Long lines of African men walk with decisive steps into the center of Lampedusa. Anyone who has money goes to the supermarket to look for something to eat. After all, it is far too busy in the Contrada Imbriacola hotspot in Lampedusa, which is run by the Red Cross. “We have enough food and water for everyone,” says Francesca Basile, the visibly tired coordinator of the Italian Red Cross, “but there are so many of them. This makes it not possible to feed everyone at the same time, due to public order. But tonight we are making chicken and pasta for our guests – a few thousand people.”
It is a logistical feat. Thousands of boat refugees have arrived at the hotspot of the small Italian island of Lampedusa, off the coast of Africa, with only room for 400 people, in recent days. It was especially busy here on Wednesday, with almost seven thousand migrants in and around the center – more than the six thousand inhabitants of the small island.
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By Thursday evening, that number had been reduced to ‘only’ 3,800. “Migrants are transferred to hotspots or reception centers in Sicily or in Italy itself,” says Basile. “As long as the machine keeps running like this, we can handle this.” The migrants are brought in and taken out by buses. But such a transfer of a few hundred men only temporarily relieves the pressure. Because the next boat is coming.
A few days of nice weather
Human smugglers and migrants keep a close eye on the weather forecast. A few days of good weather and calm seas were enough to send dozens of boats towards Lampedusa. The vast majority crossed from Tunisia by boat. There are many young men from Cameroon, Senegal, Gambia and Guinea. Women with children are resting on blue camp beds with the logo of the Italian Ministry of the Interior, which are normally used after disasters.
As long as the machine continues to run like this, we will handle this
Francesca Basile Italian Red Cross
Considering the circumstances, most boat people are doing well physically. But an underage mother from Guinea needs psychological assistance after her five-month-old baby drowned just before the rescue operation. And for some, impatience is growing. “I’ve been here for three days,” said Aboubakar Ba (17), a boy from Guinea who is sweeping up the trash around the center. “I want to get out of here as quickly as possible.”
Photos Yara Nardi/Reuters, Alessandro Serranò/AFP, Valeria Ferraro/AP
Everyone, the aid workers and the migrants, is running out of steam. The mayor of Lampedusa, Filippo Mannino, has declared a state of emergency.
Deal with Tunisia
The influx of thousands of migrants illustrates that the deal with Tunisia is failing. The European money promised to Tunisian President Kais Saied has not yet been paid, and people smugglers from Tunisia are releasing their boats on Lampedusa.
Since July 16, 31,000 boat people have arrived from Tunisia, 60 percent more than the 19,000 who arrived during the two months before the agreement was signed.
The arrivals in Lampedusa are the symbol of an absent Europe, which is distant and distracted, and which leaves the countries to deal with their own problems
Matteo Salvini Deputy Prime Minister Italy
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, a hardliner on migration, called the numerous arrivals an “act of war” at a meeting with foreign journalists. “The arrivals in Lampedusa are the symbol of an absent Europe, which is distant, distracted, and which allows the countries themselves to deal with their problems,” Salvini said. He even added that this appears to be orchestrated “by those who want to cause trouble for an inconvenient government.”
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Italy is angry, and also feels increasingly isolated. France closes the border, while Germany no longer wants to take over migrants from Italy. In the eyes of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, very few migrants have been redistributed in recent months, and the question now is how to prevent the boats from arriving in Italy. “I don’t see any concrete answers yet,” said Meloni.
António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, sees the solution to the migration issue only at the international level. Other countries must help Italy with the initial reception, he says. Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, also sees the solution “only at European level. The European migration pact must be created.” Ten years ago, more than 360 boat people drowned off the coast of Lampedusa. “We have to recognize,” Metsola said, “that we still haven’t done enough since that tragedy.”
A version of this article also appeared in the September 15, 2023 newspaper.