by Gabriele Bonafede

The island of Lampedusa is the extreme southern point of Europe and EU.  Closer to Africa than Sicily, it is located thousands of kilometers from Rome, Berlin and Brussels.

It is not only an island. It is a paradise. Just looking at photos of its shores, one would like to splash directly in the image. It is a paradise for tourists. And it is a paradise for African immigrants escaping from their infernos.

Since the 80s, Lampedusa bears the increasing stream of immigrants coming from Africa to EU. Tens of thousands of people-boat land on this tiny island every year, spreading a dreadful scent of death on the blue sea of Sicilian Channel, between Sicily and Africa.

The stream of boat-people starts every spring and increases by the day as weather conditions improve through the summer.

The big problem of Lampedusa is that the island is very small: 20 sq. km. It is populated by 6,300 residents who faced the bulk of some 350,000 sea-arrivals of illegal immigrants in Italy since 1999.

These data alone should have convinced EU to set-up a special fund and implement concrete actions coordinated with the regional government of Sicily. EU should provide Lampedusa with all necessary infrastructure and human resources to effectively help local citizens.

Instead, residents are left alone in dealing with immigrants, who are survivors of incredible journeys to escape countries devastated by wars and famines.  On top of that, the recent fiscal policy of EU has put on the knee the economy of Lampedusa and that of Sicily. Residents of Lampedusa and Sicily face unprecedented crisis worsened by EU’s myopic views on dynamics of “economic growth”.

What makes life difficult in Lampedusa is that everyone has forgotten it. It is forgotten by the government of Sicily. Forgotten by Italy and completely obliterated by EU which leaves to the sole forces of its residents, mostly unemployed, the immigration policy of a continent populated by 300 million people.

Suddenly, one of the most known person in the world, Pope Francesco, decided to go to Lampedusa  for his first trip ever as leader of catholic church.  He will arrive today, for a non-official visit: essentially to prey for the countless dead on the sea, who do not get any place in Lampedusa’s cemetery. This is full since long, with no space for immigrants and residents alike.

The President of Italian lower chamber of Parliament, former UN official, Laura Boldrini, commented with these words the decision of Pope Francesco to go to Lampedusa:  “It is a slap on the face of egoism and myopic selfness”.

It is the same egoism and myopic selfness of EU. That is producing a stunning divergence between core and periphery of Europe. While in Greece 10% of children are reported to be underfed at school, Germany is having a sustained economic growth. Whereas Spain, Portugal, Greece and Sicily hit records of unemployment rate, EU imposes yet tougher measures on spending. The results are evident since long:  crippling-down economy and widespread desperation at the borders of Europe.

And, more emotionally, whilst police in ground borders of Europe (at Ceuta and Melilla in Spain), brutally beats-up immigrants (in this video), residents of Lampedusa welcome as they can scores of boat people every day.

http://youtu.be/VlF5DK6Ijy4

For every person landing in Lampedusa there have been at least four who did not succeed. An unknown number of them died in the sea. Most probably, deaths on Sicilian Channel – at the southern borders of “civilized” Europe – have been more than a million since the start of this century. It is a biblical stream of death to which EU officials and politicians are completely deaf.

This is why Pope Francesco’s visit in the forgotten Island of Lampedusa bears a political value besides a religious one. Will the technocrats in Brussels and their political leaders end the foolish policy of destroying the cohesion of Europe? Or will they stray away from their real responsibilities once again? And will they continue to force others to stray and wander for a better life through small islands and the sea?

Lampedusa is the most evident symbol of today’s Europe. It is an illuminating example of Europe’s future. It is a future where we are all heading. It is the final destination of a Europe believing on “Every man for himself, and God for us all” – current Credo in Brussels and Berlin.

Related articles (inItalian):

Alle frontiere d’Europa: Papa Francesco per pregare, altri per bastonare
I barconi di Lampedusa e il Papa
Papa Francesco a Lampedusa: per la Messa ‘Caino e Abele’ e ‘La strage degli Innocenti’
Papa Francesco verso Lampedusa. Il Sindaco: ‘La mia isola non più confine, ma inizio di un cammino’