Non-white immigrants offer Italy wonderful benefits, like a champion cricket team. — Ed.
The deaths of 73 African migrants who drifted for three weeks in theMediterranean without rescue have heightened concern about Italy’scrackdown on immigration, opening cracks in its ruling coalition and arift with Brussels.
Five survivors, picked up off the Italian island of Lampedusa, saidtheir grey dinghy left Libya carrying 78 people. A day later, the motordied: two pregnant girls, raped by traffickers, were among the first todie of thirst and exposure.
Italy is the first landing-point in Europe for many migrants fromAfrica and tragedies in the Mediterranean have become a fixture of themigration season, but since Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi toughenedits immigration laws, things have changed.
The migrants said a dozen fishing boats passed but only one answered their calls, throwing food but refusing to board.
“There used to be competition among fishermen to save lives,but…with Italy’s new law making immigration a crime, they’ve becometoo afraid,” said Laura Boldrini of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. “TheMediterranean has become a No Man’s Land.”
In Italy, the survivors were placed under guard. Unless they winasylum, they may face detention under legislation passed in July makingit a felony to be an illegal immigrant or help one.
That followed a deal Italy struck with Libya in May enabling it toreturn migrants stopped in international waters to Libya: the UNHCR hassaid that arrangement, the fruit of Berlusconi’s closer ties withLibyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, consigns hundreds of asylum-seekers toinhumane camps in North Africa.
Rome’s hard line has strained relations with the EuropeanCommission, which last month called for an investigation into therepatriations to Libya. Berlusconi threatened to block all EU businessunless Commission spokespeople were silenced.
“We need more than words,” Foreign Minister Franco Frattini saidlast month, denying Italy was responsible for the tragedy. He saidfrontier states were being unfairly burdened by illegal migration tothe 27-nation bloc: “This is a European problem.”
Current EU President Sweden has vowed to discuss migration at anOctober summit, but analysts say it could be hard to curb mountingracism in Italy as the global crisis ups unemployment.
FAR RIGHT NOT MARGINAL
Italy’s crackdown was promoted by the far-right Northern League, alynchpin of Berlusconi’s coalition, following a 75 percent leap inmigrants arriving by sea last year to 37,000.
The measures, which include legalizing citizens’ patrols to enforcelaw and order, cut the number of migrants landing in south Italybetween May and August to less than a tenth of last summer’s 10,000 andstruck a chord with many Italians, worried by mass immigration andrising crime.
One TV poll said 71 percent thought the five survivors of last month’s boat tragedy should be tried as illegal immigrants.
“There is no doubt that racism is becoming more visible… and it’sgoing to get worse: partly because of the economy,” said James Walston,professor of Italian politics at the American University in Rome. “It’sdangerous because the far right in most countries is marginal. Here itis not.”
(“Far right” is now the new buzz word for wishing to maintain the tradition and heritage of European persons — Ed)