“Hotel Acos”, a report from the CAS in Marsala

The protests on Monday, 18th August at the CAS (extraordinary refugee transition centre) Hotel Acos in Marsala have attracted the attention of journalists, the UNHCR, the IOM (International Organisation for Migration) and the NGO Borderline Sicily. Rather than clarifying the situation, the visit on the 21st of this month raised new questions. Almost from the moment I arrived in the parking lot, the young men are extremely eager to direct their complaints also to people who have nothing to do with the facility. Contrary to what usually is being told, the bureaucratic time frame is not the most urgent problem this time. The living conditions are perceived as the greatest injustice. The immigrants are willing to wait but not at the Hotel Acos. The protest on the 18th actually consisted of demanding relocation for which the migrants had turned to the local police.