The city council has declared a “state of emergency” and the mayor, Filippo Mannino, has declared the evacuation of all migrants as a “priority”, a preliminary step towards what should be “structural solutions”.
The Italian island of Lampedusa recorded no arrivals of any boat carrying migrants in the early hours of Thursday, an apparent ceasefire after more than more than 7,000 people arrived on the previous two days to this small enclave of the Mediterranean.
On Tuesday alone there were more than 5,000 arrivals and on Wednesday evening about 7,000 migrants poured into the reception center, saturated by this wave. This figure had already fallen to below 4,500 on Thursday morning after a series of transfers.
The city council has stated that “state of emergency“And the mayor, Filippo Mannino, has declared the evacuation of all migrants a “priority”, a preliminary step towards what should be “structural solutions”. “We don’t have the structures and logistics to deal with all this,” Mannino said. , reports the RAI network.
More than 120,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in Italy so far this year, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that this is more than 2000 people lost their lives along the wayincluding a five-month-old baby who drowned during a rescue operation on Wednesday.
For Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salviniwhat is happening in Lampedusa is ‘the symbol of a Europe that is not there’. The far-right politician has increased the tone and terms in several interviews to refer to this crisis: “If 120 ships disembark within a few hours, it is not a spontaneous episode, but an act of war.”
Giorgia Meloni’s administration has called for a stricter policy and for limiting the work of NGOs carrying out rescue operations in the Mediterranean.
Source: EITB
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.
