“Words, words,” sings Pino D’Aietti in front of a restaurant in Lampedusa. Many residents of the small Italian island no longer believe the promises made by politicians and feel “abandoned” by the state, while boats full of migrants keep arriving.
“It’s just words!” says the 78yearold construction worker, humming the famous Italian song of the 1970s that went around the world.
Located in the heart of the Mediterranean between Sicily and Tunisia, Lampedusa, with an area of 20 km², attracts thousands of tourists every year thanks to its turquoise waters and fine sandy beaches.
But in that month of August, marked by an electoral campaign ahead of the September 25 general election, politics suddenly resurfaced and it wasn’t long before farright leader Matteo Salvini was opposed to migration.
An abandoned lighthouse on Lampedusa
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“The politics here have gotten a lot worse,” says Salvatore Maggiore, a 47yearold florist, as he arranges the plants on the shelves of his shop.
But “the promises were never kept,” he adds. “Nothing has changed, always the same music,” he complains bitterly. “There’s a little bit of everything missing here,” he says.
While tourism remains the island’s economic mainstay, the 6,000 or so residents complain of a lack of public services and the multiplication of taxes in an Italy hit by rampant inflation, accelerated by the war in Ukraine.
The old port of Lampedusa: The Sicilian island is mainly characterized by tourism
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“We pay dearly for petrol, the sewage treatment plant hasn’t been in operation for a long time and we don’t have a hospital,” says Pino D’Aietti with a white beard and bright orange overalls.
“When tourists leave, we eat shit,” he protests.
disappointment
On the downtown streets, where souvenir shops line the sidewalks, health remains a top priority. “There are only specialists, for the rest you have to go to the mainland,” explains María Garito, a 58yearold housewife.
The lack of a hospital forces many residents to seek treatment in Sicily, especially pregnant women and patients with serious illnesses.
“Unfortunately, there are people who give up treatment for lack of resources because it is expensive to go to Palermo every 15 days,” Mayor Filippo Mannino told AFP news agency. “The municipality has limited resources, it’s up to the state to deal with this problem,” he explains.
The oldest house on Lampedusa with its characteristic stone structure is the Dammuso Casa Teresa
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As in 2018, Lampedusa and the phenomenon of migration, with the arrival of thousands of immigrants, is once again the central theme of the farright election campaign.
More than 1,500 undocumented migrants have landed on the island in recent days. They were taken to other cities in Sicily by ferry. In any case, the arrivals do not stop.
Ibrahima Mbaye from Senegal, who arrived three years ago, became a fisherman. He says it is “very difficult” for migrants rescued at sea who spend a lot of time behind the doors of the reception center to live like this.
In the high season, Lampedusa is busy with tourism, but citizens complain of neglect and precarious services for the rest of the year.
Image: Bepsimage/Getty Images
“We believed that Italy offered us a future, but when we arrived we were disappointed. We noticed that it’s not easy to earn money,” explains the Senegalese, who estimates that racism still exists “in 50 percent” of the population.