Seven years from Lampedusa tragedy: ‘Compassion needs to be above water’

Over 20,000 migrants and refugees have died or have gone missing in the Mediterranean Sea since the tragic capsizing of migrant boats off Lampedusa on 3 October 2013. 

On the seven-year commemoration of the tragedy, the NGO Kopin has called for a solidarity and compassion that can be “above water” and where people do not turn a blind eye to the suffering of others. 

“We have a clear and present responsibility not to let humanity drown; solidarity and compassion can be above water only if we are aware and decide to take action,” Kopin said in a statement. 

“Malta, in particular, needs to review its current migration system. Emphasis should be put on engaging in active dialogue that discusses real and perceived challenges Maltese communities are facing. However, extremist and populist viewpoints, hate speech, and any form of racism, cannot be allowed to be part of the conversation.” 

On 3 October 2013, a boat carrying migrants from Libya to Italy sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa. An emergency response involving the Italian Coast Guard resulted in the rescue of 155 survivors. The confirmed death toll after searching the boat was 359, but further bodies were still missing. A second shipwreck occurred 120km from Lampedusa on 11 October, within the Maltese search and rescue zone, but closer to Lampedusa. The boat was reportedly carrying migrants from Syria, and at least 34 individuals were later confirmed dead. 

The UN Human Rights Office yesterday called for or urgent action to address the dire situation of migrants attempting to cross the central Mediterranean Sea in search of safety in Europe.

The call by the UN Human Rights Office follows a week-long mission to Malta from 21-26 September by a team of human rights officers during which they spoke to government officials, UN partners, migrant community leaders, civil society organisations and 76 migrants – 41 men, 22 women, and 13 children – from 25 different nationalities.  

“People described the ongoing violence and insecurity they faced in Libya, including arbitrary detention, torture, trafficking, sexual violence, forced labour, sale, and other serious human rights violations and abuses,” the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said. 

Many reported being intercepted on previous sea crossings by the Libyan Coast Guard, including having their boats rammed or shot at, causing vessels to capsize or people to jump into the water in desperation. 

There were also reports that on at least one occasion the Armed Forces of Malta attempted to push a migrant boat back towards Libya, and on another occasion attempted to push a boat with migrants in the direction of the Italian island of Lampedusa. 

Some migrants reported that commercial vessels did not come to their assistance, while others said commercial ships picked them up but returned them to Libya where they ended up in detention centres. 

“If true, these are serious allegations of failure to assist people in distress at sea and possible coordinated push-backs that should be duly investigated,” the UNHCHR said. 

Regarding disembarkation in Malta, some migrants said they had been detained for several months, with little access to daylight, clean water and sanitation. They reported severe overcrowding, poor living conditions, and limited contact with the outside world, including lawyers and civil society organisations.  

Migrants also said they had been given only one change of clothing since arriving. “You’re in jail in Libya and now you come to Europe and prison again,” one migrant testified.  

At the closed detention centre the team visited, there were multiple reports of self-harm and attempted suicide. There have also been several protests within detention centres in recent months, with security forces called in to restore order. 

“The pressures on the reception system in Malta have long been known but the pandemic has clearly made an already difficult situation worse,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.  “Governments are facing huge challenges because of COVID-19 but despite these challenges, human rights must always be upheld and those who are confined, out of sight as it were, must not be forgotten.” 

Even when migrants are released from detention into open shelters, they face an array of problems, including a lack of information about what will happen to them and delays in asylum processing. 

“What is happening to migrants in Malta – and elsewhere in Europe – is the result of a failed system of migration governance, one that fails to place the human rights of migrants and refugees at the centre and for too long has been marked by a lack of solidarity forcing frontline states such as Malta to bear the brunt of the responsibility,” said Bachelet.  

“I urge the European Union and its Member States to ensure its Pact on Migration and Asylum addresses these challenges head on and results in a truly common and principled approach that ensures the respect and protection of the human rights of migrants and refugees,” she said. 

The mission to Malta is part of a wider project by the UN Human Rights Office to look at issues concerning migrants in Libya and the neighbouring region, including the human rights protection of migrants in Libya, at sea, upon reception and in the context of return.