Prepared by: Harneet Kaur
"For the work we have done, the only thing we deserve for the EU is a thank you, not them suing us". The tittle quote comes from the Interior Minister Angelino Alfano that is speaking in regards to the away suing Italy for not being more productive on finger printing at the shores of Italy. Marco Marcone, the head of immigration departments at Italy's Interior Ministry says that since January 2915 they have identified 80% of Asylum seekers. They have saved over 200,000 migrants from the sea recently. "We have done a lot for this. We are very proud. For all this we deserve a thank you from the EU".
He further explains that over 4,600 people were rescued off the coast of Libya this past weekend. The weather has been deteriorating and the smugglers have become more cynical and that has caused thousands to die in ship wrecks alone this year. Many migrants refused to be finger printed and of those refusing often tend to be Syrians and Eritreans. We try our best to educate these individuals but they often do not plan on staying in this country long.
This information was extremely relevant for me as it tied our week together in my perspective. We learned all this information from the very informative speakers but as I read thorough these articles I often find the same common theme. Many Italians are upset with EU for not doing more to help relieve their burdens. Moreover, this ties into the conversation we had as a class at Su Ghetto. The difference these small and large organizations make is large scale and extremely significant. The point is that they are doing something and actually making progress with the marginalized communities that are having to leave their homes and lives for various reasons. It is a matter of appreciating what they are doing. Moreover, after the UNCHR presentation I was able to firmly believe that the EU is doing something to help. Even if it may be small scale for the time being but the relocation project will help hundreds of families reunite and help relieve Greece and Italy of the large burden they have been placed with. The work that is being done to help these individuals is remarkable.
References
http://www.thelocal.it/20151209/italy-slams-eu-over-refugee-crisis-criticism
