more than 7,000 refugees have arrived on the island of Lampedusa since the start of the week

Never the island of Lampedusa (Italy) had never experienced so many arrivals of migrants in such a short time. More than 6,000 of them arrived at the island camp in just 24 hours, Wednesday September 13. Since the start of the week, more than 7,000 refugees from North Africa have arrived on the island, the equivalent of the local population. They disembarked aboard metal boats, which became their main means of transport, or were rescued at sea by the coast guard. All were grouped together on the quay before being taken care of by the Red Cross. A wait that is difficult to bear for some, exhausted.

Migrants transferred to other centers

Improvised misters didn’t change anything. After several hours in full sun, tension rose on the platform. A little further along the side of the road, filmed by the former mayor of Lampedusafamilies found refuge in the shade with volunteers and residents. The center, which is supposed to welcome them, is completely saturated. From Wednesday, the first migrants were transferred to other Italian centers. But on the morning of Thursday September 14, the situation remained very tense. With more than 120,000 arrivals since January in Italy, the number of illegal landings has doubled compared to last year.