As
Migrants Die
at Sea,
Italian Red
Cross' Rocca
Tells ICP the
EU Must Do
More
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, May 6
-- When
Francesco
Rocca of the
Italian Red
Cross came to
the UN to
speak about
migrants in
the
Mediterranean
Sea on May 6,
Inner City
Press asked
him how those
migrants who
are saved are
processed, and
what he thinks
the European
Union should
be doing.
Rocca replied
that after the
EU stopped its
Mare Nostrum
search and
rescue
program,
deaths have
doubled. The
numbers, he
said, speak
for
themselves. He
said many,
after being
interviewed,
travel further
into Europe,
illegal, an
underclass.
Inner City
Press' fast
transcription,
video
here:
Inner
City Press: At
some point it
was unclear,
even to your
organization,
where the 28
people who had
been rescued
were. What are
the rights of
people, and
what’s your
process for
gaining access
for people who
have been
rescued? What
will be
required to
improve search
and rescue
operations?
Rocca:
About the last
question, I
think the
facts and
figures are
talking by
themselves.
Triton is not
like Mare
Nostrum, it’s
very clear.
Even the
number of
deaths has
increased 51
percent after
the closure of
Mare Nostrum.
So this is the
evidence that
Mare Nostrum
saved lives.
And it cost 9
million per
month. So I
wonder why now
the EU is
spending 9
million per
month, after
the last EU
meeting,
immediately
after the
tragedy. But
then again,
all the
operation was
led by the
Italian navy
and the
Italian coast
guard. And
this is a
fact.
About
the 28, if you
mean the
process, of
course they
will meet the
commission and
be interviewed
by the
commission to
verify if
there are
conditions to
receive the
humanitarian
protection or
not. All the
migrants that
arrive on our
docks pass
through this
process. I met
them,
immediately
after that
very night
when they
arrived, and
had the
opportunity to
talk with a
few of them.
So what was in
my mind, not
only in my
mind but my
heart, was the
words coming
from one of
them, and I
repeated these
words today to
the UNSG about
the priority
to solve the
Libyan crisis.
Once
you enter in
Libya, even if
you change
your mind, you
cannot go back
anymore to
your country.
You are not
anymore free.
You are pushed
to with the
guns to go on
the boat.
He
told me
several times,
repeating. Of
course he was
in shock. But
you cannot
imagine how
hard is the
situation in
Libya.
So,
the process is
always the
same. The fact
is the
majority of
these people
don’t want to
stay in Italy.
They want to
reach their
families,
relatives in
Europe. So
this is a
Europe issue,
not only an
Italy issue.
And this is
the reason
why, at the
end, when you
verify the
figures,
comparing the
number of
people
processed that
go under
interviews and
the number
that arrived
on the dock is
completely
different.
Because most
of them they
escape and
they go in
Europe without
any interviews
and they
become
illegal. Most
of them.
Without
a European
solution, we
are creating
other people
that are going
to live at the
borders of our
society. This
is a fact.
This is the
reason why it
must be an EU
issue that
cannot be
solved only at
the Italian
border or the
Greek border
or the Spanish
border.
Footnote:
one issue
Inner City
Press was not
able to ask
about was the
role of the UN
and its
closely
related but
even less
scrutinized
fellow
agencies like
the
International
Organization
for Migration
in conducting
surveillance
for terrorist
threats, in
the guise of
immigration
screening. It
happened as
people fled,
or tried to
flee, Yemen --
IOM
refused to
answer
Inner City
Press'
questions, as
did the UN
about UNODC's
work in
Puntland --
and one can
imagine EU
concerns if it
replaced
Triton with
another
mission. We'll
have more on
this.
Here is
Mr. Rocca's
opening statement,
as provided to
Inner City
Press:
Over
5,000 people
are believed
to have lost
their lives
attempting to
reach Europe
via the
Mediterranean
in the last 18
months. This
makes
these waters
the most
dangerous
borders in the
world. This
should
trigger
action,
commitment and
support.
Just
two days ago,
another 10
migrants did
not make it.
And today
another
40 migrants
are thought to
have lost
their lives. A
piece of news
that has made
less noise in
the media than
the shipwreck
of last 18
April, in
which 400
people died,
but which left
us again
shocked and
angry.
Because
together
with that
capsized boat,
our soul has
sunk as well.
Since
the beginning
of 2015, over
35,000
migrants from
North Africa
and the
Middle East
have embarked
on the
perilous
journey across
the
Mediterranean
Sea toward
European
shores,
risking their
lives on
unsafe
vessels.
The
most
appropriate
way to
mitigate an
exodus abroad
is to ensure
conditions of
security and
dignity at
home. This
should be at
the
heart of any
strategy, but
we must not be
naive about
its ability to
produce
instant
results. Many
of the world’s
most violent
conflicts,
such as those
in Syria, Iraq
or South
Sudan, are far
from
resolution.
Some of the
world's most
difficult
political
contexts,
such as in the
Horn of
Africa, will
not change
because of
aid.
People
will continue
to flee
desperate
situations and
inaction will
only
lead to more
suffering. It
will mean more
harrowing
tales of
exploitation
and abuse,
culminating in
the terrifying
and deadly
journey across
the
Mediterranean.
So we listen
at a lot of
options
from EU to
stop this
trafficking,
but we’re not
sure that the
solution is
bombing the
vessels.
We
believe once
again that the
imperative has
to be
humanitarian
action.
We should stop
looking just
at the issue
of security.
People who are
fleeing wars
and conflicts
will try
others routes.
We can close
this
route from
Lybia, but as
evidenced by
the tragedy of
Rhodes last
days, there
are other
routes open to
these
desperate
people who
will
continue to
try to escape.
For
example, we
cannot exhibit
signs that
read 'Bring
back our
girls' and
then pretend
that a mother
has no right
to run away
from a
dangerous
situation and
look for a
better
solution for
her children.
We cannot
think that the
flow from the
Horn of Africa
will magically
stop just
because we
shot down and
sunk vessels.
We ask that
there is an
action
of our
institutions
that put the
human being in
the center and
stop
labelling them
as “illegal”.
Two
weeks ago,
European
leaders held a
summit in
Brussels and
committed
to increasing
the search and
rescue
capacities of
FRONTEX. While
this
is welcome, it
is not enough.
Its scope is
limited and is
not the
same as a
dedicated
search and
rescue
operation
which would
cover the
entire
Mediterranean.
The summit was
just the
beginning. We
need to
build on it to
develop asylum
policies which
are
forward-looking
and
firmly based
on the
principles of
humanity,
solidarity,
and respect
for human
rights. This
will mean
legal
protection to
deter
exploitation
along the
well-known
migration
routes.
This
in turn will
require
international
collaboration
between
countries of
origin,
transit and
destination.
Over
the past three
days, in
southern
Italy’s
regions of
Sicily and
Calabria, the
Italian Red
Cross has
delivered
humanitarian
assistance
to more than
7,000 people
rescued by the
Italian Coast
Guard off the
Libyan coasts.
In Italy, Red
Cross staff
and volunteers
are present
in every port,
providing
first aid,
food, drinking
water,
psychosocial
and logistics
support.
For
this reason,
finally, I
want to thank
all the
volunteers of
the
Mouvement of
Red Cross and
Red Crescent,
but on my
side, as
President
Of Italian Red
Cross, I want
to say thank
you to my
volunteers for
their efforts
and for their
humanitarian
approach to
the
migration’s
issue.
, 
