By: V4 Agency
The city of Ventimiglia near the French border and Trieste have also been inundated with migrants arriving via the Balkan route or the Mediterranean Sea who want to transit further into Western Europe.
They want to transit to Northern Europe, with most entering the continent through Turkey. The border guards fear that illegal immigrants may start infiltrating Italy along other border sections, so they will focus attention on incomers in the Trebiciano and the Basovizza areas. Illegal immigrants arriving here are distributed to centres and quarantined for 15 days.
According to Trieste police, the majority of recent migrants are Pakistani, Afghan and Bengali nationals who reach Italy via Turkey and the Balkans.
Regarding the increase in volume on the Balkan route, Liga leader Matteo Salvini is against Italy becoming the refugee camp of Europe.
“Migrants are detained not only in Lampedusa but also in Trieste. These people entered our country on foot after leaving Bangladesh and Pakistan. How many states did they go through by the time they got here? Italy cannot become a refugee camp for Europe. We are confident that President Draghi will be able to successfully intervene.”
Some of the undocumented illegal immigrants already in Italy want to go further to France, but the border guards refuse them entery, resulting in a number of illegal makeshift camps in the city of Ventimiglia. Hundreds of migrants have over crowded the small town, and since no reception centres have been set up in the area, every newcomer is fending for themselves in seeking refuge.
Most illegal immigrants do not follow rules of hygiene and humanitarian organizations distribute food to them on the streets without complying with health regulations. Furthermore, a lot of rubbish is left behind from the meals, which no one cleans up.
In order to maintain public order, the city streets must be kept under constant surveillance to control the loud and often violent illegal migrants.
Mayor Scullino Sindaco spoke of his desire “to establish teams of police officers and mediators as soon as possible – especially for patrolling at night, who, while complying with the rules, would explain to migrants what their rights and obligations were and what punishment they can expect if they break the law.”
Scullino Sindaco also called for migrants to be transferred to regional reception centres and locations with operating refugee camps. The prefect had previously initiated setting up a refugee camp within Ventimiglia, but ran up against opposition by the mayor and town residents leading to the scrapping of the proposal.
According to representative Flavio Di Muro, “the problem is that small towns like Ventimiglia should be emptied immediately in order to stop their demise. The mass of migrants in the town did not begin accumulating now, but much earlier, when the French guards shut down border crossing – turning Ventimiglia into a gathering place for illegal immigrants.”
