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MIGRANT CRISIS

Italy’s Lampedusa struggles as migrant arrivals double the population

The tiny Italian island of Lampedusa on Thursday struggled to cope with a "critical situation" as the number of migrants peaked at 7,000 people – equivalent to the entire local population.

Italy, migrants, Lampedusa
Migrants gather outside the reception centre on the Italian island of Lampedusa on September 14th. Photo by Alessandro Serranò / AFP

The local reception centre, built to house fewer than 400 people, was overwhelmed with men, women and children forced to sleep outside on makeshift plastic cots, many wrapped in metallic emergency blankets.

Tensions broke out on Wednesday as food was being distributed by the Italian Red Cross, which runs the facility, causing police to intervene.

Some young men later left the overcrowded centre and went into Lampedusa’s old town centre, where an AFP photographer found some of them queuing for ice cream.

Several said they were hungry. Few had any money, and some restaurants turned them away. But other establishments offered food for free, or residents and tourists paid for them.

Located just 90 miles (around 145 kilometres) off the coast of Tunisia, Lampedusa is one of the first points of call for migrants crossing the Mediterranean.

Days of fine weather has seen a surge in arrivals in recent days, with more than 5,000 people arriving in Italy on Tuesday alone, according to interior ministry figures.

Migrants, Lampedusa

Migrants on the Italian island of Lampedusa prepare to board a ship bound for the Sicilian town of Porto Empedocle on Thursday, September 14th. Photo by Alessandro Serranò / AFP

Most are picked up at sea from rickety boats by the coastguard, which brings them to Lampedusa port.

But many do not make it that far. More than 2,000 people have died this year crossing the sea between North Africa and Italy, according to the UN migration agency.

The latest victim was a five-month-old baby, who reportedly fell into the water early on Wednesday as part of a group being brought to shore.

‘Critical situation’

For years, Lampedusa has struggled to cope with the numbers arriving, with humanitarian organisations reporting a lack of
water, food and medical care.

The Italian Red Cross took over in June promising to offer a more “dignified” welcome, but admitted this week it was having difficulty with the surge in arrivals.

It reported more than 7,000 people at the hotspot on Wednesday evening, a figure that resulted in “management problems, even if caused by a small number of people”.

Migrants, Lampedusa

An empty migrant camp on the Italian island of Lampedusa on Wednesday, September 13th. Photo by Alessandro Serranò / AFP

Some 5,000 people were due to be transferred by the end of Thursday to Sicily, where there are larger processing facilities.

“The situation is certainly complex and, gradually, we are trying to return to normality,” Francesca Basile, head of migration for the Italian Red Cross, said on Thursday morning.

She said that “despite the critical situation, we still tried to distribute cots to people to prevent them sleeping out in the open”.

“We provided everyone with food and distributed dinner last night and today too everyone will receive what they need.”

Italy’s hard-right government allocated 45 million euros to Lampedusa earlier this month to help the island better manage the migrant situation.

But Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, elected one year ago on a pledge to end mass migration, is calling for help from the EU.

Almost 124,000 migrants have arrived on Italy’s shores so far this year, up from 65,500 in the same period last year.

The numbers have yet to pass those of 2016, however, when more than 181,000 arrived during a surge in irregular migration into Europe, many of them Syrians escaping war.

Member comments

  1. Poor Lampadusa, These boats bringing these people to Italy should be stopped immediately.
    What the hell is Meloni doing?

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MIGRANT CRISIS

Italy migrant shipwreck toll at 34 as more bodies found

Italy's coastguard said Friday it had found another 14 bodies after a migrant shipwreck off the southern coast earlier this week, taking the confirmed death toll to 34.

Italy migrant shipwreck toll at 34 as more bodies found

More than 60 people had been reported missing after the sailing boat sank off the coast of Calabria overnight Sunday-Monday, with 11 people rescued.

“Today 14 bodies were recovered.. a total of 34 bodies have been recovered,” the coastguard said in a statement.

It said air and sea searches continued for the missing.

The coastguard had on Thursday reported another 12 bodies had been found, including women and children.

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said earlier this week that survivors had reported 66 people missing, including at least 26 children.

They had set off from Turkey and sank around 120 nautical miles off the coast of Calabria. Afghan families were among the missing, MSF said.

Ten bodies were found in a separate shipwrecked migrant boat on Monday off the Italian island of Lampedusa, according to German aid group ResQship.

Some 3,155 migrants died or disappeared in the Mediterranean last year, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration.

More than 1,000 have died or are missing so far this year.

The Central Mediterranean — the area between North Africa and Italy and Malta — is the deadliest known migration route in the world, accounting for 80 percent of the deaths and disappearances in the Mediterranean.

Many migrants set off by boat from Tunisia or Libya, with Italy often their first port of call.

Arrivals have dropped considerably this year, with almost 24,500 people landing in Italy so far, compared to more than 58,600 in the same period in 2023, according to the interior ministry.

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