Migrants Burn Down Welcome Center

Migrants Burn Down Welcome Center

Migrants, who have been housed for years on Lampedusa, Italy’s Pelagie Islands, set fire to the central pavilion at the refugee “welcome center” this past Tuesday night.  It appears this was in response to learning that they would be repatriated to their home in Tunisia.

It took hours for the firefighters to put out the blaze out and fortunately there were no injuries reported.  The fire engulfed the reception and first aid center of Imbriacola on the island, where 530 “asylum seekers” have been housed.

This fire, however, is not the first time the refugees have burnt this pavilion, as arson has happened in 2011 and 2009.  The director, Rossana Perri stated that the situation was not clear, but the guests are safe.

It has been reported that tensions in the center have been high due to an unwillingness of some of the migrants to undergo registration, which includes identification and fingerprinting.

Read more on the next page.

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