Italy has declared a six-month state of emergency to deal with a surge in migrants arriving on its southern coast, the Associated Press reported on the 11th (local time).
Local state television reported that a special commissioner is expected to be appointed. As part of a measure approved by Prime Minister Giorza Meloni and the Cabinet, an initial funding of €5 million has also been approved.
The Italian government said in a statement after the ministerial meeting that a state of emergency had arisen at a migrant shelter on a small Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea and that it “deems it necessary to implement urgent emergency measures to reduce congestion”.
It also calls for new structures suitable for accommodating migrants, as well as for the processing and repatriation of migrants who do not have the right to stay in Italy, the government said in a statement.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy’s coalition government declared a state of emergency and allowed the cabinet to dictate many countermeasures by decree. This temporarily bypassed the normally lengthy parliamentary process to vote on funding and regulation.
Italy’s state-run ANSA news agency quoted Civil Protection and Maritime Policy Minister Nello Musmechi as saying, “To be clear, this does not solve problems tied to prudent and responsible intervention by the European Union.”
Meloni’s government, like several others before it, has called for more solidarity from EU countries, but it has often refused to accept promises of accepting some of the asylum seekers hoping to find relatives or work in Northern Europe.
About 31,000 migrants who arrived in Italy unaided or rescued by Italian warships or other ships have landed since the beginning of this year, according to figures from the Italian Interior Ministry. This is almost four times the number of about 8,000 in the same period over the past two years.
The arrival of migrants on ships launched by smugglers off the coast of northern Africa is likely to surge. In the early morning of the 12th, a crowded smuggling ship with about 700 people is expected to enter the port of Catania, a major city in eastern Sicily.
In one recent day alone, 26 migrant boats reached Lampedusa, a small Italian island south of Sicily, without needing rescue. Lampedusa’s facilities, which host migrants for temporary identification as the first step toward seeking asylum, are reeling from the relentless wave of refugee arrivals. The shelter is supposed to accommodate between 350 and 400 people, but recently 3,000 were staying. Italy chartered empty commercial passenger ships and transported hundreds of them to Sicily or the mainland.
As of Tuesday, about 1,600 migrants were staying at the Lampedusa migrant camp, and authorities are hoping the weather will improve so that about 400 people can be removed from the island by evening. An official from a local migrant center told SkyTG24 TV in Italy, “There are many women with small children, and there are also unaccompanied minors. We are in an emergency situation.” “Employees are trying to do what they can,” he added.
The largest number of migrants so far this year has come from Côte d’Ivoire, according to figures from the Italian Interior Ministry, with migrants coming from Guinea, Pakistan, Egypt, Tunisia and Bangladesh.
For years, most of the smugglers’ ships sailing the treacherous Mediterranean route departed from western Libya. But in recent months, many voyages have started from eastern Libya or Tunisia. Another route starts in Turkiye and aims to reach Calabria or Puglia, on the southern tip of mainland Italy, the Associated Press reported.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.