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Human Floodtide Swamps Italian Holiday Island (Illegal Immigrants)
The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 6-26-2003 | Bruce Johnson

Posted on 06/25/2003 5:44:09 PM PDT by blam

Human floodtide swamps Italian holiday island

By Bruce Johnston in Lampedusa
(Filed: 26/06/2003)

A flood of illegal immigrants from some of Africa's poorest countries is overwhelming the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, the European Union's southernmost outpost, and a favourite Italian holiday destination.

Across from the port filled with luxury yachts, a dozen hulks used in recent weeks by boat people to start a new life have been abandoned.

An illegal immigrant peers out from behind barbed wire at a detention centre in Lampedusa

Another leaky boat laden with Third World passengers said to have paid £650 for the journey arrives on average every two days. The authorities are at a loss over how to cope with the emergency.

So far this month, almost 3,000 clandestini have poured into Lampedusa, which has a population of 5,000 and is closer to Africa than Europe.

Previously, migrants from Albania, Morocco and Tunisia invaded Italy's vulnerable coastline.

The latest wave originates from the poorest countries along the Horn of Africa, and the vast majority travel through Libya. Some people believe that the Libyan leader, Col Gaddafi, is encouraging the flow.

Baldassare Giglione, Lampedusa's tourism chief, said: "I understand an agency in Libya is handling all the departures, with the blessing of the local authorities."

Many of the boats are said to be so packed that people fall overboard and drown, or that the weight of the human cargo causes craft to capsize.

"Every so often," said Mr Giglione, "Sicilian fishermen who fish close to Libya and Tunisia bring up corpses in their nets."

Local people in Lampedusa have protested that the migrants are being treated too leniently.

Last week Umberto Bossi, the head of Italy's xenophobic Northern League and a senior cabinet minister, called on the navy to open fire on migrants to deter others.

Opinion is divided over the impact of the influx on Lampedusa's tourist industry, with some fearing an impending wave of cancellations, while others say it has not affected the trade.

But the reality is grim. On June 16 and 21, two boats sank, with an estimated 264 deaths. Reports in the Italian press claimed that islanders were refusing to eat fish because the fish "had eaten drowned refugees".

Bruno Siragusa, Lampedusa's mayor, said: "The tourists aren't even aware of the arrivals of the clandestini. That is why I get so angry to see reports claiming the island is in the grip of the clandestini, or that the citizens are in open revolt."

But matters could become worse. An immigrant reception centre on the island is overcrowded and the authorities are forced to send people elsewhere in Italy.

Italian MPs were told recently that refugees were massing in their thousands along the Libyan coast and that 1.5 million are intent on sailing to Italy.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: floodgate; human; island; italian; swamps

1 posted on 06/25/2003 5:44:10 PM PDT by blam
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To: blam
This is the most drama and excitement the place has had ince 1981 during the Gulf of Sidra incident when two Libyan fast patrol boats fired missles at the place.

Of course that was the last thing they did as a couple of F14's were lurking in the area and decided to have a bit of air-to-surface gunnery practice.
2 posted on 06/25/2003 5:59:21 PM PDT by x1stcav ( HOOAHH!)
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To: blam
Umberto Bossi, the head of Italy's xenophobic Northern League and a senior cabinet minister, called on the navy to open fire on migrants to deter others.

"Xenophobic," huh? Just imagine Cubans in that number landing on Key West. And these are Muslim clandestini, who will bring cultural pollution with them. Italy is already submerged in a crime wave brought by illegal Albanians. At some point, though the general population of Italy is declining, the Italians aare going to have to put some starch in their pasta and stand up to these invaders.

I can't blame people for wanting to escape the cesspooll that Arabic countries have become since their heyday back in the 11th century. But I don't think they arrive hoping to become good Italians. What a mess!

3 posted on 06/25/2003 6:02:17 PM PDT by PoisedWoman (Fed up with the CORRUPT liberal media)
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To: blam
This was the subject of a GREAT book, 30 years ago.

Still a great read.

Camp of the Saints by Jean Raspail

4 posted on 06/25/2003 6:16:46 PM PDT by There's millions of'em (Bill Clinton was a great Democrat President)
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To: There's millions of'em
"Camp of the Saints by Jean Raspail"

Yup, read it. He nailed it 30 years ago.

5 posted on 06/25/2003 6:47:27 PM PDT by blam
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