A little under 700 people arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa early on Tuesday. The reception facility on the island, designed to accommodate around 250, is full to capacity and the mayor of the island has asked for help.
Two Senegalese fishermen, who have been working legally in Italy for some time on board a fishing boat in Lampedusa, watch surprised as thousands of other migrants file past them in the hope of a better life in Europe.
Italian authorities have given permission to the charity vessel Sea-Eye 4, with over 400 rescued migrants on board, to dock in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo. Sea-Eye criticized the decision, saying that another port would have been much closer.
Sicily’s regional government has announced that it will set up a migrant assistance center in every province of the island. The aim: integration between Sicilians and newcomers.
After more than 2,000 migrants landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa over the weekend, various EU member states have reacted to the situation. Italy is calling once again for EU solidarity, but how would it be enacted and which member states will come forward to help?
The first of more than 450 people rescued from the Mediterranean by the Sea-Watch 4 have gone ashore in Sicily. The migrants included children and unaccompanied minors who had attempted the dangerous journey from Libya.
A hostel for seasonal workers, most of whom migrants, opened last week in Cassibile, near the Sicilian city of Siracusa. The facility can host up to about 80 people in 17 housing units.
UNICEF and Save the Children said that in the four months that their joint border program has been active, they have provided assistance to more than 130 families and 570 unaccompanied minors in Ventimiglia and Lampedusa.
There are two investigations in Italy, looking in to the delayed disembarking of migrants involving former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini as defendant. The cases are now being heard by preliminary investigative judges in Sicily.
Italian authorities uncovered a criminal organization in Sicily that was operating as a "wedding agency," with single women who needed money and were willing to marry foreigners who needed to be married in order to legally stay in Italy.
More than 200 migrants picked up by the Open Arms rescue ship have landed safety in Sicily. The NGO said the Central Mediterranean has become a "no man's land" and a "tomb" for European values.
After several days at sea, the 116 migrants rescued by the Ocean Viking at the end of last week and over the weekend have disembarked in the Sicilian port of Augusta. Six persons tested positive for COVID-19.