Stranded at sea

Published June 20, 2018
The writer is a public health and development consultant.
The writer is a public health and development consultant.

ON June 10, the Italian interior minister, Matteo Salvini, of the right-wing government, ordered the closure of Italian ports to ships carrying migrants rescued from the Mediterrrean Sea. The interior minister also asked the Maltese government to let the ship Aquarius carrying over 600 migrants dock at its port.

The Maltese government rejected the request saying it would restrict itself to the provision of much-needed medical care to the migrants. However, in a show of defiance to the hard-line minister, mayors in southern Italy pledged that their cities would allow the migrants to disembark at their ports. Finally, the vessel was allowed in by Spain.

This crisis has followed the installation earlier this month of the new populist right-wing and far-right government led by the Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. The new coalition is composed of the Five Star Movement and Lega Nord which are perceived as anti-immigrant, anti-European, populist and inward-looking. The leader of Lega, Matteo Salvini, is both deputy prime minister and interior minister.

The Italian government continues to harden its approach to migrants.

Unfortunately, Matteo Salvini did not lose much time in escalating his pre-election anti-immigrant stance. Immediately after the assumption of office, Salvini visited the city of Sicily, which is a focal point for migrants arriving via the Mediterranean Sea route. He declared that illegal migrants should be ready to pack their bags. Not content with this, he also criticised NGOs that were involved in rescuing migrants who had been stranded at sea, and described them as “people smugglers”. He pledged he would expel illegal migrants and detain migrants without resident papers in detention centres. He also said he would like to see the asylum application process being speeded up, while doing away with the European Union-funded project of paid voluntary work for migrants while their asylum cases are being sorted out. Together these measures have translated Lega’s pre-election anti-migrant and xenophobic sentiments into hard-line official policy on thousands of hapless people. At the same time, Salvini’s approval ratings have jumped to an all-time high.

As part of Lega’s anti-immigrant campaign, Salvini also criticised Malta for not helping stranded migrants. In recent years, the Italian political class has complained about the EU for not doing enough to share the increasing burden of the huge number of migrants who arrive in Italy. Despite the EU’s assurances and burden-sharing policy, the number of migrants relocated to other EU countries is minuscule when compared to the sheer volume of new arrivals. However, thanks to a controversial deal with Libyan militias in recent years, the number of sea-borne migrants has considerably slowed down.

One major stumbling block in the way of implementing the EU refugee relocation quota is the refusal of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to take in their share of refugees and migrants and address their problems. Some of these countries have openly said that since the migrants are coming largely from Muslim-majority countries, their acceptance in society would compromise the local culture and ethnic balance.

The migrants arriving in Italy are mainly from Africa and Asia. Of the Asian migrants, Pakistanis constitute a sizeable number. One study estimated that legally residing migrants from Pakistan number almost 123,000, constituting the tenth-largest non-European group in Italy. This group is concentrated in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Though the exact figures for asylum-seeking and other illegal Pakistanis is not available, it is perceived to be in the thousands.

One figure from the Info Migrant group estimates that in the first month of 2018, out of some 4,000 people reaching Italy via Libya, 248 were from Pakistan. In 2017, 3,100 Pakis­tanis reached Italy via the boat route. This sizeable group is now within reach of the tightening noose of Italy’s hard-line anti-immigrant policy.

The total number of illegal migrants in Italy is estimated to be more than half a million. Critics argue that the policy of deportation is not workable as it would involve a huge cost and much administrative work. Moreover, the repatriation agreement with countries from where the migrants come, currently 20, may be difficult to negotiate given the xenophobic nature of the new Italian administration.

From its recent inflammatory rhetoric, and actions, it is quite plain that the country’s efforts to Europeanise and internationalise the migrant crisis are well aligned and working in tandem. The consequences of such a policy for the migrants, the countries of their origin — Pakistan included — and receiving regions like Europe are huge and must be revisited.

The writer is a public health and development consultant.
drarifazad@gmail.com
Twitter: @arifazad5

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2018

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