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despite the boiling temperatures. Public
opinion in Sicily is running at high levels
against the migrants. Racism is absolutely
rampant.
As a white guy, you get abuse and many hard
looks walking down a street with black folks.
And indeed, Sicily cannot cope. But the boats
keep arriving. It’s all very well to say
“Well, they should’ve stayed in
Africa”. But even if that is thought to
be legitimate, even if one digs a hole
for oneself and falls into it, you’re
still in the hole and need help. It is
basic humanity to assist, let alone the
spirit of Christ. All these migrants had
no idea that this was going to be the
reality of life in fortress Europe. Sicily
is in any case quite poor. There are
tens of thousands of them just
roaming the place, hungry and thirsty. Crime
is their only recourse, as begging will not get
any sympathy from the local Sicilians. With
many thousands of desperately poor young
men roaming around, the area has become a
honeypot for all manner of homosexual abuse
and sex tourism. It’s a tragic situation.
This is a forgotten or ignored crisis, the media
are almost silent about it. The tourists in their
resorts and tourist beaches are totally igno-
rant of what is going on. The problem is exac-
erbated by the fact that it is no mere
stereotype that much of Sicily, especially the
interior of the island, is in the hands of the
Mafia. They are exploiting the situation;
sexual exploitation and slave labour in the
fields and factories is rife, often forcing them
to do dangerous work for a pittance.
Corruption is endemic in Sicily; many of the
new camps have been built in the interior,
right in the heart of Mafia controlled territory,
and the residents are used by them. Many of
the migrants were conservative young Africans
who find themselves alone in a frightening and
lonely situation where immoral behaviour
seems the only way to survive. It’s all very well
saying “Well go home then” but they typically
have no documents and cannot be deported,
because international law forbids sending
people to any country if they have no docu-
ments. Many borrowed money to make the
journey and some have genuine fears of the
situations they fled from.
There are very few aid organizations operating
in Sicily; that is not in the interests of the
Mafia. And with each boatload of arrivals, the
situation gets worse. Many arrive traumatized
by the awful journey; we baptized one
migrant, Tony (pictured above), who got to
Sicily and managed to get to mainland Italy.
His story is terrifying; you can see his testi-
mony at:
The beaches of Sicily and Lampedusa have
bodies washed up on them regularly. Probably
20% of those who attempt the journey don’t
make it.
A week after his baptism, Tony was brutally
attacked by a man with an iron bar in a racially
motivated attack and had to go to hospital.
Anthony is a true convert to Christ and a gentle,
non confrontational person. Please pray for him
and all our other African brethren and sisters at
risk from this kind of thing.
Prayer Request | Protection
~ continued ...