The UN refugee agency (难民署) is heaping pressure on Europe to help Italy defuse (平息) the “unfolding tragedy” of tens of thousands of migrants flooding its shores. Italy needs more international support to deal with a growing number of migrants who have braved a risky Mediterranean crossing to reach Europe this year, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Saturday.
“What is happening in front of our eyes in Italy is an unfolding tragedy,” Grandi said in a statement. “In the course of last weekend, 12,600 migrants and refugees arrived on its shores, and an estimated 2,030 have lost their lives in the Mediterranean since the beginning of the year.” Italy, he said, was “playing its part” in taking in those rescued and offering protection to those in need. “These efforts must be continued and strengthened. But this cannot be an Italian problem alone.”
Separately, a source in Paris said the interior ministers of France, Germany and Italy would meet in the French capital on Sunday to discuss an approach to help Rome.
Violence in Calais
Europe has been dealing with the worst migration crisis since the end of World War II with the arrival of large numbers of people fleeing the wars in Syria and Iraq while others from Africa are seeking an escape from poverty or political persecution (迫害).
In the northern French port city of Calais, police stepped in over the past two days to break up fighting among African migrants armed with sticks and rocks. Calais has for years been a magnet (磁铁) for migrants and refugees hoping to cross the Channel to Britain.
Last October, France broke up the disreputable tent camp known as “the Jungle” transferring thousands of migrants to centers around the country. But hundreds remain near the port, mostly Africans and Afghans, who fight sporadically with police as they make nightly attempts to stow away (偷乘) onto trucks heading across the Channel to Britain.
