Tag: Italy

Invasion of Europe continues as Italy ‘rescues’ 4,000 migrants in one week

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment
Some of the Africans rescued by Italian navy taken to the Sicilian port of Augusta. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/21/us-italy-migrants-idUSBREA2K0ZE20140321

This (below) is an Associated Press story published in the Washington Post on Friday.  In the final paragraphs of the article we are given some important statistics.

From the WaPo:

ROME — Italian authorities say they have rescued more than 4,000 would-be migrants at sea over the past four days as the war in Syria and instability in Libya spawn new waves of refugees.

[….]

Italian maritime officials said 2,922 people were picked up Monday and Tuesday, and 1,165 were rescued Wednesday and Thursday.

[….]

The spike in migrants is primarily because of renewed instability in Libya, where refugees from Syria and across Africa gather, awaiting a chance to buy passage on smuggling boats, said Carlotta Sami, a spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency in Italy.

Let us not forget who helped destabilize Libya—Obama’s three witches:  Hillary, Samantha and Susan!

Who knew Russia was in the top three countries producing ‘asylum seekers!’  LOL! They can’t all be gay men who heard about Villanova?

Syria, Russia and Afghanistan had the largest numbers of people fleeing their homelands to seek asylum last year, the U.N. agency said. Russia was the source of 39,779 asylum seekers, up from 22,650 in 2012. And 38,653 Afghans sought asylum last year, vs. 47,519 in 2012.

These are numbers to remember!

The 38 nations of Europe had 484,600 asylum claims in 2013, 32 percent higher than in 2012. The United States dealt with 88,360 asylum applications last year.

For new readers and as a reminder to our long-time readers, asylum seekers get to a country’s borders (or overstay a visa) and then request asylum (refugee status) claiming they will be “persecuted” if sent home.  Once granted asylum (in the US for instance), they become “asylees” and are given all of the rights and welfare goodies that refugees screened abroad and flown in receive.  ‘Asylum seekers’ (mostly economic migrants) are on the move worldwide—of course all attempting to get into first world countries.

Over 1,100 migrants rescued off Italy in 24 hour period this week

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment
The African invasion of Europe continues…..

The number of mostly economic migrants trying to reach Europe has gone through the roof since this time last year!  Most are seeking asylum (of course) and most will not be granted ‘refugee’ status.

Note that of the 1,123 rescued, 1,000 are young men.

From the BBC (hat tip: ‘pungentpeppers’):

Italy’s navy has rescued 1,123 people from inflatable boats in the space of 24 hours, as clandestine migration from North Africa reaches record levels.

The latest migrants were found in eight boats and a barge about 120 miles (222km) south-east of Lampedusa.

They included 47 women, four of them pregnant, and 50 children, all probably from sub-Saharan Africa, the navy said.

[….]

Some 2,000 migrants landed on Italian shores last month, nearly 10 times the number recorded in January 2013.

[….]

According to the government, last year saw an “incessant and massive influx of migrants” with a total of 42,925 arrivals by sea, or more than three times as many as in 2012.

[….]

Once in Italy, the migrants will be assessed to see if they have legitimate grounds for claiming asylum.

They have to satisfy the authorities that they are fleeing persecution and would face harm or even death if sent back to their country of origin.

Nearly three out of four asylum applications in EU states were rejected in 2012.  [But, are those rejected sent back to Africa or left to wander Europe?—ed]

Read it all.  Also, check out the BBC’s Mediterranean migration route map we posted here.  Note that Turkey (Istanbul) is a main hub for the illegal migrants.

Addendum:  Arab News says ‘go after the people smugglers’ to stop the flow.

Italy rescues 1,000 illegal migrants in 24 hours

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

What would we do without readers who help us do our work by finding good stories for us?  Again, ‘pungentpeppers’ has been busy reading.

Pretty much the same story we’ve been reporting for years except, of course, the pace has increased and the number of foundering boats and passengers seems to be growing exponentially.   I guess they didn’t hear about the 300 plus who drowned only a few months ago.

