Non the heart of the Mediterranean, Lampedusa represents the first port of call for thousands of people fleeing conflicts, persecution and poverty. According to UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) data, 2,510 people landed on the Italian coasts in February 2026, 72 percent more than the previous month. Of these, 64 arrived on the island. Behind the numbers there are stories, faces and suspended lives, but above all a network of humanitarian workers and volunteers who transform the emergency into hospitality every day. We wanted to meet some of them, on the occasion of World Refugee Day, 20 June, to understand how he works and how he manages to support the inevitable emotional load of this commitment.
In Lampedusa, among those who welcome migrants: the work of the operators amidst landings, traumas and hope
«The first contact is profoundly human: a handshake, a smile, a greeting in their language” says Federica Starinieri, a UNHCR worker who has lived on Lampedusa since 2023. Graduated in International Sciences and specialized in humanitarian action, she chose to move to the island after understanding how distant the external narrative was from everyday reality. «My first day at work» he remembers «there were more than 40 landings and I thought that Lampedusa was really crushed by the emergency. Then I discovered a well-organised system and above all a human dimension, also supported by the concrete and silent solidarity of the people of Lampedusa.”
Every day, without distinction between day and night, the UN agency’s team monitors the landings, welcoming vulnerable people. «We try to build a relationship of trust that allows them to feel safe and share their story and their own needs. We provide information on their rights, facilitate access to services and care” explains Starinieri.
Federica Starinieri, UNHCR operator (from behind), is on the front line on the Sicilian island (photo Alessandro Penso)
Daily contact with death
The ability to listen is fundamental: «We must know grasp fragilities that are often not expressed in words. Listening also means knowing how to respect silences, times and the way in which everyone chooses to talk about themselves” he specifies.
There are many lives that the operator keeps within herself. «Each boat carries stories of persecution and loss. We have a daily contact with death which inevitably marks us. Sometimes it means seeing body bags lined up on the pier, other times meeting survivors who have lost family members at sea. But we also see people who, despite everything, still manage to smile and imagine a future. This gives us the strength to continue” he says.
No one should feel alone, neither migrants nor workers
To help her emotionally, there are discussions with colleagues and the psychological support guaranteed by UNHCR, operating on the island for 20 years. Also important is the networking with other organisationseach according to its own mandate. Among these is the Italian Red Cross which, since 2023, has managed the reception center in Lampedusa. «In the most complex moments we have up to 150 operators on the island. Our priority is to make sure that no one feels alone, neither among the migrants, nor among the rescuers themselves” intervenes Francesca Basile, head of the Migration Unit of the Italian Red Cross, which coordinates a network made up of doctors, psychologists, cultural mediators, legal operators and volunteers.
The psychologists of Lampedusa for the mental health (also) of the rescuers
In addition to illustrating the various activities that see them on the front line during each landing – among which the Restoring Family Linksthe service through which they restore contacts between arrived migrants and their family members, especially for unaccompanied minors and women – Basile focuses on the psychological aspect. «In Lampedusa, psychologists – he highlights – are a central figure: they observe dynamics, silences, behaviors of people who sometimes don’t even know where they are. But they also deal with the mental health of operators who face their work with inevitable emotional pressure».
A Red Cross worker welcomes a child.
The rescuers, in fact, are followed by a constant system of psychological supervision. A psychologist, operating from the Rome office to maintain the necessary detachment from the daily dynamics of the island, supports them in dealing with critical issues. «The transition from rescuer to victim can be very quick. A lot of support is needed, especially during shipwrecks or when we assist those who have lost family members at sea” explains Basile.
Also comparison between colleagueswhich alternate in 8-hour day or night shifts to preserve psychophysical balance, represents a protection tool. «Every 15 days, we organize moments of sharing among all the organizations present in Lampedusa to discuss challenges, problems and good practices” he adds.
Sister Cristina and the other nuns of Lampedusa
They are also part of this network the nuns of the project “Bridging between Lampedusans and immigrants”, promoted by the International Union of Superiors General. Sister Ruffina is Indian, Sister Cristina comes from a mission in Brazil, while Sister Maria is Romanian. They belong to different religious congregations, but currently they all live in Lampedusa where, coordinated by Sister Antonietta, of Calabrian origins, they hold out their hand during the landings of migrants. «We responded to thehumanitarian appeal launched in 2015 by Pope Francis during his visit to the island. We didn’t know each other before arriving here: in Lampedusa we learned to live together by sharing everything” says Sister Antonietta.
Their cell phone is always active; through the Molo Group, a chat shared with volunteers and NGOs, the Coast Guard warns about 30 minutes before a landing. “Often they already tell us if there are children or critical situations, so we can prepare,” he specifies. When the message arrives, the nuns run towards the Favaloro pier. Their help is expressed in a smile or a simple hug that heartens women and children. «While the identification procedure is taking place, we care about giving humanity to cold people, often with their gaze lost in space” says the coordinating nun.
On the left, Sister Cristina (brown habit) and Sister Antonietta (African dress), with some sisters.
«We practice daily disobedience to desperation»
Sometimes a word in the native language is enough to break down the fear of those who risk becoming just a number. «We learn to stand by without asking questions” continues. The nuns also experience the emotional weight of what they see every day. «We help each other by talking to each other and through prayer shared with the people of Lampedusa, between pain and hope, life and death. There are terrible shipwrecks, but also children being born, young people who continue to look forward” he says.
They apply what Sister Cristina defines the “Civilization of love”: «A daily disobedience to desperation. It manifests itself in the caress given to those who have lost everything, in the hand that remains outstretched even when there is no solution, in a hot meal or in the warmth for feet swollen and burned by salt and fuel, which tell of wounded paths” he comments, sharing the mission of all those who, in a time marked by wars and suffering, spread humanity in Lampedusa.