Condolences to the families of the victims - Regular entry routes should be facilitated
The Community of Sant'Egidio expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the people missing after a boat sank in rough seas in the Sicily Channel on 3 August. The shipwreck was only heard about today as four survivors, who have spent several days at sea adrift, were rescued.
We cannot simply react to the death of 41 people, including three children, with indignation or a cold update of the dramatic casualty figures of the desperate journeys in the Mediterranean. We need to shake off our inertia and invest resources in saving people at risk.
We make a strong appeal to all Europe, in particular to those Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Greece, Malta and Spain- geographically closest to the shipwrecks: before discussing how to manage migration flows, everything must be done to save migrants in peril. The European Commission should take further responsibility using all the available resources for urgent rescue operations.
It is then necessary to promote successful models that favour integration, such as the Humanitarian Corridors, which our Community has been implementing together with various parties since 2016. It has become clear to everyone - institutions, the business world and families - that the legal pathways to enter Europe for work must be expanded which Italy, as well as other European countries, so badly needs.
