Ventimiglia in Italy is a transit point for refugees who are drawn to France. The city wants to get rid of them – that’s not the only reason why many migrants tirelessly try to cross the border.
It’s the end of Sara’s first attempt. At 7:30 a.m., a group of about 20 young men and women leave the French border station of Menton on the Ligurian coast and come back to the Italian side. Sara is one of them. She and her husband Mohammed – they want to keep their surname to themselves – were picked up by the French border police in the mountains.
Now a helper from the organization “Doctors Without Borders” gives her a cup of tea and an address in the border town of Ventimiglia, a few kilometers away. There she could be examined.
Sara is six months pregnant and fled Guinea. A few weeks ago she arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa and was registered there. But the couple wants to go to France because an uncle of hers lives there.
The couple’s attempt to enter another EU country, such as France, without a residence permit is illegal. According to European regulations, it can only apply for asylum in Italy because it has arrived here. Anyone apprehended outside the host country must return to the country where they entered EU soil.
For many only a transit country
Nevertheless, like Sara and Mohammed, tens of thousands try to move on from Italy to France and Central Europe every year. According to the mayor of Ventimiglia, 20,000 migrants go to France alone every year. And according to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, Germany made more than 14,000 return requests to Italy in 2022 – in the end 362 people were returned in the period.
Crossing the Italian-French border is difficult. Well-known escape routes through the mountains along the coast are now interrupted by fences on the French side.
France has suspended the Schengen Agreement and has been checking border crossings up to 30 kilometers inland again since 2015, citing the risk of terrorism as the reason for this. Undocumented migrants who are apprehended can be immediately deported to Italy without any procedure.
Italy is suing for solidarity
Italy, on the other hand, is calling for more European cooperation and solidarity in view of the increasing number of refugees. The otherwise nationalistically arguing Italian right demands a stop to French border controls and a better distribution of the refugees.
But that fails for many reasons – including the poor relationship between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Emmanuel Macron. Macron sees Meloni as a copy of his competitor Marine Le Pen and has no interest in meeting Meloni and thus strengthening her.
The mayor tightened the conditions
Ventimiglia, located a few kilometers from the border crossing, is the last stage for the migrants before trying to cross the border – a bottleneck. According to the municipality, around 200 refugees are currently in the city, sleeping on the beach or at the train station and gathering to start another attempt to get to France.
The city is responding with tough measures. Ventimiglia’s newly elected mayor, Flavio di Muro, from the right-wing Lega party, took office with precisely that promise. Now he has had access to bridges blocked off with bars so that no one can sleep under them.
There are guards in front of the cemetery because refugees have washed up there time and time again. However, there is no alternative washing facility and no safe places to sleep. A previous utility facility was dismantled in 2020 and is also scheduled to remain closed. Di Muro argues that Italy is not responsible for refugees who do not want to stay in Italy.
Because the state in Ventimiglia does not offer any help, NGOs step in. “Doctors Without Borders”, Caritas, the Waldensian community – they all speak of a “humanitarian emergency” in Ventimiglia. There have always been migrants passing through there, and Jacopo Colombo from the aid organization WeWorld demands that Italy must also feel responsible for them.
The next attempt is already planned
A gynecologist from “Doctors Without Borders” examines the pregnant Sara in a mobile infirmary – it is the first time that a doctor has examined her condition.
Gynecologist Kalipso Leyla Trevisol from “Doctors Without Borders” explains that many women who are fleeing need medical help. Everything is fine with Sara and her fetus. Sara gets some painkillers, then she and Mohammed go to the train station. They want to find a corner on the forecourt, get some sleep and then try to get to France again. This time maybe hidden on a train.
The fact that Sara actually needs rest, that there are always fatal accidents at the border: It doesn’t matter to her. The escape through the Sahara and the crossing from Tunisia to Lampedusa were much worse, says Sara’s husband. The way across to France, on the other hand, is a trifle. The goal: it still seems so close to them.