EUROPE-MIGRANTS/ITALY-ROME WAIT Hundreds of migrants sleep at Italy train and coach stations on journey north

Record ID: 150877

  • Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/ITALY-ROME WAIT Hundreds of migrants sleep at Italy train and coach stations on journey north
  • Date: 11th June 2015
  • Summary: ROME, ITALY (JUNE 11, 2015) (REUTERS) MIGRANTS SEATED IN GROUPS IN SHADE UNDER TREES MIGRANTS SITTING AND LYING DOWN ON FLATTENED CARDBOARD BOXES FEMALE MIGRANTS SLEEPING ON GROUND MIGRANTS ALONG STREET CHILDREN PLAYING AMONG MIGRANTS MIGRANTS SLEEPING UNDER TREE CHILDREN BY SLEEPING ADULTS CHILDREN IN THE STREET (SOUNDBITE) (English) SAMI FROM SOUTH SUDAN SAYING: "It is a
  • Embargoed: 26th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA59BJ99JUS27C2CPSMNILBU3OI
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Hundreds of migrants brought to Italy after being rescued at sea have left immigration centres to try to reach Northern Europe and are camping outside the main train and coach stations in Rome and Milan.
    Migrants from countries including Syria, Eritrea, Somalia and South Sudan took shelter Thursday (June 11) in the shade cast by olive and fig trees near Rome's Tiburtina station.
    As children in played in the streets, many of the adults slept on cardboard boxes with their few belongings in plastic bags piled up next to them.
    There are no toilet or washing facilities nearby and many of the migrants use the only public toilet in the street, which is a pay toilet and requires coins for entry.
    EU countries are struggling to stem the flow of migrants from North Africa and the Middle East and to share the burden more evenly across the continent, after more than 50,000 people reached Italy so far this year and almost 2,000 drowned.
    Migrants often head north after landing in boats on Italy's southern shores, hoping to make it to Germany or Scandinavian countries with stronger economies and generous welfare benefits. Some have relatives waiting for them.
    Sami from South Sudan said he had fled instability in his country and was grateful for the help of the European people.
    "It is a very dangerous community, everything is no good, that is because I'm coming to Europe, thank you for everything, European people, I hope for European people," he said.
    Eritrean migrant Jacob said after saving up some money he hoped to continue his northern journey but did not know where exactly.
    "After money, go to France, go to Germany, go to England, many countries, I don't understand," he said.
    A shipwreck that killed some 800 migrants in April prompted EU countries to triple funding for rescue missions in the Mediterranean to help Greek and Italian authorities cope with thousands of arrivals each month. To further ease the burden on southern countries, the 28-nation bloc has proposed redistributing tens of thousands of migrants among member states.
    But while most of Europe agrees more needs to be done to rescue people at sea, the EU is deeply at odds over how to cope with them once they are ashore - a divide that reflects both the difficulties of European policy making and the rising tide of anti-immigration sentiment sweeping the continent.
    In Rome, locals who live near the Tiburtina station said the situation was becoming unbearable.
    Local resident Alessandro Sebastianelli said he thought Italy should not receive the boat migrants but instead focus on helping them in their countries of origin.
    "These people should stay in their countries. The other countries, the rich countries, must help them in their own countries. If these people don't agree with their governments' policies they need to organise a revolution, or do what ever they can in their countries. We don't want to colonise any country but we also don't want to be colonised by anyone," he said.
    Another local man, Michele Maggio, said he was appalled that the local authorities had not acted to find shelter for the migrants.
    "The institutions are nowhere to be seen here, it's pure chaos. This should not happen to anyone, to people. Either you don't allow them in the country or you set up the necessary structures to look after them," he said.
    Italy is struggling to handle the summer surge in migrants, with thousands rescued at sea each week.
    EU asylum rules, known as the Dublin Regulation, were first drafted in the early 1990s and require people seeking refuge to do so in the European country where they first set foot. Northern European countries defend the policy as a way to prevent multiple applications across the continent. Some are upset with what they see as Italy's lax attitude to registering asylum seekers. Earlier this year, French police stopped about 1,000 migrants near the border and returned them to Italy. Smaller round-ups happen daily in Austria, with migrants returned to the Italian side of the Brennero pass.
    But Italy, which receives the bulk of seaborne migrants, says the law is unfair and logistically impossible. It wants a major rethink.
    Italian officials say they are stepping up efforts to fingerprint all migrants and potential asylum seekers, but estimate that between a quarter and half of all those who land in Italy dodge the rules, and take to the train and coach stations across the country to continue their journey.
    In 2014, some 625,000 people sought asylum in the EU, according to the Eurostat agency. Just under a third, or 200,000, applied in Germany alone, while Sweden received 81,000 applications, the highest number as a proportion of population. Sweden has 9.5 million people, Germany more than 80 million.
    Of the more than 170,000 migrants who reached Italy by boat last year, according to Eurostat, only a third sought asylum there.
    Most migrants give their fingerprints only where they want asylum. In recent years, Syrians and Eritreans - the most likely to be recognised as refugees in Europe - have either refused to be fingerprinted in Italy or even burned their fingertips to avoid identification, according to an Italian police memorandum sent to local offices last year.
    To try to address the issue, the European Commission recently proposed that the EU set up and help manage identification centres in countries such as Italy and Greece, where the bulk of migrants arrive. The EU plan recommends allowing detention, the use of force, and ultimately deportation of those who refuse to be fingerprinted - a sharp contrast to the open immigration centres that currently shelter almost 80,000 in Italy. EU states are due to discuss the plan later this month.
    Should the EU adopt stricter registration procedures, the number of people applying for asylum in southern countries would likely rise, while those applying in northern states should fall. To help balance the burden, the commission wants to redistribute 40,000 Eritrean and Syrian asylum seekers in Italy and Greece across the EU over the next two years.
    Some EU members oppose the move. Britain says it will not participate, while Poland is pushing for a voluntary system.
    Italy criticises the redistribution proposal for being too limited and temporary.
    There appears to be little will among northern countries to change the rules, though the Commission has promised to "evaluate" them next year.
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