Status: 20/09/2023, 19:08 p.m.
By: Vivian Werg
CommentsShare
The ongoing influx of migrants is pushing Lampedusa to its limits. Now, a toddler arrives on a migrant boat without parents.
Lampedusa – The reception centres on the Italian Mediterranean island of Lampedusa have been raided. Every day, several thousand boat migrants arrive on the island, and refugees and aid workers are at the end of their rope. The situation on the Mediterranean island is becoming more and more chaotic. Last Tuesday, as reported by the Ansa news agency, more than 5000,<> people were registered by the authorities within one day.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of arrivals of refugees and migrants has increased massively. According to the UN Refugee Agency, more than 115,000 refugees and migrants have arrived in Italy by sea so far this year. In the same period, over 62,000 (as of 10.9.2023) arrived last year. There are always events that move people in particular. Recently, another overcrowded boat capsized off the coast of Lampedusa, killing a 5-month-old infant.
Alone on Lampedusa at the age of only three years – a toddler is rescued in the desert by a minor migrant (symbolic image) © Michele Amoruso/ dpa
Fate moves Italy: toddler left to fend for himself
As the Italian daily Corriere della Sera reports, the fate of one boy is currently touching the whole of Italy. Alone in the desert, he was rescued by a migrant minor. According to the report, the toddler, estimated to be about three years old, arrived on the Italian island without parents on a boat from Africa with a thousand other migrants. Again and again, however, there are devastating boat accidents. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over 2023 people have drowned in the Mediterranean since the beginning of 2000 alone.
According to the young migrant's statements, he did not know who the child was or who the parents were. "I couldn't leave him alone in the desert, so I took him with me and we set off together," the Italian daily quotes the migrant as saying. The young man held the toddler's hand as rescue workers and the medical staff spotted the two. The child was immediately cared for by volunteers from the Red Cross and the children's rights organization Save the Children.
Unaccompanied minors are not uncommon on Lampedusa
"This is not an isolated case," Giovanna Di Benedetto, spokeswoman for the NGO in Lampedusa, told Corriere della Sera. "In recent years, we have seen a steady increase in the number of arrivals of unaccompanied minors, who are increasingly under the age of ten".
0
Also Read
From summer to winter time: When does the time change take place?
READ
Chaos on Greece flight: Austrian woman injured in the crowd – airline speaks out
READ
Supervolcano in Italy wakes up citizens with loud roars – residents discover numerous alarm signs
READ
Sölden Glacier becomes a major construction site for ski races – "It's crazy to do something like that"
READ
Tragedy shakes Italy: nine-year-old vomits and dies a little later in hospital
READ
Fancy a voyage of discovery?
My Area
This is also confirmed by a spokeswoman for the children's rights organization: "Many of these children have lost their parents on the journey or have to join their mother or father, who have already arrived in Europe. Increasingly, they are entrusted to other migrants, family friends or otherwise very young fellow travellers. That is why we have long been calling for the reception system to be strengthened. These young people can't stay in the hotspots for too long without finding a destination."
He came alone from Africa to Italy – the future of the toddler still uncertain
Nothing is known about the boy at the moment. Psychologists try to get the child to speak. "It doesn't speak, doesn't cry and doesn't smile. It will not be easy to find out his background in such a delicate context," the NGO spokeswoman continues. "All precautions must be taken to ensure the absolute protection of the child. At the very least, it is necessary to find a suitable facility that can take care of the child in order to reduce the time he spends in the hotspot," said Di Benedetto.
According to the Italian daily, both are currently in the hotspot in the Contrada Imbriacola, in the department for children and single mothers. What will happen to the toddler is still uncertain. A foster family would be ideal, as the Corriere della Sera writes. But that could take time. The juvenile court of Palermo would have to decide on how to proceed. The court, as required by law, must first check whether there are any relatives.
Italy continues to face major challenges – government tightens immigration law
According to the UN Refugee Agency, the asylum system is also under heavy strain. As a result, the number of asylum applications has increased compared to the same months last year – from 22,632 to 62,256.
Since October 2022, Italy's new government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been pursuing a restrictive migration policy. In January 2023, for example, a decree was issued to restrict the operations of civilian sea rescuers in the Mediterranean. Italy's head of government now sees the EU as having a duty to support Italy and intervene to stop migrants on their way to Europe. (Vivian Werg)