After the rescue ship “Geo Barents” landed in Sicily, women and children left the ship. The ship carrying 572 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean was allowed to dock in Catania on Sunday after days of waiting, where Italian authorities assessed the situation on board. According to media reports, initially women – including three pregnant women – and 50 unaccompanied minors and 10 other minors were allowed to land with families.
By Sunday, authorities had already evacuated 144 of the 179 migrants who landed in Catania on Saturday night. After inspection by the Italian authorities, all rescued people, with the exception of 35 men, were allowed to land, the German aid organization SOS Humanity reports on Twitter. The captain of Humanity 1, Joachim Ebeling, refused to leave Catania with the 35 refugees on board, as requested by the Italian government.
“Against the Law”
“We have to find a solution here. It would be against the law to take the survivors away, my lawyer told me. It’s hard to explain to them what’s going on and I can’t understand it myself because it’s against the law,” the captain said.
Meanwhile, two more rescue ships are waiting to land: the German rescue ship “Rise Above” with 90 people on board and the Norwegian “Ocean Viking” with 234 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean. They are both not far from Sicily. You have not yet received a landing permit.
Italy wants to make flag states responsible
The action of the new Italian government of Giorgia Meloni, which no longer wants to accept the migrants rescued from the Mediterranean and sees the flag states of the ships an obligation, has been met with sharp criticism. “A selective disembarkation is currently taking place in the port of Catania. Castaways, already exhausted by cold, fatigue, trauma and torture, are considered objects by the will of the government of Giorgia Meloni. Unfortunately!” wrote Aboubakar Soumahoro, MP for the Greens and Italian Left, who was in the port of Catania, on Twitter. About 30 activists, including some left-wing parliamentarians, demanded that all rescued migrants be disembarked at the quay.
The Pope also commented on the topic of migration on the flight home from his trip to Bahrain on Sunday. “Life must be saved, the Mediterranean is a graveyard, perhaps the largest graveyard,” the pope lamented, according to media outlets. “The Italian government cannot do anything without an agreement with Europe, the responsibility lies with the EU. Every government of the European Union must agree on the number of migrants it can take in,” Francis said. He called on the EU not to hold Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Spain solely responsible for all migrants crossing the Mediterranean. to sail.
Praise for asylum course from Hungary
The Meloni government has been praised by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for its tough immigration policy. “Finally! We are deeply indebted to Giorgia Meloni and to the new Italian government for protecting Europe’s borders,” Orban said. The tweet ends with the hashtag #ThankYouGiorgia.
The Italian government, meanwhile, is in talks with France, which has indicated that it is prepared to take in some refugees. France will adopt the procedure for receiving migrants who have landed in Italy at a meeting of the Interior Ministry on Tuesday. Sources at the French ministry confirmed the willingness expressed by Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin last Friday to “take in some of the migrants, women and children so that Italy does not have to bear the burden of this arrival alone”. According to the same source, after a visit by French immigration officials to Italy, talks will begin with the migrants to be admitted, Italy’s ANSA news agency reported.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
