By AFP
LAMPEDUSA: Thousands of migrants began departing the Italian island of Lampedusa Friday for Sicily, alleviating strain on the hotspot where record recent arrivals equalled the tiny island’s population.
Men, women and children lined up in the sun to take buses and vans to the island’s port, where some were later seen preparing to board ships to Sicily, where they would be transferred to migrant processing centres.
Lampedusa struggled earlier in the week to cope with a surge of migrants whose numbers peaked at 7,000 people late Wednesday — the island’s local population.
The Italian Red Cross, which has operated Lampedusa’s so-called migrant “hotspot” since June, said Friday morning that 700 transfers had already taken place and another 2,500 people were expected to depart the island in the course of the day.
“They continue to arrive, but we are managing them,” said Francesca Basile, the organisation’s head of migration.
Charity workers and police officers were seen handing out bottles of water and food to migrants waiting for transfer.
Good weather has seen a surge in arrivals across Italy in recent days, with more than 2,000 people arriving Monday, 5,000 people Tuesday, and nearly 3,000 Wednesday, according to the interior ministry.
For many migrants, the first landing is on Lampedusa, located just 90 miles (around 145 kilometres) off the eastern coast of Tunisia.
The surge in arrivals meant that many migrants did not even make it inside the crowded reception centre, built for fewer than 400 people, and were forced to sleep outside on makeshift cots or blankets, while police intervened after scuffles erupted during the distribution of food.
A young African man from Gambia, who gave his name as Omar, was sitting in the shade as he awaited a bus Friday.
“Here is not easy,” he told reporters.
“We are so many many here… even to eat food is a problem, there are so many people when they start to give us food, there are always people, it’s a problem,” said the man, who said he was hoping to reach his brother in the Netherlands.
“Always fighting, fighting.”
Omar said he had been travelling for six months before reaching Lampedusa.
“It’s not easy,” he said, opening a crumpled plastic bag that held a small piece of paper with his family’s phone number written on it.
Dancing with locals
Nearby, the Red Cross began dismantling the empty cots outside the centre. One migrant giving a hand, a towel wrapped around his head to protect him from the heat, said he was also from Gambia and dreamed of being an electrician.
“I want to go to Italy to start working,” the man said. “Try to move away, to find a job, work, so we can feed our family.”
Young male migrants ventured into the historic town centre of Lampedusa in recent days, where on Thursday night some danced to outdoor music along with locals and tourists in a square.
An AFP photographer found some migrants queueing for ice cream Wednesday evening, with the establishments, locals or tourists picking up the tab.
Although most of the migrants arriving on Lampedusa are picked up at sea by the coastguard from rickety boats, many do not survive the journey.
More than 2,000 people have died this year crossing between North Africa, Italy and Malta, according to the UN migration agency.
‘Act of war’
Lampedusa’s migrant centre has struggled for years to cope with the arrivals, with humanitarian organisations reporting a lack of water, food and medical care.
Italy’s hard-right government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni allocated 45 million euros ($48 million) to Lampedusa earlier this month to help manage the migrant situation.
Her government vowed when it took office last October to stop mass migration.
Meloni’s deputy, Matteo Salvini of the anti-immigration League party, called the arrivals an “act of war” against Italy on Thursday.
On Friday, Salvini was in a Palermo courtroom where he is on trial for allegedly abusing his powers as the then-interior minister in 2019 when he prevented migrants rescued in the Mediterranean from disembarking from a charity ship.
“The only one to stop the illegals, hands off Salvini,” read a banner outside the courtroom.
Almost 126,000 migrants have arrived on Italy’s shores so far this year, up from more than 66,000 in the same period last year.
The numbers are still well below those of 2016 when more than 181,000 migrants arrived.
LAMPEDUSA: Thousands of migrants began departing the Italian island of Lampedusa Friday for Sicily, alleviating strain on the hotspot where record recent arrivals equalled the tiny island’s population.
Men, women and children lined up in the sun to take buses and vans to the island’s port, where some were later seen preparing to board ships to Sicily, where they would be transferred to migrant processing centres.
Lampedusa struggled earlier in the week to cope with a surge of migrants whose numbers peaked at 7,000 people late Wednesday — the island’s local population.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
The Italian Red Cross, which has operated Lampedusa’s so-called migrant “hotspot” since June, said Friday morning that 700 transfers had already taken place and another 2,500 people were expected to depart the island in the course of the day.
“They continue to arrive, but we are managing them,” said Francesca Basile, the organisation’s head of migration.
Charity workers and police officers were seen handing out bottles of water and food to migrants waiting for transfer.
Good weather has seen a surge in arrivals across Italy in recent days, with more than 2,000 people arriving Monday, 5,000 people Tuesday, and nearly 3,000 Wednesday, according to the interior ministry.
For many migrants, the first landing is on Lampedusa, located just 90 miles (around 145 kilometres) off the eastern coast of Tunisia.
The surge in arrivals meant that many migrants did not even make it inside the crowded reception centre, built for fewer than 400 people, and were forced to sleep outside on makeshift cots or blankets, while police intervened after scuffles erupted during the distribution of food.
A young African man from Gambia, who gave his name as Omar, was sitting in the shade as he awaited a bus Friday.
“Here is not easy,” he told reporters.
“We are so many many here… even to eat food is a problem, there are so many people when they start to give us food, there are always people, it’s a problem,” said the man, who said he was hoping to reach his brother in the Netherlands.
“Always fighting, fighting.”
Omar said he had been travelling for six months before reaching Lampedusa.
“It’s not easy,” he said, opening a crumpled plastic bag that held a small piece of paper with his family’s phone number written on it.
Dancing with locals
Nearby, the Red Cross began dismantling the empty cots outside the centre. One migrant giving a hand, a towel wrapped around his head to protect him from the heat, said he was also from Gambia and dreamed of being an electrician.
“I want to go to Italy to start working,” the man said. “Try to move away, to find a job, work, so we can feed our family.”
Young male migrants ventured into the historic town centre of Lampedusa in recent days, where on Thursday night some danced to outdoor music along with locals and tourists in a square.
An AFP photographer found some migrants queueing for ice cream Wednesday evening, with the establishments, locals or tourists picking up the tab.
Although most of the migrants arriving on Lampedusa are picked up at sea by the coastguard from rickety boats, many do not survive the journey.
More than 2,000 people have died this year crossing between North Africa, Italy and Malta, according to the UN migration agency.
‘Act of war’
Lampedusa’s migrant centre has struggled for years to cope with the arrivals, with humanitarian organisations reporting a lack of water, food and medical care.
Italy’s hard-right government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni allocated 45 million euros ($48 million) to Lampedusa earlier this month to help manage the migrant situation.
Her government vowed when it took office last October to stop mass migration.
Meloni’s deputy, Matteo Salvini of the anti-immigration League party, called the arrivals an “act of war” against Italy on Thursday.
On Friday, Salvini was in a Palermo courtroom where he is on trial for allegedly abusing his powers as the then-interior minister in 2019 when he prevented migrants rescued in the Mediterranean from disembarking from a charity ship.
“The only one to stop the illegals, hands off Salvini,” read a banner outside the courtroom.
Almost 126,000 migrants have arrived on Italy’s shores so far this year, up from more than 66,000 in the same period last year.
The numbers are still well below those of 2016 when more than 181,000 migrants arrived.
