composed entirely of volunteer missionaries with a two-year mandate. , which also implies unfair competition conditions with established bookstores that are hiring their employees with all the burden and obligations that means, "the statement said.

They also explain that "although it mainly carries religious-themed books, it does not include in its bibliographical offer books of religions other than Christianity such as the Talmud, the Koran, the Bhagavad-Gita or the Popol Vuh ".

According to Logos Hope spokespersons,
THE NATIONIn each port visited, it is very common for them to encounter this type of problem: "We understand that, due to lack of knowledge and information, local people are thinking about this type of thing, because it is important to understand that we are all different and respect the opinions of everyone ".

And they badured that their goal was "neither to profit nor to compete with any local bookstore".

In acting taxes, they warned that when visiting each country, they would face taxes at the central government level and from each of the decentralized governments. Taxes that are "maritime and commercial character".

A controversy of national interest

On March 15 of this year, the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Nation declared that the Logos Hope visit was of national interest. Resolution 157/2019, published in the Official Journal, reads as follows: "Declaration of National Interest for the Visit of the Ship M / N LOGOS HOPE to the Argentine Republic".

The name comes from "logos", which in Greek means "word", and "hope" which in English is "hope". It has a crew of 400 people from more than 60 countries, of different ages and different cultures, who do not receive money for their presence, but pay. In addition to books, there is an international cafe and a theater on board.

Micaela Di Florio, 21, aboard the ship since February 2019, is among those 400 people. She says that she had known the project at the age of 16 and that she dreamed of becoming a volunteer. I was already working and working as a volunteer in children's and youth camps, and that seemed like a way to put my talents to the service of others. "

It's a religious boat. Pil-Hun Park is the director and in his welcome letter, he states: "We hope that by visiting the ship, you will not only enjoy your time at home, but also make the experience of l & # 39; God's love for you. " Logos Hope is operated by GBA Ships, a nonprofit international Christian fund organization.

According to its own website, Logos Hope is funded by three different sources: individual donors, volunteer crew members, and book sales at the book fair. With the sale of the books, they keep the ship running: they use this money for fuel and food. "The cost of entry is one of the ways in which the boat can be financed, no one receives salary, the costs per visit in each port are excessive and that is why the sale of books, the entry, the monthly payment of volunteers and sponsors worldwide, they make that the boat follows its trajectory, "explained the spokesmen for the ship at LA NACION. The price of entry to the boat is 50 pesos.

The ship was in the port of Bahía Blanca, province of Buenos Aires, from March 19th to April 1st. From May 30 to June 25, it will moor at the Rosario River Station, Santa Fe Province, before arriving on June 27 at the port of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and staying there until July 21st. The last Argentine port in which the ship can be visited will be Mar del Plata, where it will remain from June 24 to August 19.