Mediterranean Hope – Newsletter August 2016

Mediterranean Hope – Newsletter August 2016

The Desert in the Sea, by Abby C. Wheatley, MH volunteer and researcher at the US and Mexico border

I have this overwhelming desire to reach out my arms and scoop up the sea, but my arms are a sieve and the ocean melts through them with rapid force. On another corner of the island, white sandy beaches roll outward in a way that makes time fall away. The only thing left to do is exhale. This island and this ocean have seen more than any population will ever see. Is it possible that they remain unchanged in the face of the tragedy and joy that shape this place?  Read more…

Scars on the Sea, by Francesco Martelli, volunteer within the Observatory “Mediterranean Hope” in Lampedusa

very journey is made three times: when we dream on it, when make it and then we think about it. Lampedusa is a place where the dreams of men, women and children land. These dreams full of expectations have pushed those kids and those families to face such traumatic journey. A dream that become a nightmare when crossing the desert on vehicles that seem cattle trucks and when suffering from hunger and thirst or when living the perils of raiders and the Libyan hell with its violence and labour camps.  Read more…

Welcoming In The Port of Augusta – Bitterness Along a Yellow Sulphur Pier, by Alessandra Ballerini – La Repubblica

I feel a bitter and sour taste in my mouth. My eyes do not hold back the tears. It is not a matter of emotion or conscience. It is not for the Somali woman dragging a leg or for the infants close to the chest of their achy mothers or even the disabled people put to the test as well as it is not for the countless of people who move slowly as sleepwalkers – it is the crush syndrome, doctors explain.  Read more…

Is Egypt the new gateway to Europe? byTom Rollins and Mohamed al-Kashef – Mada Msr

Crossings from Egypt tend to take a week or longer. While at sea, smugglers often transfer hundreds of people from boat to boat, often resulting in capsizing, callous lack of care for life and nameless bodies in news stories. Combined with the notoriously perilous route between Libya and Italy, it’s estimated that the chances of dying at sea in the Central Mediterranean are as high as one in 23.  Last year, many Syrians in Egypt would fly to Turkey and depart in boats from there. But that route has since been closed, thanks to Turkey’s new restrictions on Syrian arrivals to airports, as well as the EU-Turkey deal signed in March.  Read more…

Drawings from the seas: The refugee crisis in sketches, by Sara Manisera – Aljazeera

Lebanon and Lampedusa – Francesco Piobbichi knows two types of borders. One is shifting and dangerously abstract; the other is fixed and feels safe. Over the first type of border, refugees flee in rickety, overcrowded dinghies, risking their lives as they make the perilous journey across the sea. Over the second, they travel in planes, buckled safely into their seats. “On one, I accompany [refugees] on the planes; on the other, I see them dead or traumatised,” says the 44-year-old social worker, who works with refugees. For years – first in southern Italy, now in Lampedusa and Lebanon – Francesco has worked for Mediterranean Hope, a project financed by the Federation of Protestant Churches.  Read more…

Scicli Versus Capalbio – A Reception Centre In The Heart of the Old Town, by Anna Vullo – Il Fatto Quotidiano

Laki is undecided between taking a stroll to Italia square or remaining at the centre to play table tennis and listening to some music. It is hot and laziness prevails. It is better to save energies for the evening since there will be the Taranta festival, and we will be home late. “Does this FIAT 500 belong to you guys?”, asks the policeman before fining the car left in the no-parking zone. Sara who is a two-year-old girl, is watching curiously with her cornrows and rubber bands. The policeman played with Sara and then kissed her little hands. It is impossible to resist her doe eyes.  Read more…