Migrants, 79 landings in Lampedusa. Fall in arrivals but Bangladesh worries

Migrant arrivals are falling, but Italy is now grappling with a route that, given the numbers, worries our authorities. 35,725 people have arrived in Italy so far since the beginning of 2024, compared to 94,009 in the same period in 2023: a drop of 62 per cent, but not entirely reassuring in light of the political crisis and unrest in Bangladesh that broke out a few weeks ago.

In fact, the number of Bengali citizens has already jumped to the top of the list of nationalities of migrants who have left their homes to reach Italy this year: 7,615 so far, followed by Syrians (5,725) and Tunisians (4,747). With these numbers in hand and a watchful eye on the country that is struggling to get out of its chaos, eyes are on the route that leads to flights from Bangladesh to Egypt, where they follow the voyages of desperation in the Mediterranean managed by the traffickers of lives. It cannot be ruled out that, given the historical moment the Asian state is experiencing, the phenomenon has ended up on the table at the meeting of the Interministerial Committee for the Security of the Republic held before last Wednesday's Prime Minister's meeting, attended by several ministers and the heads of the secret services.

Mouths are sealed at the moment, however, on the hypothesis of an agreement between Italy and Egypt to avert a significant increase in flows from that route, as happened last year for the crisis in Tunisia. The situation on the arrival of new refugees through Syria following the escalation of tensions in the Middle East is still being monitored, but at the moment does not give rise to any particular concerns.

Work on the construction of the centre for migrants in Albania, the result of the agreement between Rome and Tirana, is meanwhile continuing: after the latest postponement of the opening, it seems likely that the facility will be up and running by the end of the month. The postponement," explained the Italian ambassador, Fabrizio Bucci, "is linked to 'unforeseeable factors: first of all, we found friable ground on which we could not build, and we were forced to insert 7,000 reinforced concrete piles, almost a metre in diameter, up to 13 metres deep'. Speaking of 'a matter of weeks' was the Minister of the Interior himself, Matteo Piantedosi, who again emphasised that with regard to the migratory phenomenon, the government has chosen the line of 'firmness, of contrast but also of bilateral agreements, in a logic of respect for the countries of origin and transit of migrants'.

Meanwhile, 79 migrants landed during the night in Lampedusa, where yesterday, Sunday 11 August, there had been 12 landings with a total of 421 people. On the first boat, docked by the patrol boat Pv5 of the Guardia di Finanza, were 60 Bengalis, Egyptians, Pakistanis and Syrians. According to them, the vessel sailed from Karabolli in Libya and each paid between four and seven thousand dollars. On the other barge there were 19, who left from Sabrata. The Bengalis in this case paid up to 9 thousand dollars. All were taken to the hotspot where there are 524 guests. On the orders of the prefecture of Agrigento, 280 migrants are being transferred from contrada Imbriacola to the port and will be embarked on the Sansovino ferry that will arrive in Porto Empedocle in the evening.