A-Infos (en) Italy, FAI, Umanita Nova #32-25 - Migrations and Memoranda (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

At this moment in history, there are more than fifty ongoing conflicts 
in the world. This is the highest number since the end of the Second 
World War. Unfortunately-but it's also natural-public attention is 
unevenly distributed among the wars devastating more than ninety 
countries around the world. For many reasons, some conflicts are given 
more attention than others, and inevitably, mobilizations to combat 
them, or even, more simply, solidarity initiatives for the affected 
populations, are conducted according to a kind of political agenda that 
risks losing entire swathes of knowledge and awareness.

Beyond this, there is a global war that underlies all conflicts, but 
which is always discussed to a certain extent and always in the 
wake-often emotional-of sensational events. This is the war on 
immigration, waged with the regulatory and repressive tools we know so 
well, and which continues to claim victims along all borders.

Staying in our area, from the beginning of the year until October 25th, 
according to the latest update from the International Organization for 
Migration (IOM), at least 472 people have died and 479 are missing on 
the central Mediterranean route. These figures should always be 
considered conservative because it is impossible to be certain about all 
migratory journeys or how many people set out in a given period of time.

On Friday, October 17th, yet another shipwreck occurred not far from 
Lampedusa, in the Maltese SAR zone, costing the lives of several 
children and a pregnant woman. According to testimonies from those on 
board, a total of twenty people are missing.

The survivors said that thirty-five of them set out from Al Khums, 
Libya, on a fiberglass boat that capsized after two days at sea.

On October 27th, at least four people died after a vessel sank off the 
southwest coast of Lesbos, Greece. Seven survivors, all Sudanese 
citizens (speaking of forgotten wars), were rescued.

The following day, eighteen immigrants died off the coast of Sabrata, 
western Libya.

It's a depressing but necessary accounting to understand the enormous 
gravity of what's happening, provided we keep in mind that behind these 
cold numbers are always people with their stories, hopes, and life plans 
cut short forever.

In the aftermath of the Sabrata shipwreck, the organization Refugees in 
Libya denounced "yet another tragedy in the Mediterranean," calling for 
immediate intervention by European authorities to guarantee safe escape 
routes for refugees.

"The road to so-called safety in Europe," the organization continues, 
"continues to kill because Europe refuses to guarantee safe routes, 
because Europe continues to tighten its grip on the vulnerable, because 
Europe continues to finance militias and violent groups committing 
crimes against humanity in Libya and Tunisia. And sooner or later, 
Europe will have to answer for its actions."

Refugees in Libya, along with other associations and NGOs, demonstrated 
in Rome last month to ask the government not to renew the memorandum 
between Italy and Libya signed in 2017. The agreement, unless revoked or 
requested amendments by either country, is automatically renewed every 
three years.

Italy had until November 2nd to block the memorandum, but, obviously, 
the Meloni government let it slide, even ignoring a couple of motions 
from the opposition calling for it not to be renewed, or at least 
amended, this criminal agreement. This means that on February 2nd of 
next year, the Italy-Libya memorandum will be automatically extended for 
another three years.

As already explained on these pages, this is a truly wicked pact through 
which Italy supports the criminals of the so-called Libyan coast guard 
for border control.

Because of this agreement, thousands of people are arbitrarily detained, 
and it is estimated that over 158,000 migrants have been returned to 
Libya, where torture, violence, and enslavement have been documented by 
the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, and independent 
organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

The United Nations, through a field investigation in March 2023, 
confirmed that crimes against humanity had been committed in Libya and 
called for the cessation of all forms of support to the North African 
country. Even the Italian Court of Cassation and the European Court of 
Human Rights have ruled that Libya is not a safe port for the 
disembarkation of rescued persons.

Yet, this year alone, according to data reported by the IOM, 22,509 
migrants were intercepted at sea and returned to Libyan detention centers.

Despite all this, the collaboration between Italy and Libya continues 
and will continue. It is clear that the fascist government oppressing 
our country has no intention of tampering with the agreement. On the 
other hand, any criticism of the inhumanity of the memorandum or the 
criminality of our Libyan partners certainly poses no problem for those 
who guaranteed safe repatriation, complete with a state flight, to a 
person like General Almasri, accused by the Hague Court of war crimes 
and crimes against humanity.

It should not be forgotten, however, and it is always worth reiterating, 
that this agreement was signed by a center-left government, led at the 
time by Paolo Gentiloni (with Marco Minniti at the Interior Ministry), 
just as that political faction has produced-over time-a myriad of other 
immigration-related atrocities.

The bureaucratic and repressive persecution of the most vulnerable, the 
undocumented, and those forced to flee (even) from armed conflicts, 
represents in itself the epitome of all wars. It is the aggression, both 
classist and racist, with which the ruling classes declare war on humanity.

Alberto La Via

https://umanitanova.org/migrazioni-e-memorandum/
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