Popular Articles
Today Week Month Year


Italy struggles to deal with influx of 6,000 migrants in one day
By Cassie B. // Sep 15, 2023

The shores of Italy have been inundated with migrants lately, and it reached a breaking point this week when nearly 7,000 people arrived on the island of Lampedusa in less than 24 hours.

On Wednesday, the tiny Italian island located to the south of Sicily was overrun with a flotilla of around 120 flimsy boats that made their way from Tunisia. Witnesses said that it almost looked like a procession, with boat after boat coming in. All told, around 6,800 migrants arrived in under a day, which is a few hundred people more than the full-time population of the island.

The influx posed logistical problems for authorities; the only migrant residence on the island has just 450 beds. Authorities attempted to send them to Sicily and Southern Italy via ferry as they tried to figure out what to do next and how to provide so many people with basic services.

While the country usually tightly controls the movements of migrants who have just arrived on their shores, the reception center was overwhelmed and some people managed to slip away, with sightings of migrants reported all over the island and migrants seen in news footage climbing over walls. Some locals reported that the migrants were starving, with some getting on their knees to beg for food.

Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini, said that “it is not a spontaneous phenomenon, it is a declaration of war on Europe.” He added that the situation has the potential to “collapse Italian society as a whole.”

He said that mass migration from Africa to Europe is being facilitated by human trafficking organizations and other criminal groups and accused Europe of abandoning Italy and failing to help protect its borders. He said the country needs to act on its own to protect national security and strengthen migration regulations.

Human knowledge is under attack! Governments and powerful corporations are using censorship to wipe out humanity's knowledge base about nutrition, herbs, self-reliance, natural immunity, food production, preparedness and much more. We are preserving human knowledge using AI technology while building the infrastructure of human freedom. Use our decentralized, blockchain-based, uncensorable free speech platform at Brighteon.io. Explore our free, downloadable generative AI tools at Brighteon.AI. Support our efforts to build the infrastructure of human freedom by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com, featuring lab-tested, certified organic, non-GMO foods and nutritional solutions.

The frustrated mayor of Lampedusa, Filippo Mannino, echoed his concerns. He complained that the EU has left Italy to handle the influx of migrants on its own, accusing the bloc of being silent on the issue and calling for a structural solution.

Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency UNHCR's Italian representative, Chiara Cardoletti, warned the situation in Lampedusa had become “critical” and that moving people off of the island should be “an absolute priority.”

Although Italy has made a repatriation agreement with Tunisia under which those found ineligible for asylum can be returned, the same is not true of most of the other nations whose migrants enter Italy.

Migrant influxes reported across Southern Europe this summer

The Italian Interior Ministry reports that more than 120,000 migrants have arrived in the country this year so far, 11,000 of which were unaccompanied minors. This is nearly double the number of migrants seen by this point last year. The country has been contending with a big surge in migrants from Sudan, South Sudan and Eritrea in particular this summer.

However, Italy isn’t the only country that is experiencing an immigration crisis. While Lampedusa is the first port of call for many of the migrants who want to relocate to the EU, the Central Mediterranean in general has been seeing growing numbers of migrants. Spain reported that the number of migrants arriving in the Canary Islands more than tripled to nearly 3,000 people during the first half of September, citing instability in Senegal as one of the reasons for the influx.

France’s Interior Minister announced earlier this week that they were seeing more migrants due to the destabilization of Tunisia and Libya; many of those who arrive in Lampedusa and are transferred by authorities to the mainland attempt to cross into France.

Sources for this article include:

RMX.News

EuroNews.com

APNews.com



Take Action:
Support NewsTarget by linking to this article from your website.
Permalink to this article:
Copy
Embed article link:
Copy
Reprinting this article:
Non-commercial use is permitted with credit to NewsTarget.com (including a clickable link).
Please contact us for more information.
Free Email Alerts
Get independent news alerts on natural cures, food lab tests, cannabis medicine, science, robotics, drones, privacy and more.

NewsTarget.com © 2022 All Rights Reserved. All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. NewsTarget.com is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. NewsTarget.com assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published on this site. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.

This site uses cookies
News Target uses cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy.
Learn More
Close
Get 100% real, uncensored news delivered straight to your inbox
You can unsubscribe at any time. Your email privacy is completely protected.