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The Italian Red Cross has said it is struggling to cope with thousands of migrants at a cramped center on the island of Lampedusa as more migrants arrived on the small island over the weekend. The center is parking people beyond its capacity.
The Italian Red Cross has said it is struggling to cope with thousands of migrants at a cramped center on the island of Lampedusa as more migrants arrived on the small island over the weekend. The center is parking people beyond its capacity.
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The latest arrivals have complicated operations at the center, according to officials. Over 4,000 migrants are parked in a structure for 800 people, making the situation critical. Red Cross representatives said that they were managing to maintain the basics of providing food and toilets for those gathered. But facilities were grossly inadequate. There are more vulnerable families with children and unaccompanied minors, who have to be looked after.
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The Red Cross took over the management of the hotspot on June 1 and in the past three months, it says that an estimated 48,000 migrants have passed through it. Lampedusa is just 187 kilometers (120 miles) from the coast of Tunisia. It has become a stepping stone for migrants to reach Europe from Africa. For the entire summer, authorities have shuttled migrants in and out of the temporary facility on the island which was originally designed to house several hundred people but frequently struggles to accommodate thousands.
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After a short period of time on the island, most migrants are transferred on ferry boats to other parts of Italy. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, whose right-wing government includes an anti-migrant party, had enlisted the European Union’s help to forge an accord with Tunisia in a bid to stop the migrant boats in exchange for economic and other aid. As of now, more than 113,000 migrants have arrived in Italy by sea in 2023 according to Italy’s Ministry of Interior. The figure is more than double the number in the same period last year. According to the United Nations, over 2,000 migrants have died trying to reach Europe by sea this year. Housing minors without their parents, Red Cross Authorities said, was the most difficult job since they had to be accommodated and looked after for a longer time.
