10 years have passed since the night of October 3, 2013, when 368 mostly Eritrean immigrants lost their lives in front of Rabbit Island in Lampedusa. Since then, more than 28 thousand men, women and children have died or gone missing trying to reach Europe. And over the years, the country changed, part of the population replaced pity with a real feeling of hatred towards those who fled from hunger or wars. It is a feeling rooted in fear, for which the right-wing parties in government today have clarified a significant part of the consensus. On the other “political side”, Laura Boldrini continues to talk about hospitality and openly challenges those who have humiliated and slandered her in every way over the years, from the least haters to the vice-president of the Council.
“I remember those days very well and the pain caused by that tragedy,” he says. I was the president of the Chamber and on the same evening of October 3, we went to Lampedusa with a delegation of MPs to show our solidarity and commitment. Closeness to the survivors, the families of the victims, the people of the island and the mayor Giusy Nicolini… Even the then prime minister Enrico Letta went to pay tribute to the victims. He introduced Mare Nostrum, which was necessary to limit deaths at sea for about a year, then suspended it, and since then we have counted around 28 thousand deaths. It’s a massacre that we must stop. 10 years after that tragedy in Lampedusa, the 3 October Committee organized various events to commemorate the tragedy, including a ‘Europe of Rights’ exhibition with boys and girls from across Europe, but no government representatives felt the need to attend the commemorations. We thought these were allegations in the press. . We waited until the evening. And just like that it went. No minister was disturbed. Not even the undersecretary, perhaps even worse is that they have not even heard a statement of condolence from the prime minister.
In recent days we have had to hear leading representatives of the majority arguing that we should ‘discourage rescues’ and that the European states that fund humanitarian ships want ‘immigrants to invade Italy’, representing ‘a’ representation of those rescuing people at sea. ‘Danger for Italy’ Instead of declaring war on NGOs or attacking other European states and even the judiciary, the government should launch a tracking and rescue operation in Europe, but it does not. Just as legal means are needed to enter Italy and Europe, review the Dublin agreement, which also provides for redistribution between member states, overcome the Bossi-Fini law, which Gianfranco Fini himself described as invalid. And the government doesn’t do that either. The European Union needs to develop strategies and conclude agreements with the countries of origin of migrants to strengthen international cooperation based on respect for human rights. And instead of dismantling it, we should return to widespread acceptance and full implementation of the Zampa Law on the protection of unaccompanied minors. No more ineffective measures, no more propaganda decisions, no more looking for enemies every day, no more shouting about conspiracy. They are in government; Let them take on their responsibilities, starting with saving lives at sea.”
Prime Minister’s failure
Meanwhile, the memorandum of understanding on immigrants signed with Tunisia, where Giorgia Meloni has invested heavily to stop migrations, is in danger of falling apart: Tunisian President Kais Saied announced that his country will not accept the funds allocated by the EU. According to him, the numbers will be negligible. The question that naturally arises is why the prime minister is repeating the same mistakes his predecessors made regarding Libya.
“I was recently in Tunisia with my colleague Peppe Provenzano and we saw with our own eyes and heard with our own ears the dramatic situation that the Tunisian people are going through. We said that Tunisia is not a safe country and Kais Saied said that we are not a reliable interlocutor, we need to respect human rights in order to condition the agreements to be made with him.” They accused us of working against Italy and wanting to boycott, saying that there should be clear conditions for the release of political prisoners and the restoration of the democratic process.
Now the facts prove us right: Saied wants to blackmail Italy and the EU and he has the weapon for the so-called control of departures from Tunisian ports. Our assistance must be directed to the Tunisian people with the aim of improving their living conditions and protecting civil and democratic freedoms. Today, 90 percent of young Tunisians want to leave the country because they see no future, and Saied points to sub-Saharan immigrants as the scapegoats for his country’s dramatic situation. Now there is a wave of violence and attacks against sub-Saharan migrants in Tunisia. They told us that people were beaten, attacked, kicked out of their homes. “What hope can they have at this point other than escaping Tunisia and hoping to reach Europe?”
enemy hunt
Following the attacks on Germany and NGOs, the Prime Minister attacked the Catanian judges who did not approve the detention of four refugees housed in the Pozzallo centre, claiming that “a part of Italy is aiding illegal entries”. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini is calling for justice reform that would punish judges who do not comply with the government’s decisions. In short, a new institutional conflict is opening between politics and the judiciary over immigrants.
“It is a constant and constant hunt for enemies, which the right and this government are perseveringly implementing after failing to take responsibility for solving the problems of Italian men and women. The same happened with the decrees issued by the center-left governments where judges raised questions of legitimacy and constitutionality, or laws voted by majorities outside of it Under these circumstances, no one declared a conspiracy, but one of the political figures of the right in conflict with the judiciary has since inaugurated Berlusconi 30 years ago.
Since Ministers Piantedosi and Nordio have announced their appeal, the Supreme Court will decide on the merits of the Catania verdict. We’ll see. What is unacceptable is the campaign fueled against the judge in question. Recently, we even read details about his private life that have nothing to do with his work and livelihood. According to some rumors in the press today, an investigation is also being considered by the ministry. “I believe we have truly overstepped the boundaries not only of the separation of powers required by a healthy democracy, but also of morality.”
Source: Today IT

Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.