Donnerstag, 12. November 2015

The factory of irregular migrants, improperly called clandestine - Press release

Borderline Sicilia expresses deep concern regarding the continuation of illicit practices at the expense of asylum seekers. From the end of September until today we have denounced on various occasions the hundreds of refoulments of migrants rescued at sea.[1] The last incidence that we heard of is of fifteen people (but they could be more) from Pakistan and Mali. We met them yesterday in front of the police station of Palermo and they told us that they arrived at Lampedusa on November 5, after being rescued at sea with more than other 500 persons.

From there they have been brought to Agrigento five days later, where they have been rejected by the Police and left on the streets. They reached Palermo on their own, where they went to the police station for submitting an asylum request. A request, though, that has been denied because they were the recipients of a rejection provision. They tell us that at the moment of their arrival they have been asked only for their personal data and that they did not receive any information about the possibility to access international protection.

Illicit administrative practices continue to occur, which seek legitimacy in the latest provisions issued by the Ministry of Interior. Chilling provisions that are included in the so called Road Map and that intend to demolish the right to asylum – which is guaranteed by laws and the constitution – resulting in the creation of irregular persons easy to exploit and put at the mercy of traffickers. We vehemently request that the ministry puts an end to these abuses through which migrants are treated like outcasts to be expelled instead of persons with rights. We ask for an urgent meeting with the prefecture and the Police of Agrigento in order to discuss alternative procedures to those currently in place, and in order to find shared solutions in respect of fundamental human rights.

Borderline Sicilia Onlus

Translation: Chiara Guccione