Lampedusa marks 11th anniversary of migrant shipwreck

Island remembers 368 victims with four days of events

By: ansa.it

Sep 30 2024
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Lampedusa marks 11th anniversa

The Sicilian island of Lampedusa from Monday through Thursday (September 30-October 3) will remember the 368 victims of a migrant shipwreck in 2013 with a series of events organized as part of the 11th day in memory of the victims of immigration.
    The protagonists of initiatives will include European students, as well as survivors, the families of victims and NGOs.
    The commemoration is organized by the October 3 Committee set up after the tragedy, which pushed to have October 3 recognised in Italy as the national day of remembrance and reception.
    The committee each year organises awareness raising events on Lampedusa culminating in the official commemorations on the anniversary itself,.
    In particular, the events this year will see the participation of music group Spillover, singers and song-writers Sandro Joyeux and Lello Analfino, Chris Obehi, MEPs Marco Tarquinio and Matteo Ricci, Rome councillors Claudia Pratelli and Miguel Gotor, Mons.
    Giuseppe Cumbo, vicar general of the archidiocese of Agrigento and the imam of Catania Kheit Abdelhafid, among others.
    In the morning of October 3, a march organized to protest against migrant deaths at sea will be followed by an inter-religious commemoration and a ceremony at sea in front of the Isola dei Conigli where the shipwreck took place 11 years ago, killing 368 people, mostly Eritrean refugees.
    The events will be attended by nearly 600 students from 12 Italian regions and six European countries.
    "The objective is to promote occasions for new European generations so they can learn to promote a welcoming culture of solidarity to fight intolerance, racism and discrimination and favour inclusion processes" for migrant people, said the October 3 Committee.
    "The initiatives are aimed at strengthening the awareness and knowledge of young students on the themes of migration, global interdependence and human rights, cultural integration and the inclusion of migrant people, refugees and asylum seekers", it added.