Interview: Valentina Salcedo
The migratory issue and, in particular, the Balkan route, were at the front burner during a meeting held in Trieste on Thursday, 24 August, at the ICS headquarters (which stands for Consorzio Italiano Solidarieta’ – Ufficio Rifugiati).
The number of migrants arriving in Trieste rose five-fold in the last quarter of 2022 and beginning of 2023 until July compared to the same period in 2021, said Giulio Zeriali from ICS.
Zeriali reported what he called an exponential increase in the number of migrant entries at the Trieste border alone. The numbers include immigrants who entered Italy illegally and those who spontaneously presented themselves to the forces of law and order once they had entered the country.
“Many are forced to live on the streets because there are not enough beds available to accommodate them. We need to find a way to help the incoming refugees and we’ve been working relentlessly to help move people from Silos (the abandoned building by the train station-ed.) to the refugee camp. It is their right, and sometimes they wait months to be accepted.”
More than 100 immigrants are forced to sleep on the streets this summer, which is the highest number that has ever been reported, with 0 transfers in August to other cities and regions (the last transfer happened in May where 150 immigrants were transferred to a nearby location with more bed). “The city pretends not to notice,” ICS continued. “The Italian state is not making enough resources available – making it a conscious abandon – the situation is not sustainable.”
Under the international law, if someone seeks asylum when they enter a territory, the method of entry becomes almost irrelevant, meaning they cannot be considered as having committed an offense.
