After The Landing, Human Rights On Hold: The Case Of The Extraordinary Reception Centre at Rosolini

Mohamed and Ahmed (not their real names) arrived in Sicily on the first of July. The Swedish ship BKV 002 to which they were transferred while still at sea brought them into the port of Catania along with 650 other migrants and 9 bodies. “It was extraordinary to think that just one step more and we were in Europe” is the phrase they used on arrival. At least, it was in our first meeting.

Migrants at the port of Augusta (Province of Syracuse)

The Reception System in Agrigento, Trapani and Palermo: Between Disorganisation, Chaos and Abandonment

The deadly game does not stop. Europe has found a way out, and the only consequence will be the death of an entire society. The refrain we hear everyday is of an “invasion” and “help them in their own countries”. These phrases have contributed to the return of a regurgitated racism, spreading out across our cities in a series of episodes, from Aosta to Palermo, as seen by the latest protests in Castell'Umberto and Porto Empedocle.

Protest by shopkeepers in Porto Empedocle (Provincia of Agrigento) against the opening of a centre for minors

The Initial Reception Centre for Minors in Giarre: The Residents Speak Out

Giarre, a small town of around 27,000 people in the foothills of Etna, has been host to a range of centres for unaccompanied minors. We have previously reported and officially complained about the serious issues at these projects, which were consequentially closed by Social Services, only to be reopened by the same managing bodies elsewhere, in accordance with a logic of business and power which remains extremely difficult to extinguish. 

The initial reception centre for unaccompanied minors in Giarre, Province of Catania

Trapani: Landings, Monitoring, Encounters

The air was tense in Trapani last week, due to the landings and the overall situation in the province. We were there to visit two reception centres in Marsala: Borgo della Pace and the former welfare home Giovanni XXIII.

The Vos Prudence in port at Trapani

Out of Initial Reception, Into Mineo: What Future Awaits 18 Year Olds?

“Things are going better now, because they're going to transfer me soon.” 'A', originally from Ghana, turned 18 a few months ago. For the past year he has been living in one of the big centres of initial reception for unaccompanied foreign minors in the Province of Catania, though he asked us not to name it. We met each other here in June last year. He was very different from how he is now. It has been a year of pain, confusion, attempts at dialogue and small “victories”. One of these was signing up at school, something for which 'A' and a dozen other young men at the centre campaigned from the start. It was in fact at one of these 'protests' in the form of a letter sent to the centre's managers that we met him.

The CARA at Mineo

Serious Violations of Rights on Lampedusa

In these times, so arid from the standpoint of humanity, the question which we keep asking of ourselves is at what point can we push ourselves further. The direction is clear: walls, rejections, abandonment. Those paying the price of these inhumane political choices are migrants themselves, ending up as cannon fodder in Libya (a country which never signed the Geneva Convention), dying at sea, or being exploited and abandoned in Italy. Today the situation is worse still, after the migrant hunt has been officially opened, and the raids are already taking place in our cities.

Migrants landed at Porto Empedocles from Lampedusa. Ph: Alberto Todaro

Everyday, 28 Children Disappear from the Italian Reception System

By Oxfamitalia.org

The number of unaccompanied migrant and refugee children arriving in Europe this year has doubled. But this is taking place in the context of a reception system which is failing to provide them with the necessary support. Oxfam's new report released today, “Great Expectations Left to Drift”, exposes this situation.

It is enough to remember that every day, 28 unaccompanied children simply “disappear” due to an inadequate and malfunctioning system.

The Dead: The Sea Can't Take Them Any More

The sea now leaves many of the dead on the beaches of Libya, the very same from which so many depart in search of a new life, a life which has then been denied them, men and women of all ages. In the last week some have been recovered by humanitarian vessels such as Aquarius and Dignity managed by Médecins Sans Frontières. The most recent are the 22 bodies of young women which were disembarked last week at Trapani. Women and children are the first to die in the journey from Libya to Italy, due to their position within the vessels.

Hearing of Doctors For Human Rights at the parliamentary commission of inquiry concerning reception centres for migrants

Medu – The first months of 2015 have been characterized by the rekindling of the discussion on the immigration issue and the sustainability of the current reception system. Episodes of corruption, like those solved by Mafia Capitale, and the high number of migrants arriving via sea impose the constant monitoring of residing conditions as well as of the efficiency of the facilities that are currently prepared to welcome migrants. For this reason, today Doctors For Human Rights (MEDU) carried out a hearing at the parliamentary commission of inquiry concerning the reception system as well as the identification and the detention of migrants, considering the constant presence of the organization within the CARA* of Mineo, which is the facility that hosts the largest number of migrants in Europe.