LAMPEDUSA, Italy
As thousands of migrants, who braved the dangerous Mediterranean crossing to reach Europe’s shores, flow in and out of the tiny reception center on the southern Island of Lampedusa, aid workers are there to provide them with a bed, some food and psychological support.
The small “hotspot,” as it is known on the island, was built to host a maximum of 400 people, but at the peak of the ongoing emergency in mid-September, it was housing up to 7,000 people.
That is when the Red Cross, which has been handling the Lampedusa center since last June, multiplied its efforts to provide immediate solutions and ensure a dignified welcome to the men, women and children who arrive each week from North Africa with hopes for a better life in Europe.
More than 6,000 people, including a large number of minors and pregnant women, arrived in Lampedusa within 24 hours on Sept. 12, doubling the population of the small Italian island.
For decades, Lampedusa has been the frontline of the Mediterranean migration crisis, being the first port of entry for the string of small boats that leave North African coasts to reach European shores.
The overcrowding of the Lampedusa center has sparked tensions and despair in Italy and Europe.
In a joint statement in mid-September, more than 80 international NGOs wrote: “The hotspot, a triage center where those who just arrived are kept away from the local population and pre-identified before being transferred to the mainland, with its 389 places, has no capacity whatsoever to welcome with dignity the people arriving on the island on a daily basis.”
The Red Cross staff managed the emergency by doubling its efforts with an increased number of operators, offering sanitary and psychological support to migrants who suffered both physical and mental distress during their perilous trips.
‘Human contact’
“Our experience enables us to react rapidly to emergencies, counting on operators who come from all over Italy. Our goal is always to ensure human contact, which is key for people who are propelled into an unknown environment after a risky journey,” Francesca Basile, head of the Italian Red Cross’ Migration Department, told Anadolu.
Another critical service Red Cross operators are providing is part of its Restoring Family Links (RFL) program, which aims to help migrants who lose contact with their families.
Basile stressed that a particularly complex issue has been providing adequate assistance to unaccompanied minors, whose number has reached around 300 during the latest emergency.
“The real challenge is finding a good place for their reception,” Basile said, adding that minors also need some spaces for recreation activities.
On Sept. 24, there were just 152 migrants and refugees in the Lampedusa center, following a temporary halt in arrivals due to rough seas. Of the group still hosted on Lampedusa after several transfers off the island, 128 were reportedly unaccompanied migrants.
‘Act of war’
According to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), the Central Mediterranean route accounted for half of the 232,350 “irregular border crossings” to the EU in the first eight months of 2023.
The main departure points are Tunisia and Libya and the main point of entry is Italy, specifically Lampedusa.
As of mid-September, more than 2,000 people had died or gone missing on the route in 2023 alone, international organizations say.
Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the situation in Lampedusa “unsustainable” and her deputy, Matteo Salvini, a champion of anti-migrant policies, took it a step further, labelling the massive arrivals an “act of war.”
The government, which won elections last September on promises to stop migrants, responded by increasing the length of the time limit of detention from the current three months to 18, and approving new centers to detain people coming without a visa.
The Italian premier has warned that arrivals are a threat to the “future of Europe” and emphasized the need for EU support.
Meloni has also introduced controversial measures targeting civilian rescue, floating ideas of an EU-led naval blockade to prevent departures from Tunisia, although such an initiative would be limited in its reach by international laws.
