The number of migrants in the Italian city of Ventimiglia is dropping but the hardships they are experiencing are increasing, according to a report presented on March 20 by associations providing assistance to migrants in the border area between Italy and France.
Around 60 or 70 migrants live under the Ventimiglia bridge on the Italian side of the border with France, a decrease compared with the past due to a drop in migrant boats arriving. Additionally, many migrants manage to arrive in France.
An increase has instead been seen in psychological problems linked to trauma experienced along the journey as well as drug and alcohol use and the lack of a home, according to the report "Ventimiglia ai Margini 2024" (Ventimiglia on the Edge 2024).
The report was drafted by associations that provide assistance to migrants in the border area and was presented on the morning of March 20 at the Caritas headquarters of the border city.
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Many living on the streets, months to get state housing
"In 2024, the number of people on the move dropped significantly," said Caritas Intemelia director Maurizio Marmo. "There are nonetheless people staying in the city who require additional support."
Some have filed an asylum request but the granting of a place in state-funded special reception centers (CAS) generally takes between three and four months and thus those in very difficult situations end up on the street.
Many of them have experienced trauma both in their home countries as well as during the journey. "There are many foreigners working in the local labor market but who cannot find housing," noted Marmo.
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Psychological problems as well as substance abuse
"They are people who perhaps have tried unsuccessfully a series of different migration routes to Europe as well as within Italy," said Costanza Mendola, who works with the Diaconia Valdese.
"Many of them are suffering from specific vulnerabilities of a psychological nature, either mental issues or drug or alcohol abuse," she added.
"Thus we have activated a sort of healthcare referral system to include in our network local healthcare sources not only to deal with a situation that is becoming dangerous for Italian citizens and unsettling for those living here, but also to protect the migrant population here."
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