After a few days of bad weather, with the return of calm seas, people on the move again started to leave and cross the Mediterranean from Tunisia and Libya.
News and Publications from the Med
ECHOES n°20- CIVIL MRCC
EVERY LIFE IS WORTH MORE THAN THEIR LAWS
On the 6th of February 2026, decentralized CommemorActions took place in over 60 cities across the Mediterranean sea. The gatherings collectively remembered the massacre which took place 12 years ago in Tarajal near Ceuta. Alongside relatives of the dead and missing at the borders, families and friends of victims of state and police violence within Europe joined this growing network of solidarity. The planned implementation of the racist CEAS pact and the brutalized externalization policies threaten to bring even more suffering and death in the near future. This is why we must unite transnationally in the struggle for justice, equal rights, and freedom of movement, placing the testimonies and demands of relatives at the heart of our collective action! Since the beginning of 2026: • 1,671 people arrived in Italy and Malta by sea, many of whom arrived autonomously (UNHCR figures up to February 8). • 244 people were rescued by the civil fleet from 8 boats in distress (CMRCC figure up to February 8). • 781 people were pushed back to Libya after they were intercepted by the EU-supported so-called Libyan Coast Guard (IOM figure up to February 7). • 56 people have been reported dead or missing on the Central Mediterranean Route (IOM figure up to February 7).
ECHOES n° 19- CIVIL MRCC
WE ARE HERE, AND WE WILL FIGHT!
While Libyan militias escalate their crimes at sea, shooting at rescue ships and people on the move, the network Refugees in Libya have organised an impressive mobilisation against the EU complicity and its "deal of death." As Italian authorities continue to obstruct sea rescue efforts, several NGOs have launched the Justice Fleet campaign, a collective response of solidarity and resistance. At the same time, as EU governments push to expand systems of detention and deterrence through the new Migration and Asylum Pact, self organised and anti-racist networks have joined forces in a powerful chain of actions. Together, they marked the 10th anniversary of the Summer of Migration, declaring loud and clear, - to complete the headline above: "Freedom of movement is everybody's right!". Their voices rise across borders, defying fear, reclaiming dignity, and demanding justice for all on the move. In 2025: • 59,295 people arrived to Italy and Malta by sea, many of whom arrived autonomously (UNHCR figures up to 1 November) • 12,192 people were rescued by the Civil fleet from almost 230 boats in distress (CMRCC figure up to September 10) • 22,945 people were pushed back to Libya after they were intercepted by the EU-supported so-called Libyan Coast Guard (IOM figure up to 1 November) • 1.044 people have been reported dead or missing on the Central Mediterranean Route (IOM figure up to 1 November)eniam.
Christ died of cold (1)
29/08/2023
The 65 landings on Lampedusa and the structural inadequacy of the hotspot system
A strong tramontana has been blowing on Lampedusa for a couple of days. Ferries to and from the island, crowded of tourists, have been at a standstill ever since: the regular ferry fails to leave Sicily's southern shores.
Cigarettes are missing, supermarket shelves are almost empty. "If the ship doesn't come...!" - is the expression sketched as a...
ECHOES N°7 - CIVIL MRCC
24/07/2023
While the situation in Libya did not improve, the conditions for refugees and migrants in Tunisia continuously worsened during the last few months. Against this background, more than 75.000 people made it to Italian shores until the middle of July 2023. On the 29th of June, a record number of 46 boats reached Lampedusa in a single day, mainly...
On Monday 17th July we had the pleasure of hosting Professor Shahram Khosravi at Maldusa Palermo, and to engage in a rich and inspiring conversation about smuggling, starting from the last book he co-edited together with Mahmoud Keshavarz 'Seeing Like a Smuggler - Borders from Below' (2022). Here a short insight on some of the key points we raised...
Take it forward: the arrivals in Lampedusa, the racist violances the Tunisia-EU memorandum.
19/07/2023
Over the past few days, more than 2000 people have disembarked at the Favaloro pier in Lampedusa, mainly coming from the coast of Sfax, Tunisia. Below are some fragments of conversations with people who have just disembarked in Lampedusa and who refer directly to what is happening in Tunisia.
During the last days again several thousand people on the move reached Lampedusa, mainly after escaping with boats from the tunisian city of Sfax, where they were targeted by r.acist violence. Partly alarmed and accompanied by civil fleet actors (by phone, by air and by sea) the Italian coastguard ships accompanied most people to the harbour.
A group of 20 migrants and asylum seekers from Western and Central Africa were forcibly displaced to the Tunisian-Libyan border (near Ben Guerdane) on the morning of July 2nd by the Tunisian military and National Guard officers .
