“Condolences to the families who have lost their dearest ones in the Lampadusa disaster. Time for urgent action to ensure this never happens again.” – Yemane G.Meskel, Director, Office of the President
By TesfaNews,
The Eritrean community in Italy have declared Sunday 6th of October 2013 to be a day of mourning through out the Eritrean Communities in Italy following scores of Eritrean migrants death after their boat caught fire and sank off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.
Eritreans, friends and well wishers can visit the nearest Eritrean Community centers in town and express their condolences.
International media reports suggest that the boat which set off from Libya was carrying about 500 migrants from Eritrea, Somalia and Ghana.
Sources close to TesfaNews indicates that the Eritrean Embassy together with the Eritrean communities in Italy are closely following the matter on the ground to ascertain the exact number and details of Eritrean casualties.
Observers, however, agree that the task of identifying Eritrean identity among the hundreds of victims would be a daunting task for the team as most of these immigrants, including the Ghanaian and Somalis, embarked their journey either without valid document or assumed an “Eritrean identity” just to get an easy passage to the European country.
Yesterday, the Eritrean Foreign Minister H.E. Osman Saleh in his official statement at the United Nations High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development expressed his utmost shock and sadness following these tragic losses. He said,
“… International migration is not without its own problems or perils, as we heard this morning of the tragic and sad incident in Lampedusa (Italy). I wish to extend my condolences to the families of the victims. Many migrants are facing death, violence, horror, abuse, exploitation, and are becoming subjects of organ harvesting by organized criminal elements. Human trafficking ought to be combated in all its manifestations and we need to cooperate and build a common front by fully implementing the United Nations Global Plan of Action on Human Trafficking…”
It is another sad incident and loss but let their Soul Rest in Peace!
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