How many more lives will be lost before ‘Fortress Europe’ acts to help Italy with the flow of immigrants?
The Italian island of Lampedusa is the gateway to Europe. This little landmass in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea is, at 79 miles from Sicily, closer to Africa than Italy.
In recent years, the island has become a harbour for African immigrants who flee their home countries to find a better life in Europe. Lampedusa is the first port of entry, the first place where migrants stop with the intention of reaching Sicily and eventually the Italian mainland. Ships full of people face dreadful weather conditions, sea storms, cold and rainy conditions, trips paid for with all their savings.
Last October 3, the issue of Lampedusa was brought into sharp focus around the world when a migrant boat caught fire before sinking.
The disaster, which caused the deaths of 366 people near the island of Conigli, happened when immigrants on the ship set fire to a blanket to draw attention to the fact that they needed assistance due to a stalled engine. It was to have disastrous consequences. When the flames started to take hold of the boat, people dived into the sea; many of them were not able to swim and as a result drowned.
Tragedy
This dramatic event is the most horrific incident in the Mediterranean, worse than the infamous Capo Passero tragedy in December 1996 when 283 people lost their lives. As if to emphasise that the October 3 tragedy was not an isolated incident, just three days earlier another tragedy occurred when 13 people lost their lives near Ragusa after jumping into the sea in a desperate bid to try and reach the shore. The people traffickers had reportedly forced the ill-fated immigrants to jump in.
Insufficient
“The sea was full of dead people,” was how Mayor of Lampedusa Giusi Nicolini described the scene. “It is an incredible disaster, it is not possible to accept this. What can we do?” she said expressing her obvious frustration at insufficient support she believed the island was receiving from the authorities on the Italian mainland.
In Italy, a period of national mourning was announced to mark the tragedy. But the events have also brought the question of immigration back to the political centre-stage. The government of Prime Minister Enrico Letta has pleaded with the European Union (EU) to draw attention to the issue which has been a huge problem involving Sicily since the end of the Second World War.
Shameful
Pope Francis’ reaction to events in Lampedusa was swift. He described it as “shameful”. Only a few months earlier during the summer months, the Argentine Pontiff visited the island and placed a garland of flowers in the sea to remember all the people who had lost their lives in that watery graveyard.
Prime Minister Letta and Interior Minister Angelino Alfano have insisted that the issue must be seen as a problem to be faced by Europe in a collective way rather than being seen exclusively as an Italian problem. European Commission President José Manuel Barroso visited the island along with Letta and Alfano on October 7 to assess the situation. He was left in no doubt about the angry reaction of the local residents. Protesters were furious insisting that the island had been abandoned to deal with a massive wave of immigration and the inevitable tragedies when so many people come on such unsuitably overloaded vessels.
Overcrowded
“No one cares about our situation,” is one of the most common reactions from local residents. Homeless shelters are always overcrowded, inadequately staffed and poor hygiene conditions. But, islanders have shown themselves to be generous providing clothes, food and blankets, particularly during the cold winter months.
The Sicilian city of Agrigento was the scene of an eerie mass funeral for all the victims. The ceremony was held in a strange atmosphere since none of the remains of the victims were present. The paradoxical situation of a funeral without the bodies of the dead who had already been buried in many different cemeteries around Sicily.
Given the controversy, another important issue has arisen: that of the ‘Bossi-Fini law’ which was introduced in 2002 by Gianfranco Fini and Umberto Bossi. The law regulates the flow of immigrants, migration policy and job opportunities for non-EU citizens. Under the rules, only those who have a regular employment contract can come to Italy and can receive a resident permit for just two years.
The law introduced criminal sanctions for persons caught illegally entering the country or who return after being expelled. An immigrant who is stopped without a residence permit will be accompanied to the border and expelled immediately.
Detention
Immigrants are also subject to arrest and detention of six to 12 months, to be followed by immediate deportation, if caught attempting to re-enter Italy before the expiry of a re-entry ban. A second offence is punishable by up to four years imprisonment.
Also under the law, the time limit for incarceration in detention centres whilst waiting for extradition has been extended from 30 days to 60 days and asylum seekers are now placed in detention while awaiting asylum review.
Another controversial point is the fact that the Bossi-Fini law insists that the authorities must make every effort to turn away boats thought to contain immigrants. The rule determines that the ships cannot dock at Italian ports and that identification and assistances should happen at sea.
This is a seen as a fundamental problem because is the reason why so many people leave the boat and decide to swim for the shore, one of the biggest causes of loss of life.
This point is also particularly controversial at European level since the boats may well contain asylum seekers seeking protection rather than just economic migrants. Critics say that this provision contravenes Article 18 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The charter holds that European countries cannot reject refugees whose lives may be under threat in their home countries.
Cooperation
For Italians, the situation is likely to become more problematic. Italy feels isolated, left by the EU and other European countries to manage the endless flow of immigrants. But time is running out as more and more people risk their lives in the hope of a better life in Europe. A solution needs to be found and it will require strong cooperation and political will in both Rome and Brussels. In the last 19 years for ‘Fortress Europe’ in the Strait of Sicily alone over 6,200 people have lost their lives. 2011 was the worst year when 1,800 would-be migrants were lost, 190 each month, five people each and every day.
How long can we wait? It’s time for concrete and immediate solutions if other tragedies are to be avoided.
