Angry Italians protest migration in Lampedusa

On Sunday residents on the island of Lampedusa staged a protest against the arrival of five hundred migrants in a single boat, which has led to overcrowding in the local holding camp. In a bid to force the government to shut down the island, Mayor Salvatore Martello has called for a general strike

WORLD AUGUST 30. 2020 16:00

Salvatore Martello has announced that, after consulting the representatives of various professional groups, a general strike could start as early as Monday. „We will pull down the shutters, stop the island and close down its port. That s our way of trying to remind the prime minister that Lampedusa belongs to Italy,” said the island s mayor, who went on to describe PM Giuseppe Conte s „idle silence” as nothing short of frightening.

„The island is full, we have no more room. As the government has decided to turn Lampedusa into a migrant camp, we ll take to the streets and go on strike,” Martello said, noting that the situation affects not only Lampedusa but the whole of Italy.

The island of Lampedusa, boasting a population of merely 6,000 locals, currently holds around 1,800 migrants. As the island known as a migrant „hot spot” has become overwhelmed, some are now quartered in the buildings of the ecclesiastical institution of the House of Brotherhood. There are far more migrants now than four days ago, when the deportations began. Authorities have removed over 800 people from the Lampedusa camp and boarded them on two quarantine ships, but the island has seen a surge in the number of newcomers.

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The early hours on Sunday saw the arrival of 450 migrants on board a larger Tunisian fishing ship. Migrants used to arrive in smaller boats and so far this is the largest group this year, including women and children. They are Tunisian, Senegalese, and Bangladeshi nationals, according to reliable sources.

„Perhaps a small boat at sea can slip off the authorities radar, but if a ship of this size with so many people on board can arrive in Lampedusa, it means that the government in Rome has no control over the Mediterranean,” Salvatore Martello said. „What are the armed forces doing? Why don t they use navy vessels to monitor the sea and turn back illegal migrants?” the island s mayor asked.

He described the hotspot as congested beyond every human standard, adding that even though the camp is guarded by soldiers, many migrants have escaped, posing an increased epidemiological threat.

„Refugees must be helped, but there need to be rules when it comes to their reception, otherwise local residents will be in danger,” said Martello, a former left-wing politician, who now governs the island as an independent.

When the ship full of migrants arrived, a large crowd of protesters were waiting, flying banners that read: „Stop Migration”. Although the demonstrators tried to prevent the migrants from boarding buses to the camp, they were pushed back by police.

„No one comes here anymore, only over our dead bodies!” Angela Maraventano, former mayor and the local leader of the Lega party said. „Most of them are Tunisians and economic immigrants, and they need to be deported,” she added, demanding affirmative action from the interior minister.

Lega party President Matteo Salvini shared a video on his social media page, in which he expressed his solidarity with the people of Lampedusa.

Sicilian Governor Nello Musumeci, who also has authority over Lampedusa, described the island s situation as a „humanitarian emergency.” He urged Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to convene a government meeting immediately, along with the leaders of the islands of southern Italy.

„Sicily and Lampedusa cannot pay the price of Brussels indifference and Rome s silence. It is time for firm decisions to be made,” Musumeci said.

WORLD

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demonstration, illegal migration, italy, lampedusa, migration