Aid workers on the Italian island of Lampedusa, one of Europe’s busiest landing sites for asylum seekers, are preparing for a busy summer of arrivals limping and deaths at sea. He criticized Rishi Sunak’s plans for Rwanda.
They are calling on European governments to open safer routes for people to apply for evacuation if they want to “stop their boats.”
The comments followed an air visit by Home Secretary James Cleverley to Lampedusa on Wednesday, when the prime minister’s Rwanda expulsion bill received royal assent.
An estimated 110,000 people arrived on the dusty, rocky island of about 6,000 people last year, killing 3,105 people across the Mediterranean.
At the main port, a flotilla of rescue boats run by charities and the Italian Coast Guard are preparing to cross the treacherous 118 miles from Tunisia again this summer. Life jackets for infants and body bags for drowning victims are counted and placed on deck.
Austin Cooper, 33, a mediator and care co-ordinator for rescue charity Sea Watch, which is preparing the vessel for the summer, questioned Mr Cleverley’s motives for the short visit. .
“It’s a strange place to come here to take pictures on the day Britain’s flagship policy is signed into law. Perhaps Cleverley wanted to go unnoticed – it wasn’t his initiative, and “He probably knows it’s bullshit. Of course, the Rwanda plan won’t affect what we do here. If anything, it’s galvanizing.” said.
Cooper, a British-born Irishman, said the number of arrivals from Tunisia had fallen this year, but the number of deaths had increased.
“There are so many factors involved in why and how people make difficult journeys at sea, and what prevents them from doing so,” he says. “The last few months have been challenging due to the wind and waves. It may be that they simply haven’t built enough boats to cross the river. Most of the boats we have found are not seaworthy. It is a miracle that people managed to reach Lampedusa safely.
“It is also possible that the EU’s policy of injecting money, boats and training into authoritarian governments across North Africa to disrupt migration routes and stop people from moving may actually be working.”
Another international NGO worker, who requested anonymity, said Mr Cleverley had misunderstood the relationship between the island and migrants.
“The history of Lampedusa is the history of immigration. We are immigrants and we welcome immigrants. We do not think it is right or fair to send them to Africa,” they said.
We wisely entered the island by helicopter and spent two and a half hours touring the police boat and the empty detention facility that housed the new arrivals.
His message was simple. Italy, like the UK, is a popular destination for migrants, and both governments have introduced innovative policies to deter migration.
Symbols of migration are scattered throughout the island. He deftly witnessed how the shattered remains of arriving immigrant ships were piled up in yards or left to rust in ports. Overlooking the island’s main marina, the mural titled “Rise Up Together” depicts two women embracing, a native of Lampedusa and a newly arrived migrant wearing a life jacket.
Lampedusa’s population surges in the summer as holidaymakers from mainland Italy and Sicily join those seeking to escape to Europe. But charity officials say the Italian government has stepped up security during the coronavirus crisis in an attempt to make migrants invisible, as the island gains increased attention as a point of entry for migrants. That’s what it means.
Emma Conti, a humanitarian worker with Mediterranean Hope, an aid group founded by Italy’s Protestant church, said migrants used to interact with locals.
“Islanders and immigrants used to mix. Now, one of the few places on Lampedusa where they meet is in the cemetery, where they bury their dead,” she said.
Conti said the treatment of migrants across Europe has become tougher, but the number of migrants continues to rise because there are not enough safe and legal routes to enter Europe.
“What we are seeing is the impact of migration policies. These are not only policies of the Italian government, but also of Europe as a whole. If you want to stop people arriving by boat, offer them other routes. Without that, they will continue to come and we will continue to see tragedies.”
She added: “Governments condemn deaths at sea but are not doing enough to prevent them.”
