Migrants, when the left defended the borders it was not a scandal: it was Prodi’s line

In hindsight, immigration is not new as a priority for a government. Nor are the proposed solutions for its management new or heretical. Quite simply, regulating arrivals means guaranteeing effective and peaceful integration in our cities and means guaranteeing dignified and civilized conditions for those who arrive in our country in search of comfort, not to stay on the side of the road. With the greatest solidarity with those who, when they come to us, find themselves in conditions of danger or difficulty. Our value in hospitality demonstrates this, from the most distant past to the 9,000 Coast Guard rescues from January to today. It is good to remember this in these days, when unfortunately other tragedies of the past, painful for everyone, also come to mind. Thought goes to a particular event, which allows us to reflect.

Known as the tragedy of Otranto, this is the sinking of the Albanian boat Katër i Radës that occurred in 1997. It had 120 refugees fleeing from Albania on board and collided in the Otranto channel with the corvette Sibilla of the Italian Navy. The ship sank, of 81 people the lifeless bodies were recovered, with more than 20 missing, 34 survived. He had been warned for the first time by the frigate Zeffiro, engaged in the Bandiere Bianche operation. What was this? Of a naval blockade operation carried out to limit the landings from the Albanian coasts of wagons coming from the Albanian coasts. After a few minutes, the corvette Sibilla intervened to carry out the maneuvers away. The smugglers were uncooperative, resulting in the collision with the boat subsequently sinking. The smuggler who commanded the Albanian patrol boat and the captain of the Sibilla were definitively convicted, with the sentence reduced to the last degree. Minister of the Interior was Giorgio Napolitano, Chairman of the Board, Romano Prodi. Who, commenting on the incident, did not fail to underline the due protection of our security and the legality that the Government must guarantee with regard to the phenomenon of illegal immigration. A shareable and common sense position expressed in words that, if pronounced today, would probably raise a scandal and risk intolerance. But they were fine then. And it is not an isolated case.

In fact, what happened allows us to remember that other protagonists and circumstances, from the most remote in time to the most recent, have a similar flavor. In 2022, even the leader of Action, Carlo Calenda, according to statements made on September 18, defended the blocking of illegal migratory routes, as well as the controlled entry of migrants and strict control of borders. Position confirmed after a few days in Porta a Porta, where Calenda went so far as to say that one cannot do what the left wants, but taking as a model the work of Marco Minniti as Minister of the Interior, with a necessary line and the need to interrupt matches with bilateral agreements. There is also the case of a longtime, experienced and wise politician like Pierferdinando Casini, as historically known as a Christian Democrat and currently a senator for the Democratic Party. His words as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee take us back to 2015, when he declared that the path of “benefactors” could not be followed in immigration, requesting Europe’s collaboration, invoking the need to use the “hard fist and resort, if necessary, to a naval blockade.