LOST AT SEA
“The Mediterranean is a cemetery without crosses and without names. Thousands of people have died in the bid to reach Europe. It is right to remember them; it is our duty to do so”, said Father Gianromano Gnesotto of the Migrantes Foundation (Italian Bishops’ Conference). Speaking to SIR about the recent cases of immigrants lost at sea, Father Gnesotto announced an ecumenical prayer vigil to be held in the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome on 21 June. Communities and associations of immigrants, refugees and volunteer organizations will take part in the ecumenical vigil in memory of the victims of the journeys toward Europe, promoted by the Migrantes Foundation, Astalli Centre, St. Egigio Community, Italian Caritas and the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy. According to Fortress Europe, the watchdog on the victims of clandestine immigration, 131 people have been killed in the first five months of 2007 in Sicilian waters and a further 35 on the route between Algeria and Sardinia. In 2006 the death toll was 286. According to Fortress Europe records, deaths documented by the international press since 1988 have totalled 8,995: of these 3,087 were lost at sea. “We must commemorate and pray for these men and women – concluded Father Gnesotto – so that the international spotlight be turned on a situation that is getting ever worse”.
