Italy's national ombudsman for detainee rights has criticized state authorities for not improving the conditions in the hotspot. He believes the time refugees are forced to stay in Lampedusa should be significantly shortened.
The situation in the Lampedusa hotspot is ''intolerable'' for migrants, who spend months there due to delays in transfers, in dismal conditions that are in some cases ''unacceptable'' in Europe, Italy's national detainee rights ombudsman Mauro Palma said on Wednesday. He was speaking at a press conference in Palermo, Sicily, on his visit to the hotspot for migrants on the island of Lampedusa with his regional counterpart, Giovanni Fiancada.
''It is intolerable that the Lampedusa hotspot, a year after our complaint, still has toilets without doors and dirty mattresses and that there is no cafeteria,'' Palma stressed.''The conditions seen in the center are the same as a year ago, which we had reported to the interior ministry."
Hotspot or detention center?
The prolonged stay of migrants in the hotspot added to the problem,
Palma said. ''The assessment would be different if this situation was something the migrants had to deal with for only a few days, but it is intolerable that these youths stay there for months. At this point, the question must be asked whether the hotspot is a detention center, since migrants cannot leave it.''
The ombudsman argued that there should be a limit to the amount of time authorities were allowed to keep migrants in the hotspot on Lampedusa.
Palma also commented on reports of tension between the migrants and the island's inhabitants. ''I found the situation in the town of Lampedusa much calmer than what it seems from some statements made by its mayor. But the migrants' living conditions are absolutely not good."
Despite the dismal conditions in the Lampedusa facilities, Palma said, ''considering the other hotspots I have seen in Europe, Italian ones are average or above-average.''