O leader of the ultra-right League and new Italian Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini, promised this Sunday (3), to Sicily, after his election to office, use “common sense” to put an end to shipwrecks and migrant arrivals and prevent Italy from becoming “the refugee camp” of Europe.
“We do not have a hard line, but a line of common sense”, insisted Salvini, who traveled to the island in the south of the country to support the local candidates of his party, which in its separatist era had very harsh words against this region of the country.
“The good times for stowaways are over: get ready to pack your bags,” he said on Saturday. “Italy and Sicily cannot be Europe’s refugee camp”, he insisted this Sunday.
He was welcomed by enthusiastic supporters, but also by left-wing protesters, although in smaller numbers.
In front of the Pozzallo migrant identification center, under a scorching sun, protesters from opposite sides were on the verge of physical aggression while awaiting his visit.
Even with a combative tone, Salvini nuanced some of his previous statements, such as the day before, when he criticized NGO rescue boats, which he called “vice-traffickers” of people.
“No one takes away my certainty that illegal immigration is a business. Seeing that there are people who make money at the expense of children who then die makes me indignant,” he said after the death of at least 48 migrants on the coast of Tunisia, another nine – including seven children – on the coast of Turkey and one more in Spain.
“I think it is better to spend the money (currently allocated to rescue and shelter) in the countries of origin. But if there are NGOs that want to make people work for free, that’s fine,” she declared.