New wave of panic in Lampedusa. According to the words of the head of migration of the Italian Red Cross, Francesca Basile, collected by several Italian media, “around 6,000 people” arrived on the evening of Wednesday September 13 on this island close to Libya and Tunisia. , known to be one of the crossing points for migrants. Frightening figures which increase tensions tenfold, while Germany announced, the same day, to suspend “until further notice” the voluntary reception of asylum seekers from Italy provided for by the European agreements, in due to “strong migratory pressure” and Rome’s refusal to apply these same agreements.
“We are concerned by the refusal of countries like France and Germany to accept migrant quotas. Europe cannot abandon us to our destiny,” pleaded the island’s mayor Filippo Mannino from the Italian media Corriere della Sera on Wednesday. Around 120 boats would have arrived in Lampedusa in less than 24 hours with, on board, according to the Italian press agency Ansa6,762 refugees, more than the entire population of the island combined… After a charge by the Guardia Finança (Italian Finance Police) into the crowd of thousands of migrants who were asking to leave the dock, the mayor declared “emergency state”.
According to him, a 5-month-old child died in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday while her family was trying to reach the island. Far from being the only one, 289 children had already died in the first part of the year trying to cross the Mediterranean, while more than 2,000 people in total have lost their lives on this migratory route since January.
Shipwrecks off the coast of Tunisia in 2023.
© / AFP
On Wednesday, the helpline for migrants at sea in Lampedusa received according to the media Corriere della Sera a distress call concerning 47 people on a boat off the island. Risks of a shortage of drinking water are also feared by the Red Cross on this island with very limited reserves, while thousands of people wait under the beating sun. “The island already has significant infrastructural deficiencies, if we add to this an increasing daily impact, we risk imploding,” he added.
Berlin and Rome clash over migration policies
Despite this situation, Berlin justified its decision by “the current strong migratory pressure towards Germany”, as well as by the “persistent suspension” of the reception of people in a “dublinage” situation. According to this very controversial European regulation, it is the country of arrival of a migrant in Europe – very often Italy or Greece – which must process their asylum application. In December 2022, the Italian government of Giorgia Meloni announced that it would no longer take back asylum seekers who want to transfer it from other countries, since Italy no longer has sufficient reception capacity. A refusal which “reinforces the major challenges for Germany in terms of reception and accommodation capacities”, denounces Berlin today.
According to the German Interior Ministry, “out of more than 12,400 requests for support made to Italy this year until the end of August, ten transfers have been carried out so far.” Giorgia Meloni, whose far-right “Fratelli d’Italia” party won the legislative elections a year ago on the promise of putting an end to mass immigration, assured Wednesday that she was not surprised by the decision of Berlin.
124,000 migrations to Italy in 2023
Under the voluntary relocation mechanism, Germany has so far agreed to the transfer of 1,700 asylum seekers who arrived in southern Europe, out of the 3,500 people it has committed to welcoming . The number of these people arriving via the Mediterranean route on Italian territory has jumped this year to almost 124,000 since January, compared to 65,500 during the same period in 2022, according to government data. The subject is also becoming very sensitive, against a backdrop of the rise of the far right in the polls and the increase in illegal immigration for several months.
From Wednesday, transfers from Lampedusa to the mainland town of Porto Empedocle were organized in an attempt to relieve pressure on the island. 720 people left the island by Ferry, while a flight of 180 people was chartered by the World Organization for Migration (IOM).
A departure of 750 additional people should take place this Thursday. Francesca Basile, head of migration at the Red Cross, called for “prioritizing children and minors who arrive. The transfer system is crucial” to ensure the survival of all, she insisted.