Since 2017, over 200,000 refugees have traversed the Mediterranean to seek asylum in Italy, but the nation’s apathetic response has drawn criticism from human rights organizations around the world.
Just as Italy’s rustic beauty and rich culture attract roughly 90 million tourists a year, its geographic location makes it a hotspot for migrant traffic just off of its idyllic southern coastlines. Instead of offering asylum to incoming migrants, government officials have turned a blind eye to their immediate needs, leaving them stranded at sea in eyeshot of their ill-disposed final destination.
Though the treasured European peninsula is home to over 6 million diverse immigrants who influence culture and breathe new life into this ancient destination, its response to the unresolved migrant crisis on its southernmost shores is far from welcoming. In 2019, former interior minister Matteo Salvini refused to let a Spanish migrant ship dock at an Italian port off the coast of Lampedusa, leaving all 147 of its passengers trapped onboard for 19 days. During the standoff, several desperate people jumped overboard, bringing the total number of rescued passengers down to 83 when all refugees still aboard finally disembarked three weeks later.
Salvini is set to stand trial in September on kidnapping charges for his role in the 2019 migrant standoff, and he is also under investigation for a similar incident from the same year when over 100 refugees aboard a Coast Guard ship were blocked from docking at an Italian port for six days in the stifling July heat. Despite damning allegations against him, Salvini’s conservative stance on the migrant crisis is unwavering. On April 17th, the former interior minister defended his actions on Twitter, citing the Italian constitution to argue that he was simply defending the country: “I’m going with my head held high, also in your name. Italy first.”
The 2019 incident is eerily reminiscent of a similar tragedy involving a migrant shipwreck on the same coastline only six years earlier. In October 2013, over 360 people died after a crowded migrant boat from Libya sank off the coast of Lampedusa. In this tragic case, the boat’s captain ignited a devastating fire while responding to engine trouble below deck, prompting hundreds of passengers to jump overboard before the ship eventually capsized. The Italian Coast Guard rescued 155 survivors from over 500 refugees originally onboard. The incident generated international attention and led to policy changes initiated by the Italian government and the European Union to improve naval and air operations to protect and to assist migrants at sea.
In August 2020, Italy reported an influx of migrant traffic with over 20,000 arrivals in one year – a 148.7% increase from the 2019 total. From January to October in 2019, over 10,000 migrants arrived on Italian shores, while roughly 700 died at sea. Italy’s far-right Lega Nord (Northern League) populist party has come under fire on numerous occasions for human rights violations involving asylum-seekers on Southern Italian coasts. Conservative politicians like Salvini have characterized the refugee crisis as “an invasion” and have capitalized on anti-immigration legislation to turn away incoming migrants under the guise of “prevention and protection” measures allegedly aimed at discouraging risky trips across the Mediterranean.
Italy’s migrant crisis exposes the inflexible stance of far-right politics across the peninsula as party leaders disregard humanitarian disasters in favor of an unyielding nationalist agenda. As thousands of new refugee arrivals shake the rigid foundation of Italy’s political system, the European Union and human rights organizations around the world cast their attention to its southern shores, where desperation meets complacency on the turbulent waters of the Mediterranean.