Ferrying migrants to Italian shores. AFP Photo

From The Telegraph:

 The Italian navy has rescued more than 1,000 migrants in the 24 hours to Friday from boats trying to reach Europe, as an immigration crisis that killed hundreds in the last year showed no signs of easing.

Navy helicopters spotted four overcrowded boats struggling to stay afloat south of Sicily on Thursday and ships were sent to save them, the navy said in a statement.

The 823 men, women and children aboard the four vessels were from countries including Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq and Tunisia.

The navy also rescued 233 migrants from Eritrea, Nigeria, Somalia, Zambia, Mali and Pakistan in a separate operation and took them to a port near Syracuse on Sicily’s eastern coast.

[….]

Over the past two decades, Italy, Greece and the Mediterranean island of Malta have the brunt of the migrant flows and have urged a coordinated European Union response.

Type ‘Malta’ into our search function and learn about how the Bush Administration, and now the Obama Administration, have helped make Malta a magnet for illegal aliens hoping to get a ticket to America as we have turned hundreds of mostly Somali economic migrants to Malta into legitimate refugees for America.

Italy: Syrian refugees pose threat to European security

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Yes, we agree.  And, we have Obama and Samantha Power to thank for the lawlessness that now rules Libya.  So much for the Power doctrine—the “responsibility to protect.” Protect the Jihadists?

Italian foreign minister Emma Bonino: Ex-jihadists or members of al-Qaida getting in with women and children.

From AFP (emphasis mine):

The exodus of refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria represents a security threat to the European Union, Italy’s foreign minister said Monday, warning that potential terrorists could be among the displaced.

“Like all major humanitarian crises”, the Syria conflict “has political aspects and consequences that can have devastating effects”, Emma Bonino told reporters in Rome.

“If you consider displaced people, refugees and immigrants, we have millions of people moving around the southern Mediterranean,” she said.

“We have many reasons to believe that among the women and children, there are also less friendly immigrants — ex-jihadists or members of al-Qaida.”

“It is clear that uncontrolled landings on our shores have implications for the security of the European Union.”

While Bonino underlined the war in Syria as the main reason for displacement, she said poverty in the Sahel, insecurity in Somalia and lawlessness in Libya added to the problem.

“In the absence of any control over its territory, Libya is today becoming a sort of freeway where anything gets through — weapons, drugs,” she warned.

The EU has been examining proposals to beef up border surveillance and open up legal channels to reach Europe to deal with the boats packed with Syrian refugees that have been arriving in southern Italy.

Lampedusa: Refugees breed ill will

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment
Lampedusa is closer to Africa than it is to Italy

Life is harsh for Italians on Lampedusa and it has been made even more challenging with the arrival (or the sinking) of each new boat filled with African and Middle Eastern migrants that ends up on its shores.

See the latest news that has European immigration officials in distress.

Here is an article (from AFP), spawned by the mass drowning, well worth reading (hat tip: pungentpeppers) about the resentment the local residents have to refugees who, in life or in death, get more government benefits than they do.  Lampedusa’s lament….

Lampedusa — Islanders on Europe’s southern edge have become used to tragedy and trauma, they see it every day in the thousands of asylum seekers who land on their shores — and they say they have had enough.

The locals of the remote fishing community on Lampedusa island rush to help every time but their patience is wearing thin as they see government funds allocated to migrants and not to them.

“Here it’s the dead that keep the economy going,” said Silvana Martelli, a waitress, as divers fished out bodies after a shipwreck in which over 300 African refugees are feared to have died.

“It doesn’t feel like our island anymore. There’s money to take care of the immigrants while the schools fall apart and rubbish piles up,” she said.

As European ministers discuss the refugee crisis at talks in Luxembourg on Tuesday, this type of local resentment is a concern for governments that see the problem before them but do not want to risk being seen as a soft touch on immigration.

With a resident population of just a few thousand people, Lampedusans are sometimes outnumbered by the new arrivals before they are transferred to asylum centres on the Italian mainland.

In a corner of the harbour, the blue and red fishing boats daubed in Arabic script that are used for the landings lie discarded —

Read on about problems such as burying this many people on a tiny island, here.