Tag Archives: Southern Europe

Nationality + Migration

Italy News | Refugees

Italian mayors ban migrants from entering towns without health certificate
  • The mayors of six cities in the northwest Savona province have outlawed entrance of migrants in their town unless certified as disease-free.
  • Despite the lack of major disease outbreaks since the arrival of nearly 68,000 migrants in Italy this year, mayors have claimed concern over public health in order to avoid having to take in migrants and refugees.
  • Community organizations have slammed the policies as discriminatory, with instances having taken place of Milan bus drivers declaring refusal to transport migrants because of so-called public health concerns.

“The law cannot be used in a discriminatory way, which is something local leaders should know.”

Read the full story at The Local.

Nationality + Migration

Europe Research | Migrants & Refugees

More than 135,000 refugees and migrants entered Europe in the first half of 2015
  • According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, the number is an 80% increase from the same period in 2014.
  • More than 1,000 enter the continent each day via the western Balkans alone, now the biggest point of entry.
  • Syria accounted for the largest number of refugees at 44,000, followed by Eritrea and Afghanistan.

“As arrivals increase, the reception capacity and conditions remain seriously inadequate. … This is a regional problem that needs a regional response and regional solidarity.”

Read the full story at Reuters.

(Image Credit: Antonio Parrinello/Reuters)

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Italy News | Refugees & Interfaith

In Milan, Holocaust memorial doubles as accommodations for African refugees
  • With the help of Jewish, Catholic, and Muslim community partners and volunteers, the Holocaust Memorial has dedicated part of its space to sheltering the refugees, providing food, beds, and washing facilities.
  • The Memorial stands at the site of Platform 21, the only remaining intact deportation site from the Holocaust that had part of its plan converted into a museum in 2013.
  • The Italian Jewish community–including famed Holocaust survivor Liliana Serge–has drawn parallels between the situations and indifference faced by Holocaust-era Jews and African migrants fleeing violence, persecution, and hardship.

“When I was expelled from school, very few people noticed that my seat had suddenly been emptied; very few people didn’t turn their faces when they ran into me on the streets. Today I witness with astonishment what is happening to these migrants who are seeking help from our opulent Europe, where people waste food and are obsessed with buying new things even if their houses are already full.”

Read the full story at the Times of Israel.

(Image Credit: Rossella Tercatin/The Times of Israel)

Religion + Belief
Pope Francis apologizes to Waldensian Protestants for historical persecution by the Catholic Church
  • During the first-ever visit by a Pope to a Waldesnian church, the Pope asked for forgiveness for the persecution of the sect that included a papal order of extermination in the late 15th century and the execution of 1,700 Waldensians in the 17th century.
  • The Waldensians now number roughly 30,000 worldwide, located mostly in Italy and Latin America.
  • The outreach comes ahead of the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation in 2017, for which the various sects of Christianity have yet to announce any joint plans.

“On behalf of the Catholic Church, I ask forgiveness for the un-Christian and even inhumane positions and actions taken against you historically. … In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, forgive us!”

Read the full story at Reuters.

(Image Credit: Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters)

Sexual + Gender Minorities
Hundreds of thousands demonstrate in Rome against same-sex unions and inclusive education curricula
  • As PM Matteo Renzi attempts to move a same-sex civil union bill through Parliament, the rally overflowed from San Giovanni square, which can accommodate around 300,000 people.
  • Claiming defense of children, the protesters demonstrated against same-sex unions and families and the inclusion of information about gender identity in school curricula.
  • While a newspaper poll found approximately 51% of Italians support same-sex marriage, the continuing influence of the Catholic Church has made political progress slow.

“[Migrants’] problems ‘are an urgent issue which concerns us all. Those who take to the streets to talk of other things show they are living on another planet, and I would recommend leaving them on that planet alone.'”

Read the full AFP story at Yahoo! News.

