By the time you receive this issue of Highlights, Lampedusa, Italy, will have, for the 11th year, commemorated the tragic loss of lives a few hours after midnight on October 3, when an overcrowded fishing boat capsized only half a mile off the coast of Lampedusa. It had taken these refugees approximately 36 hours to arrive from Libya. According to a survivor, when they saw land; there was immediate excitement on the top deck which was heard by those below deck who had been suffering debilitating seasickness. They turned off the engine and to get the attention of the Coast Guard or anyone around them, the “captain” lit a fire that soon got out of control. Of about 523 asylum seekers aboard who had come from Eritrea, Somalia and Ghana after crossing the Sahara, 368 drowned and only 155 survived. They had each paid smugglers $1,600 for the crossing.
“You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera … and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, singing, … walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.”
-G.K. Chesterton
Every year since then, with planned memorial events, it has become necessary to remember so many more victims. Well over 30,000 men, women and children from the Middle East and Africa have since died crossing this route to Italy from Algeria, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. It is considered the deadliest migration route in the world. According to theU.N., more than 280 children alone have died trying to cross the Mediterranean in 2023. These numbers don’t include the many more who are missing.
The only Catholic Church in Lampedusa, San Gerlando, has a huge photo of Pope Francis with the quote: “Do not let this happen again!” Yet, it does!
The Mediterranean Crucifix – Milagro, by Kcho, “presents Jesus crucified on wooden oars bound up by rope to symbolize the harsh reality of migrants who have crossed or failed to cross” the Mediterranean “aboard unseaworthy vessels.” It hangs in San Gerlando Church.
In September and October 2023, we had more arrivals at one time than had been seen in previous years. We were overwhelmed! There are just under Catholic Church 6,500 inhabitants in Lampedusa and in a matter of weeks we were dealing with over 7,000 to 10,000 of our brother and sister refugees! Where to accommodate and how to feed them? An extraordinary amount of generosity came from families and restaurants to make it possible for San Gerlando and our many volunteers to feed them! It was amazing and a very moving experience of solidarity I will never forget!
Practically every day, regardless of the weather and the time, we religious sisters from different congregations would receive the message on WhatsApp of a pending arrival of refugees at the pier. We would respond immediately joining with those from Mediterranean Hope (a project of the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy), Save the Children, European Union Agency for Asylum, Fontex, and the Italian Red Cross, as well as the police and the Italian Carabinieri to greet the refugees rescued and brought in by the Italian Coast Guard.
There were often tragedies in Lampedusa, and we needed to be ready to do all we could to make each woman, man, and child feel as welcomed as we possibly could. Sometimes, there was just time enough before they boarded the bus that took them to the Welcoming Center, a holding center where migrants can rest and be fed. Sometimes we found ourselves needing to sit next to and comfort a mother who had seen her child drown. So many lost!
Like the story of this teenager from Eritrea. I noticed her one afternoon when I entered the emergency room of the only clinic in Lampedusa. She was alone and sobbing. Fortunately, she spoke a little English, so I sat down with her. She told me two of her brothers had drowned when the boat capsized. She and two of her other brothers were saved but they were separated from her. She had no way to contact them because her cellphone had fallen into thewater as she tried to get aboard the Coast Guard vessel. She was so distraught that the nurses were afraid she would take her own life. I stayed with her while waiting for the Salesian Sister with me, Sister Ausilia, to appear. I shared the teenager’s story with her and she devised a plan. Sister Ausilia knew the driver of the emergency vehicle that would take the teenager back to the Welcoming Center. She askedhim if it would be possible to take her to our home for an hour because of the condition she was in. Though it was highly unusual, we managed to take her home for a shower, gave her a change of clothes and food, and took her to a store to get her another cellphone. Sister Ausilia knew the owner of the store and immediately this young woman was set up. We had justenough time to return her to the driver waiting to take her back to the Welcoming Center. Her state of mind and demeanor had improved significantly. By the time we left her, she was smiling … with hope.
Lampedusa was a gift to me. It was an answer to prayer; and my “yes” to going there came from my heart. So, I knew it was from God and what God wanted. My two years there left me with many memories and reasons to give thanks, in spite of the challenges that came with it. I said “grace many times. And I hope I gave more than I received.