LAMPEDUSA—As Italy prepares for levels of illegal migrants arriving on its shores not seen since 2016, statistical data has revealed that since 2013, the country has seen at least one million migrants enter, with nearly 28,000 reported dead or missing since 2014.
The figures relate to statistics from the Italian Ministry of the Interior, which note that 2016 saw the largest number of migrants coming into Italy illegally at around 181,000, the European Union-funded website InfoMigrants reports.
The statistics come as the Italian southern island of Lampedusa saw the tenth anniversary of a 2013 shipwreck, the deadliest to occur off the island’s coast, where at least 360 people lost their lives when people smugglers led them to their deaths.
The event was commemorated by the local government, including Lampedusa’s mayor Filippo Mannino who led a wreath-laying ceremony just off the coast of the island with several ships, including the coast guard, carabinieri, and others.
A four-day event was also organised by the NGO the October 3 Committee, which was formed shortly after the 2013 massacre. The event involved several NGOs, schools from across Europe, as well as several politicians.
However, the messaging of the event was clearly directed against the idea of borders, with some participants wearing t-shirts that read “rights for people, not rights for borders,” rather than blaming people smugglers who often overload migrant boats in order to make more profit, risking lives in the Mediterranean.
Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner, spoke at the event on October 3rd saying that European countries needed to create safe and easy routes for migrants rather than close their borders.
The NGO Save the Children claims that as many as 28,000 migrants have been either killed or have gone missing since 2014 trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. They claimed that 1,143 of those missing or killed were children.
According to figures released by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), this year’s death toll in the Mediterranean has already surpassed last year, with around 2,500 migrants reported as either missing at sea or dead.
Despite the much-touted deal between Italy, the European Union, and Tunisia earlier this year on migration, Tunisian Interior Minister Kamel Fekih stated that his country could do little to stop the boats from departing from his country to Lampedusa and elsewhere.
“From the beginning, we have emphasised that migration cannot be managed without addressing its causes. But Tunisia can only protect its own borders. It cannot be a border guard for others, except [indirectly] by monitoring its own borders,” he said.
While Lampedusa saw a lull in arrivals during the anniversary events, the island saw more arrivals in recent days, and the hotspot, which holds around 400 people, is once again overcrowded as of Wednesday, October 4th.
According to reports from Italian media, 352 migrants arrived on boats overnight on Tuesday into Wednesday morning, with the hotspot now home to over 500 people.