MSF set to halt refugee services in Sicilian port
The charity group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says it is set to suspend its services to refugees in a Sicilian port, citing Italian officials’ failure to provide adequate working conditions.
In a statement published on Wednesday, the MSF announced that it would end its medical activities at a first reception center in Pozzallo and its psychological support projects in secondary reception centers in the area.
Conditions no longer existed "for an effective collaboration with authorities," the statement said, urging a long-term response to the medical and humanitarian needs of asylum seekers.
"Local or national authorities have so far shown no concrete sign of improvement or a political willingness to improve, raising concerns that a structurally inadequate model of reception may well become the norm in Italy," the statement added.
The MSF, however, noted that it would go on with helping refugees in centers situated elsewhere in Sicily and on mainland Italy.
Some 15,000 out of a total of 150,000 refugees, who arrived in Italy in 2015, are said to have come through the port of Pozzallo.
Europe is facing an unprecedented influx of refugees who are fleeing conflict-ridden zones in Africa and the Middle East, particularly Syria.
Many blame major European powers for the unprecedented exodus, saying their policies have led to a surge in terrorism and war in those regions, forcing more people out of their homes.
According to the recent figures released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than one million refugees have reached Europe’s shores so far this year, while over 3,700 people have either died or gone missing in their perilous journey to the continent.
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