(Image Credit: Tiziana Fabi/AFP)

Nationality + Migration
Making up the second largest group of refugees in Europe, Eritreans flee an authoritarian regime and military conscription
  • Eritreans accounted for a fifth of refugees making the trans-Mediterranean voyage from Africa to Europe last year, becoming the largest group in Italy.
  • The government of Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki has held uninterrupted power since the country gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993, with reports of torture, forced disappearance, and mass surveillance practices.
  • Eritreans are forced into low-paid, indefinite military service, which the government says is due to ongoing conflicts with Ethiopia, leading many to leave to avoid conscription.

“It’s too hard to live in Eritrea because there are a lot of things they can do to you. …You can be in the military service for unlimited years, or in prison, and you don’t have a chance to raise your voice, to change the president.”

More on this story at BuzzFeed.

(Image Credit: Baz Ratner/Reuters, via BuzzFeed)

Nationality + Migration
Italy PM calls for EU asylum rule revision as his country struggles with migrant influx
  • PM Matteo Renzi has called for a change in the Dublin II regulation, which stipulates that refugees must apply for asylum in the country of entry, as neighboring states France and Austria tighten their border controls.
  • With Southern European states like Italy and Greece bearing the brunt of the historic trans-Mediterranean migration taking place, Renzi argues the regulation is standing in the way of other countries bearing their fair share of incoming refugees.
  • Renzi criticized the EU’s proposed refugee distribution plan that will relocate 24,000 from Italy and 16,000 from Greece to other countries in the European bloc.

“Migration is a serious issue and – let’s be frank – the answers that Europe is giving are insufficient. Relocating only 24,000 people is almost a provocation.”

More on this story at Deutsche Welle.

(Image Credit: via Deutsche Welle)

Nationality + Migration
The NY Times has published a graphically enhanced look at the global migration crisis that is being called the worst since World War II
  • 38 million have been displaced within their own countries, while 16.7 million refugees have fled internationally.
  • Roughly 11 million Syrians and 3 million Iraqis have been internally displaced, while 4 million Syrians have left the country, straining the intake abilities of neighboring countries like Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey.
  • Approximately 25,000 Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants have been trafficked via sea in Southeast Asia, some finding conditional acceptance in Indonesia and Malaysia and others being repatriated.
  • To date, around 78,000 have traveled across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa and Turkey, fleeing violence, persecution, and poor economic prospects in North, West, and East Africa.
  • Finally, the conflict in Ukraine has displaced 1.3 million inside the country and sent 867,000 abroad, mostly to Russia with few European countries willing to accept them.

More on this story at The New York Times.

Nationality + Migration
EU ships take in more than 3,000 more migrants from the Mediterranean over the weekend.
  • Fifteen operations over a 24-hour period included British, Irish, Italian, and German ships.
  • With approximately one million in Libya waiting to make the journey across the Mediterranean, British authorities predict up to 500,000 may attempt the dangerous trip over the summer.
  • The current migration rate stands roughly 30% higher than last year’s at this time.

“We don’t know when the rest will be arriving [in southern coastal processing centers], because it’s simply a logistical nightmare for Italian authorities as many of them are ending up on mainland Italy.”

More on this story at Al Jazeera.

Gender, Ideology + Affiliation, Race + Color + Ethnicity
The Ethical Fashion Initiative works to give designers and artisans from the developing world a voice in the global fashion industry.
  • The program is supporting four brands with designers representing Cote d’Ivoire, South Africa, Nigeria, and Angola at this year’s major international trade show for men’s fashion, Pitti Imagine Uomo.
  • The Initiative also confronts unethical labor practices, pushing for heightened standards throughout the supply chain that will improve conditions for the laborers on which the industry is built.
  • EFI notes that its efforts help financially empower women in sustainable ways, allowing them to mobilize their creativity and talents to gain independence and support their families.

“We work with women who sometimes face discrimination in their communities, but by having a job, their position in society improves…They gain independence and respect, and in many situations they become the only breadwinner in their families.”

More on this story at the Inter Press Service News Agency.

(Image Credit: ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative 5, via Inter Press News Agency)

Nationality + Migration

Rising xenophobic sentiment and strained infrastructure imperil Italy’s growing immigrant and refugee communities. More from Al Jazeera.