(Lampedusa) The small Italian island of Lampedusa is struggling on Thursday to cope with the influx of migrants from North Africa, after welcoming more than 7,000 people, the equivalent of the entire local population.
The reception center, built to house fewer than 400 people, was overwhelmed, with men, women and children forced to sleep outside on makeshift plastic beds, many wrapped in emergency blankets.
Tensions erupted on Wednesday during the distribution of food by the Italian Red Cross (CRI), which manages the center, provoking the intervention of the police.
Several young migrants then went to the historic center of Lampedusa, where an AFP photographer found some of them eating ice cream. Several migrants said they were hungry and others said they had no money so some restaurants refused them entry.
But other establishments offered free food to migrants and locals and tourists also paid for meals.
Located less than 150 km from the Tunisian coast, Lampedusa is one of the first stopover points for migrants crossing the Mediterranean.
Days of good weather have led to an increase in crossings in recent days, with more than 5,000 people arriving in Italy on Tuesday alone, according to Interior Ministry figures.
Most were recovered at sea on makeshift boats by the coast guard who brought them to the port of Lampedusa.
But many do not succeed. According to the UN migration agency, more than 2,000 people have died this year crossing between North Africa, Italy and Malta.
The last known victim is a five-month-old baby, who is believed to have fallen into the water early Wednesday while part of a group being brought to shore.
Hard situation
For years, the Lampedusa migrant reception center has struggled to cope with the number of arrivals, with humanitarian organizations reporting a lack of water, food and medical care.
The CRI took over in June, promising to offer a more “dignified” welcome, but it admitted this week that it was having difficulties dealing with the influx of migrants with more than 7,000 people there on Wednesday evening, a figure which “poses management problems”.
Some 5,000 people were to be transferred by the end of Thursday to Sicily, where there are larger reception centers.
“The situation is certainly complex and we are gradually trying to return to normal,” Francesca Basile, head of migration for the CRI, said Thursday morning.
She added that “despite the difficult situation, we tried to distribute beds to people to prevent them from sleeping under the stars.”
“We provided food to everyone and distributed dinner last night, and again today everyone will receive what they need,” she assured.
Italy’s far-right government recently allocated 45 million euros ($65 million Canadian) to Lampedusa to help the island better manage the migrant situation.
But the head of government Giorgia Meloni, elected a year ago promising to put an end to mass immigration, is asking for help from the European Union.
Nearly 124,000 migrants have arrived on Italian shores since the start of the year, compared to 65,500 during the same period last year.
However, the figures have not yet surpassed those of 2016, when more than 181,000 people, many of them Syrians fleeing war, arrived in Europe.