Migrant Taxi NGOs Deliver Over 10,000 To Europe This Year So Far

MESSINA, SICILIA, ITALY - 2022/08/27: Open Arms Uno arrives at the port The new rescue ves
Valeria Ferraro/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Chris Tomlinson

The fleet of migrant taxi NGOs operating in the Mediterranean sea has picked up and dropped off over 10,000 migrants in the European Union this year, primarily landing in Italy.

The various NGO vessels have dropped off over 10,000 migrants in the first nine months of 2022, up from just 6,000 in 2021, with a total of seven NGO ships operating in the Mediterranean sea as more vessels are expected to also begin operations.

The number of migrants picked up and dropped off by NGO ships represents around 14 per cent of the total number of migrants who have landed in Italy by sea this year, which stands at over 71,000 according to statistics from the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.

According to a report from the European Union-funded website InfoMigrants, many NGOs are preparing for the incoming right-wing government set to be led by conservative firebrand Giorgia Meloni, whose party, the Brother of Italy (FdI), came first in last month’s elections.

SOS Humanity, a German-based NGO, claimed it was “deeply concerned” about the prospect of a centre-right government and said it expects the new government to actively prevent immigration.

“During the electoral campaign, it became very clear that the human rights of international refugees don’t count and that non-governmental search-and-rescue organizations are threatened of a massive blockade,” the NGO said in a statement.

During the election campaign, Ms Meloni suggested that a naval blockade could be a solution to the surge of illegal migrant arrivals Italy has seen this year, which in July alone saw more migrants arrive than the entire year of 2019 and has already seen more arrivals in the first nine months of this year than all of 2021.

“Brothers of Italy are proposing a naval blockade because, as we have explained a thousand times, it is a matter of a European mission in agreement with North African states to stop — alongside them — human trafficking and to set up in African territory hotspots managed alongside the European Union to assess asylum requests and distinguish between those who have a right to asylum and international protection from those who do not,” Meloni said earlier this year in August.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.

 

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.