A thousand migrants in the Mediterranean wait for the EU to give them a port

More than 1,100 migrants have been waiting for days in the Mediterranean, aboard two ships of the NGOs Sea Eye and SOS Méditerranée, for a country of the European Union (EU) to grant them a safe port where they can disembark.

“In just 48 hours our crew has more than 800 migrants saved. Among those rescued are children, pregnant women and the injured. For everyone, the exceptional situation on board must end immediately. We need a safe harbor, ”wrote the NGO Sea Eye on social media today.

Another 314 migrants are in the Ocean Viking, of the French humanitarian organization SOS Méditerranée.

The President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, He said on November 6 that Europe and Africa have to increase their “sincere and effective” collaboration.

“The phenomenon of migration must be managed for the good of all. Otherwise, our humanitarian reasons and our state systems will be overwhelmed. To do this, we must address the root causes of migration, in particular instability and insecurity in some areas of Africa, which require political and sustainable solutions and economic and social development, an essential condition to guarantee opportunities for new generations ”, he added, in statements to the Algerian newspaper Freedom, on the occasion of the trip he is making to Algeria.

The Sea-Eye 4 and the Ocean Viking are near the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa (south) to take refuge from bad weather, while they wait for a solution.

So far this year, 54,384 immigrants have arrived in Italy, almost double the 29,856 recorded in the same period last year, according to data from the Interior Ministry. (I)