New Landing Procedures or Simply Chaos? The Example of a “Delayed Landing” at Messina

“In aleis strenua – in pugna invicta”: “Resolute in venture, invincible in battle.” This is the motto of the Italian navy's imposing vessel the Virginio Fasan (F591), the unusually long stop-over of which at the port of Messina drew the curiosity of passers-by. It raised doubts and some confusion among the local activists, readily expressed in the press release from the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) of Messina, who in the end “allowed” us to arrive in time to help with the last day of what had become one of the longest and most exhausting landing operations in recent history. The last group of migrants, around 150 of the total 1,159, were allowed to leave the ship by 9pm on Thursday 1st September, that is, 48 hours after the disembarking began in the late afternoon of August 30th.

Child migrants in Sicily must overcome one last obstacle – the mafia

From The Guardian

Many refugee children have disappeared from the island amid allegations of people-smuggling by organised gangs

The diminutive figures were lined up outside Catania’s central station. There were seven in all, aged between 15 and 17. They had recently escaped from the massive government-run migrant reception centres inland or further along the Sicilian coast. Now they were alone, waiting for the city’s matrix of organised criminals to take them north.

                                          Via Garibaldi in Catania, Sicily - Ph. Alamy

Migrants, the two faces of Lampedusa’s hotspot. Grasso: «Model». Activists: «Urine on the ceiling»

by MeridioNews

Today, the president of the senate visited the identification centre of the island. «To be overtaken as an absolute valid example of reception and solidarity», he stated. Contrary to this, the Askavusa collective published pictures of infiltration and urine bottles, filthy mattresses and dilapidated electrical systems.