Published: Just now
The Italian navy has begun moving the first 600 migrants from the island of Lampedusa after the refugee center became overcrowded. Pictures from the island show how people sleep on the floor, and how toilets are filled with empty bottles and rubbish.
“2,100 people have been packed in the reception center at Lampedusa, and there are beds for 200. These could be pictures from Libya, but no, it’s Italy,” Giusi Nicolini, former mayor of Lampedusa, wrote on Facebook.
The 600 migrants are moved to another refugee center in Sicily and from there on to different parts of the country.
The number of migrants who arrived in Lampedusa has increased this year, especially during the month of July. So far this year, 30,000 have arrived, compared with 22,700 in the corresponding period last year and 7,500 in 2020.
Lampedusa is closer to North Africa than the Italian mainland and is therefore often the first choice of human traffickers.
Parliamentarians on the far right blame the congestion on Lampedusa for a migration policy that is considered far too lax.
“Should this be the left’s humanitarian model? Saying no to illegal mass immigration also means saying no to this, “tweeted Georgia Meloni, leader of the brothers’ right-wing Italian brothers.