Global Migration and Local Lives in the Italian island of Lampedusa

Lampedusa is Italy’s most southerly territory located 205km off the coast of Sicily and the first port of arrival to Europe for the thousands attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea. Between January and October 2016, 144,527 migrants have arrived in Italy, 69% per cent of them via Lampedusa (Interni, 2016). Differently from Greece, which constitutes the route to Europe for many Syrians fleeing war, the majority of migrants and refugees heading to Italy are mostly from Africa, particularly Nigeria (26%) and Eritrea (16%) (Interni, 2016). In autumn 2013, the island witnessed a tragic shipwreck just off its coastline where 368 migrants died while attempting to reach the mainland. With such a tragedy and with increasing numbers of incoming migrants, Lampedusa has become central to debates concerning European migration policy.  Because of this, media attention on the island has increased and Lampedusa has been portrayed as the ‘migrants’ island’ and the centre of the ‘Mediterranean migration crisis’.

Dr Michela Franceschelli, Lecturer in Sociology at the Thomas Coram Research Unit, Department of Social Science, UCL’s Institute of Education and the PI of the study, produced a 30 minute film documentary to disseminate the project’s findings, entitled, CCÀ SEMU. Here we are, lives on hold in Lampedusa.