Another tragedy of migrants on the sea near Lampedusa

A boat laden with about 500 men, women and children migrants from Somalia, Eritrea, Egypt and Syria caught fire and sunk near the coast of Lampedusa Island, Italy early this morning. The inhabitants of the island helped saving the victims. More than a hundred and fifty died with hundreds hurt by the fire. Most of the victims has swam nto reach the shore for three hours befoire they were met and saved by the boats of the local inhabitants. The Mayor of the island has asked for help from the National Government for assistance for the refugees and for the location of more bodies in the sea.

Again, criticisms against the much hated Bossi-Fini law was aired in the radio and tv networks. This should has been stopped years ago, but politicians have used the issue of illegal migration to sow fears among the population in order to harvest votes from the panicked citizens. Most of the migrants are in fact refugees from political repressions, poverty and hunger.

The amendments on the said law look upon the illegal migrants as prospective criminals and terrorists. They have instilled in the minds of Italians that these illegal immigrants have come to this country to rape their women and rob their homes, They are also a possible danger to the jobs of local workers. With this platform, the extreme right has won the elections and ruled for 20 years.

 But the facts during the past ten years has belied the claims of the extreme right. It was the European immigrants, mostly from eastern Europe, has overcrowded the Italian prisons for the crimes they have been attributing to the African, Oriental and South American immigrants.

The drive to abolish the racist law is again on as more and more Italians learn of the truth that they have been duped by the lies of the extreme right. It will be very hard to remove the poison injected into the mind of the Italians. Racism has taken hold on the majority specially among the elder ones.

The stalwart of racism Berlusconi has fallen from power giving hope that racism is at hand. Many will be disappointed with this hope. The struggle against the neo-nazizt and other splinter groups who love to bathe in  their violent hate for people who are unlike them. But there is hope, at least, and hope is hard to die.