More than 78,000 migrants and
refugees have passed through the Contrada Imbriacola first
reception centre or 'hotspot' on Lampedusa since June 1, 2023,
when the Italian Red Cross took over management of the facility,
the humanitarian organisation said on Sunday ahead of
International Migrants Day on December 18.
Since then, the over 100 volunteers and staff who work daily in
the facility just outside Lampedusa town have "continued to
ensure reception under the banner of dignity, as well as a
concrete response to the initial needs of women and men who are
welcomed after difficult crossings in the Mediterranean".
Services have included first reception, allocation of welcome
kits, health and psychological support, cultural mediation
activities, meals, transport and the Restoring Family Links
service for the re-establishment of family ties, said the Red
Cross.
The over 78,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in a total of
around 1,900 landings, with migrant boats arriving from Tunisia
and Libya.
This year Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost point, has been the
place of arrival of the majority of people crossing the Central
Mediterranean in search of safety and a better life in Europe,
putting the local reception capacity under strain.
However, thanks to a restructuring of the hotspot under the new
Red Cross management and the creation of a system of swift
transfers of new arrivals off the island to reception facilities
on mainland Sicily and in other parts of Italy, with the
exception of a few critical days with peak arrivals over the
summer the situation on the island has been manageable.
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