Migrants who survived last year’s shipwreck tragedy off Lampedusa watched yesterday as a wreath was thrown into the same spot at sea where 360 fellow asylum seekers died.
The tiny Italian island hosted day-long remembrance activities, including speeches from high-profile Italian and European politicians.
But a sizeable group from the 155 migrants who survived the tragedy took centre stage as they narrated their stories during a ceremony aboard the same Italian coast guard vessels that came to their rescue on October 3, 2013.
They reached the spot where the rickety fishing vessel they were on capsized just 800 metres from the island’s coast.
Letebrhane, a 24-year-old Eritrean survivor, said she found it difficult to return to Lampedusa but forced herself to do so in memory of the people who died.
“When I heard about the possibility to return to Lampedusa for the commemoration, I was afraid and all the images I had in my head suddenly returned,” said the young woman, who now lives as a refugee in Norway.
“I never wanted to see the sea again. Then I realised how important it was for me to be there. I thank God because, to me, surviving October 3 was like being born a second time.”
The incident is one of the deadliest tragedies in the Mediterranean since World War II and set in motion Mare Nostrum, a massive Italian search and rescue mission which this year saved more than 80,000 migrants. European Parliament President Martin Shultz paid tribute to this “inspirational” operation which helped save so many lives, and insisted that the EU must find a way to share responsibilities more fairly, in the spirit of European solidarity.
He recommended that Europe should create more legal avenues for asylum seekers, many of whom are currently forced to enter the continent illegally despite having all the credentials to be granted asylum once they reach the continent’s shores.
Survivors and relatives of the victims of the tragedy watch as a wreath is thrown in the sea (right). Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi
“This is essential to stop desperate people from embarking on the dangerous trip across the Mediterranean in rickety boats; to avoid driving people into the hands of criminal traffickers, trying to make money off other people’s misery.
“We should examine ways of giving people the possibility to ask for asylum or protection outside the EU,” he said. His message, however, was still met with jeers by a group of protesters who gathered outside the airport, where the politicians debated with local authorities, residents and survivors.
Vito Fiorino, a Lampedusa resident who was among the first on the scene and helped save 47 lives, said he would not be taking part in the commemoration to protest against the “indifference of the institutions”.
I was afraid and all the images I had in my head suddenly returned
“All this is a farce. In the past 12 months, the institutions were indifferent towards us, now they expect us to take part in their theatre,” he said.
But Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Federica Mogherini said politicians’ presence in Lampedusa was not “a farce” but a moral, political and institutional duty.
“The EU’s presence here is not futile, it is a sign of a commitment which has been there and will continue to be there,” she said.
“This is an important political message,” Dr Mogherini, who is set to become the EU’s new Foreign Affairs envoy, said.
She amplified the point made by Mr Shultz, arguing that opening legal channels for immigration would be an important step forward for the union.