By watching this situation unfold just a mile from my own home, I learned about the technicalities of migration and the need for agreement and accord between international and national immigration policies, and the ways in which people’s lives and well-being get hamstrung in political and legal disagreements.
According to the United Nations, since the beginning of 2022, more than 85,000 migrants have arrived on Italy’s shores by boat. With this many arrivals at various ports and points of entry into Italy, it is of paramount importance to find a consistent solution that is aligned with Italian and international law and which can provide a compassionate response to people who have been traumatized by a perilous journey.
Italy has recently faced internal political turmoil and elected a new far-right government just a few weeks ago. One of the new government’s promises was to crack down on migration, and the scene that is playing out here in the port in Catania demonstrates that there is not yet a functioning standard in place and that many lives are hung in the balance.
For example, 144 out of 179 migrants aboard one of the four ships were allowed to disembark, with authorities giving preference to women, children and anyone with medical concerns. The additional 35 passengers were deemed fit enough to stay on the boat, but the next day, one suffered from cardiac arrest and needed immediate medical attention and three additional passengers jumped off the ship in a desperate attempt to get to land. Various news outlets reported that there had not been cultural mediators or translators present for the evaluations of the passengers.
