The blatantly racist and truly appalling treatment of migrants in Italy continues a pace in Italy in places such as Lampedusa, a small island south of Sicily which houses a 'Centre of First Reception' (Cpa), that also functions as a 'Centre of Identification and Expulsion' (Cie).
Nearly 2000 persons are crammed in the centre, which can barely contain 850, after a series of arrivals of boats from the African coast. Many are sleeping out in the rain because of the overcrowding (see video for an example of the conditions in the camp). The Interior Minister Roberto Maroni has refused to move them to other centres operating in Italy, insisting they must be processed and eventually deported directly from Lampedusa, which is the first point of arrival for many migrants, especially since increased immigration controls at the Spansh border have changed the migration routes.
Amnesty International, Save The Children, Cir, Asgi, Medicines Sans Frontieres have all denounced the situation in Lampedusa and the possibility of serious human rights violations. The UNHCR had also expressed their concern, since many of the men women and children confined in Lampedusa are refugees.
The situation reached breaking point on Saturday 24th, when approximately 1300 migrants forced open the entrance gates and got past police controls. They then proceeded to form a demonstartion, marching towards the square in front of the Town Hall shouting slogans: 'Freedom, Freedom' and 'Help us'.
The day before the break-out, local residents had stopped a bus with 110 migrants enroute to the new camp and held a demonstration against a new Cie camp being built at the Loran ex-NATO base on the island and against conditions inside the Lampedusa camp, with some 4000 people taking part. The local Mayor, Bernardino de Rubeis was quoted as saying, "The people of Lampedusa are out on the streets to say to Minister Maroni that we are against the creation of an open air prison."
The most striking fact is that the local residents and the migrants have come together in solidarity and on Saturday, when the residents went on general strike, the locals and migrants held a joint demonstration. They have been eating and drinking together, with locals feeding the migrants after their mass escape. Things have been peaceful and the days of protest have gone without incidents, apart from on Saturday, when the police attacked demonstrators. In one incident an ambulance drove into the crowd and a cop also kicked a local resident for no apparent reasons. In both cases the people reacted and the police charged the crowd. A 16 years old local boy was also injured during the demonstration.
The Italian interior ministry, trying to hide their embarrassment at the situation, said there had been "no escape of illegal immigrants" because it was a camp for assistance rather than expulsion, "so there is no obligation to stay there". Italian PM Berlusconi, who is largely to blame for the conditions created by the new laws that seek to speed-up expulsions, also had the bare-faced cheek to try and reassure locals by saying "The situation in Lampedusa is absolutely a contingency. The residents of Lampedusa need to remain calm and tranquil and know the situation is under control but that, above all, we will do something to compensate them for this inconvenience."
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