What to do with immigrants? Maloney government’s unanswered question Pope Francis’ words have now been echoed by Italy’s prime minister

From Rome

After a long time, without much fanfare, Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia MeloniSo far it seems ready to take some serious action regarding the tragedy 70 migrants (16 of them are minors) Drowned in the Mediterranean Sea The ship carrying them sank near Crotone (Calabria) on February 26. She was really sorry but did not go to Crotone to meet the families of the victims and survivors. Instead, Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella did.

But recent reports Pope FranciscoSunday at noon in Angeles, seems to have inspired her. Maloney summoned all his ministers on Thursday Council of Ministers meeting At Cutro (near Crotone) and important results are expected.

Pope’s words

“I express my sorrow for the tragedy at the Kutro sea in Crotone,” Pope Francis said on Sunday. I pray for the victims of the shipwreck, their families and the survivors. I express my appreciation and gratitude to the local people and institutions for their solidarity and welcome to our brothers and sisters, and renew my appeal to all to ensure that such tragedies do not recur. The Pope also reiterated his call to “stop human traffickers”. That they don’t continue to throw away so many innocent lives! Journeys of faith no longer become journeys of death! May the clear waters of the Mediterranean no longer be filled with blood by such dramatic events!

The Pope’s words were echoed by Mattarella, who, speaking at the University of Basilicata this Monday, stressed that “the shipwreck of Crotone cannot be another tragedy that will be forgotten in time.” “Condolences must be turned into concrete wishes on the part of everyone in Italy and the European Union,” the president stressed.

For Meloni, “the words of the Holy Father represent a great call to all institutions. We as a government make them our own, and we will continue to use all the necessary forces to fight human traffickers and prevent deaths at sea,” he said. But that did not stop him from criticizing him. But over and above It is forgotten every year that he issued warnings about the reception of immigrants,” he recalled to the newspaper. Il Fatto Quotidiano.

And Meloni told his co-religionists, according to reports: “Many mistakes, many things taken lightly” and invited Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi to a meeting. Biandosi, who several Solidarity and centre-left organizations have named as one of the perpetrators of the shipwreck and are calling for his resignation, is due to give a detailed report to the Italian parliament this week on the events in the Calabrian Sea.

Although there is no official information yet, A group of ministers meeting in Kudro is expected to decide on tougher penalties against smugglers and written rules on rescue at sea.. This last point has provoked a lot of criticism against the government, especially the infrastructure minister, the right-wing leader and the president of the League, Matteo SalviniHe was the Home Minister (2018-2019) who took tough anti-immigrant measures and ordered the Coast Guard to act only or not act against migrants at sea.

The Via Crucis

On Sunday, around a thousand people attended the Stations of the Cross in memory of the 70 victims, on a beach facing the sea where the shipwreck took place. It was a moment Prayer for Christians and Muslims Most of the immigrants from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan are Muslims.

The Via Crucis carried a crucifix made by an artist from Calabria with the discovered remains of the ship. “We wanted to make this cross to commemorate the innocent people who died in the shipwreck. This drama will never be erased from our memory,” said Father Francesco Lobrate, a priest from a town near the shipwreck who organized the Stations of the Cross.

Meanwhile in the Calabrian Sea, Navy officials are continuing to search for other missing persons. About 80 migrants were rescued alive Since the wreck, 22 of them have been sent to Crotone Hospital for treatment. Others were sent to a reception center for refugees.

The ferry left 4 days ago from the port of Smyrna, Turkey. A plane from the European agency Frontex, which was patrolling the area on Saturday, spotted the boat and alerted the Italian navy. But Italian officials said the Frontex alert did not address the dangerous situation and did not act to save people.

Migrants yes

when Some right-wing politicians are fueling fears about immigrants and above all the people of the north of Italy, distrusting and rejecting them, lamenting their lack of labor in the industrial fields. Companies in the Northeast can’t find employees because of population decline (Italians have no children or at most one and young people go to live in other countries). This refers above all to the tourism sectors (which have grown enormously since the pandemic), construction, agriculture and transport. And many of the businessmen ask foreigners, sometimes they can exploit better, other times it is useful because they speak other languages, and because they are experts and hard workers.

Whether it’s engineers, technicians or laborers, it takes five months or more to find the right person, say experts. For example, a company that manufactures heating equipment near Vicenza (north of the country) today has about a thousand employees from 30 different countries. But now it is not easy to find new employees to replace the old ones. That is why many companies in the North talk about the need to increase the flow of foreign workers and review the rules regulating this income.

As these are companies that feed the country’s wealth, the government should take this into account for them, and do something similar to what Germany did with the Turks and then with the refugees from Syria. In the 1960s, the German government signed an agreement with Turkey to encourage the influx of Turkish immigrants to Germany. Today it is the largest foreign community in Germany with around 3 million people.