Sicilia Informazioni.com - "Lampedusa once again finds itself in the throes of an Emergency: 900 people are crammed into a structure designed to accommodate 400 at the very maximum. Among them are 123 minors who arrived from Lybia aged between 12 and 17 years old and 17 young children who are accompanied, including 4 newborns."
Liviana Marelli, Director of Infancy, Adolescence and Family part of the National Coordination Reception Community (CNCA), summed it up when she spoke of, "indignation for an unacceptable situation: it is not tolerable that a civilised country is unable to build a stable and efficient system for foreigners arriving from African shores. The conditions which these human beings, especially the newborns, minors and women are forced to live in, once again, confirm that Lampedusa has been left alone to deal with a problem that concerns an entire country, if not continent. It is necessary to create a Reception system worthy of its title, which has adequate financing and does not plunge into chaos with the arrival of 100 young people."
Marelli has made an appeal in order that, "these minors be transferred to 'real' centres and not improvised, inadequate structures. They need to be placed throughout Italy in order to prevent the overcrowding of the system in the south, which is what is happening at the moment." Furthermore, she added that, "Now is the time that the Government needs to take a clear position on the financing of Reception projects for minors who have arrived during the 'North African Emergency'. We still do not know if these projects will continue to receive funding in 2013."
