https://arab.news/4ba65
- ‘Desperation can never justify traveling in conditions that endanger the lives of their children,’ says Matteo Piantedosi
- Interior minister accused of ‘inhumane cynicism’ by opposition
LONDON: An Italian government minister has leveled blame at last week’s shipwreck on the migrant parents whose children died in the incident, drawing condemnation from human rights organizations and opposition politicians, The Times reported.
The death toll from the sinking on Sunday reached 65 after a vessel departing from Turkiye and carrying about 180 migrants, predominantly Afghans, sank off the coast of southern Italy.
In comments criticizing the parents of the deceased, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said: “Desperation can never justify traveling in conditions that endanger the lives of their children.”
Piantedosi has been at the forefront of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government crackdown on migrant charity operations in the Mediterranean.
Responding to criticism over his comments, the minister said that Italy should open legal and safe corridors to entry.
Police in Italy’s Calabria, where the vessel sank, have arrested one Turkish national and two Pakistanis based on information that the trio had charged migrants €8,000 ($8,500) for the journey into Europe.
Those who survived the incident have been left to deal with the deaths of immediate family members who drowned.
Save the Children’s Giovanna Di Benedetto told The Times: “We are encouraging them (children) to draw to help them process what happened. Those who tried to save a relative and failed are feeling guilty for being alive.”
A Syrian national residing in Germany was awaiting his wife, who was on the boat. Once he heard news of the incident, he quickly traveled to Italy.
Ignazio Mangione of the Red Cross said: “The last he heard from her was when she rang, just before the crash, to say she could see the lights of Italy.
“When he got here, survivors told him they had tried and failed to get her out of the hold of the boat, where she was trapped when the vessel went down
Piantedosi’s blame of migrant parents reflected “inhumane cynicism” and he must resign, said Alessandra Maiorino, a senator.
Simona Malpezzi, another senator, said: “I am speechless. The Meloni government has reached the point of placing a value on people’s desperation.”
Raffaella Paita, a centrist politician, said: “If a mother chooses to put her child, the most precious thing she has, on a boat, it is because she is fleeing from greater danger and desperation.”