- Title: ITALY-MIGRANTS Migrants depart Lampedusa for Sicily with dreams of a better life
- Date: 20th February 2015
- Summary: LAMPEDUSA, ITALY (FEBRUARY 20, 2015) (REUTERS) DAWN OVER LAMPEDUSA BIRDS FLYING SUNRISE OVER LAMPEDUSA COASTGUARD PATROL BOATS IN HARBOUR SUN RISING FISHERMAN IN BOAT COASTAL NEIGHBOURHOOD BUS OF MIGRANTS DRIVING THROUGH TOWN VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS SEATED ON BUS VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS WALKING ALONG QUAYSIDE NEAR FERRY MIGRANTS SEATED ON DOCKSIDE WAITING TO BOARD FERRY MIGRANTS E
- Embargoed: 7th March 2015 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Italy
- Country: Italy
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA2QO3YXW61WJ6FV9A51MS9RBX7
- Story Text: The Italian island of Lampedusa woke up to relative calm on Friday (February 20) as more migrants were transferred from the overcrowded reception centre onto a ferry to take them first to Sicily and then onwards to other parts of Italy.
The migrants arriving by bus at the quayside, and were all given bottles of water and food to sustain them on their nine- hour trip to Porto Empedocle on the southern coast of Sicily.
There was hope and excitement ahead of the trip.
As we waited to board the ferry, a 14 year-old migrant from Somalia said he really wanted to study and that he had to grow up fast.
"Just, I need to learn, a school and I need to help my parents in the country, everything," said Mohammed.
"I need to be a big man," he added.
Another young Somali migrant, who declined to be named, said he wanted to leave Italy and go much further north and find work.
"I am going to Norway, Oslo," he said with a huge smile, adding he would do any work.
Ghanian migrant Prince Ussu said he'd made the dangerous trip so that he could help his family back home.
"I want to send money to my family - they are very poor," he said.
"Yes, I want to work hard to get money to my family."
Sixteen-year-old Ali had fled the conflict in Syria. He plans to find work and save money, maybe send some home, but eventually he wants to go home.
"Finally, I will go back to Syria," said Ali.
Lampedusa's proximity to North Africa has made it a main target for migrants fleeing in boats across the Mediterranean.
In 2014, there were approximately 300,000 irregular crossings into the European Union, with United Nations data showing at least 218,000 people entering via the Mediterranean.
A record number of migrants look set to flow into Europe this year, with human traffickers becoming increasingly aggressive as they take advantage of chaos in Africa and the Middle East, according to Frontex, the European Union's border cooperation agency.
The Mediterranean crossing claimed an estimated 3,300 lives last year, and earlier this month more than 300 people are believed to have died after leaving Libya in inflatable rafts. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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