Almost 7,000 migrants landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa in less than three days. Completely overwhelmed, the authorities struggle to care for the exiles. For Le Parisien, this situation is analyzed by Camille Schmoll, a specialist on migration in the Euro-Mediterranean region.
How can we explain these massive and sudden arrivals?
KAMIL SCHMOL. There may be a desire on the part of the Tunisian government to release migrants in order to put pressure on European states in response to recent controversial agreements signed with the EU on migration policy. Since the beginning of the year, there has been a clear increase in the number of border crossings from Tunisia. This is particularly due to the very high level of insecurity, as there have been numerous racist demonstrations targeting sub-Saharan migrants for several months. The economic crisis the country is experiencing is another factor favoring departure.
The problem is that since coming to power, the head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni, has alienated European governments. There is no more solidarity in Europe, although there were agreements between Germany and Italy. The emergency management is completely focused on this small Italian island, which cannot cope with such an influx of people.
Is there a connection with recent situations of instability in some African countries?
Of course, this encourages departures, but the two are not necessarily related. We cannot link this to a coup d’etat, for example, in Niger, this is a more complex issue. The migrations we see here mainly involve people who have lived in North Africa for a long time or have traveled quite long trajectories.
Should we see a “migration flood” as some claim?
We are far from the figures of 2015, when a million people made the crossing. Since then, migration to the Mediterranean has decreased significantly. On the other hand, it is clear that instability in the regions of departure, as is the case in Tunisia, creates insecurity for migrants and increases the likelihood of departure.
Source: Le Parisien
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
