More than 3,000 people have perished since the beginning of the year trying to cross the Mediterranean, while nearly 250,000 people have made the crossing, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced.
This new toll raises fears that 2016 could be even deadlier than the previous year. In 2015, 1,917 deaths were recorded during the first seven months of the year. Since 2014, more than 10,000 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean.
The crossing to Italy remains the most perilous, with 2,606 deaths for some 88,350 arrivals since the beginning of the year, according to the IOM tally. Three out of four deaths this year in the Mediterranean were trying to reach Italy.
During the same period, nearly 160,000 migrants arrived in Greece, and 383 died. Additionally, 45 died off the coast of Spain.
Austria and Hungary saw hundreds of thousands of migrants pass through in 2015, fleeing conflicts in Syria and the Middle East and seeking to reach Western Europe via Turkey and Greece.
But this flow was interrupted in March, following the decision of several countries to close their borders, while the European Union signed an agreement with Turkey to try to control the migratory flow.
The bishops of Nice and Monaco, Mgr André Marceau and Mgr Bernard Barsi, decided to visit this camp for the first time to denounce this situation and call for solidarity among Christians.
Two events have contributed to making Ventimiglia a place traversed by a growing number of migrants: the closure of the French-Italian border in June 2015 and the closure of the Balkan route in February, prompting migrants to try their luck through Italy.
“Since then, the number of migrants has only increased,” notes Adélaïde Bertrand, delegate of Secours Catholique in the Alpes-Maritimes. Five thousand migrants have already passed through the San-Antonio parish camp since May 30.
The opening of this camp was decided by Mgr Antonio Suetta, bishop of Ventimiglia-San Remo, when the Italian authorities sought to distribute the migrants to other Italian regions.
For Mgr Suetta, the launch of this camp responded to a “demand for humanity and faith. The Italian police, moreover, understood very well the human significance of our initiative.”
Most of the migrants sleep in the parish premises or in the adjacent parking lot. Volunteers from Secours Catholique, Caritas Italy, the Order of Malta, and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul take turns every day to distribute meals, clean clothes, and provide a comforting presence for migrants who have mostly crossed the Mediterranean, with all the dangers it entails. Two Muslim associations from Nice also provide meals to the migrants.
On-site, Mgr Marceau says he is impressed by the atmosphere of “great serenity and calm” that prevails in the camp. “Some young people call home, others give us smiles that sadden us greatly. Mgr Suetta may be more accustomed to this situation, but for us, the heart is touched.”
“It is terrible to hear the testimonies of these stranded migrants, who have made such a long journey to get here,” agrees Mgr Barsi.
On the road leading to Ventimiglia, the two bishops were particularly struck by seeing migrants, often very young, risking their lives crossing the highway and tunnels that separate Italy from France.
The bishops hope their call for solidarity will be heard as summer is in full swing. “We must not fall asleep during the holidays,” warns Mgr Barsi.
For Mgr Marceau, it’s also about showing Christians that the migration crisis is anything but a distant perspective. “Migration is at our doorstep, in our beautiful region of the Côte d’Azur.”
