Lampedusa, Italy: On the 10th anniversary of the deadly Lampedusa shipwreck, in which over 368 migrants died in 2013, the Red Hands anti-racist organization staged a protest in Italy’s capital, Rome.
“Lampedusa…Cutro… [are] Italian and European Union massacres”, a banner the protestors held reads. Cutro refers to the February 26 disaster in the southern Italian town of Cutro that killed at least 94 migrants.
“These tragedies are preventable, and the need to provide a meaningful response cannot be put off any longer,” UN agencies IOM and UNHCR said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
The UN agencies called for a series of measures to prevent more migrant deaths in the Mediterranean, including more cooperation when it comes to search-and-rescue (SAR) operations, providing migrants with life-saving assistance, “end the criminalization, obstruction or deterrence of those providing humanitarian assistance”; as well as creating more regular migration channels.
Some 2,400 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean Sea so far this year. Since 2013, 28 thousand migrants have died in the Mediterranean, 1,100 of whom were children.
In 2023 alone, there will be more than one hundred minors dead or missing in the Mediterranean, 4% of the total, a percentage that has grown drastically compared to 2014, when they were less than 1%.
The Lampedusa shipwreck disaster occurred on October 3, 2013. In remembrance of those who lost their lives in the deadly tragedy, a wreath of flowers was thrown into the sea at the site.
The Lampedusa tragedy is considered one of the most deadly incidents in the Mediterranean. Since then, the Order of Malta’s commitment onboard Italian patrol boats has continued non-stop day and night.
