Specific goals
The points of interest of the project in this first year were: the borders of the Balkan routes (especially Trieste e Subotica), Italy’s internal borders (Brenner, Como, Oulx, Ventimiglia), the northern external borders (Calais) and the southern external borders (Ceuta).
Background
In the span of 2023, 29,437 people were recorded crossing the English Channel. Despite the number of crossings (in 2022 there had been more than 40,000 people crossing this border), the vast majority of people on the move who plan to head to the United Kingdom cannot get there because they are stuck first on the beaches of northern France, in places like Calais and Dunkirk.
For years now Calais has been transformed as a function of the passage of transiting people. Notably famous was the Calais Jungle, a giant informal encampment on the outskirts of the city, which was inhabited from 2006 to 2016, then dismantled. However, there are currently thousands of people in the Calais territory. Despite the fact that the Jungle has been dismantled, in fact, people have continued to inhabit more or less peripheral areas of the city (currently part of the old Jungle has been re-occupied). Informal settlements are multiple.
The big emergency is housing, as institutions do not provide any shelter. The Scalabrinian Fathers have been taking over 15 churches in the town of Calais for two years now, with the aim of accompanying the local population and supporting migrant people. The House La Margelle is located in the old rectory house of one of the churches run by the Scalabrinian fathers. It is one of the few places for migrant people in the city: in particular, migrant people who, having arrived in Calais to try to reach the United Kingdom, are instead considering stopping in France are received here. The house also provides an emergency room to accommodate, for a few nights, people in transit referred by other associations working to support migrant people in Calais.
What ASCS does in Calais
Since January 2024 we have taken charge, together with the parish of Calais, of a guest house: the house (pictured), until December 2023 was already used for reception, thanks to a local Jesuit. From January 2024, we began to take over management of the house, taking in 12 single men in transit in a vulnerable situation. The project is developed in cooperation with Caritas and other local associations, and is operationally managed by two/three ASCS volunteer(s).
In 2023, in addition to the inspections carried out for the start of the reception, some short- and medium-term ASCS volunteer(s) did support activities at the Margelle shelter: Alex, an ASCS volunteer, spent the week of Christmas 2022 as a volunteer. Miriam, an ASCS volunteer, spent the entire month of August 2023 in Calais supporting La Margelle House, in collaboration with the Scalabrinian Fathers of Calais.
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Background
Ceuta is located on the so-called Western Mediterranean route, the Eastern Mediterranean route. It is one of two Spanish enclaves (along with Melilla) in Moroccan territory, on the Strait of Gibraltar. Half of the population living in this enclave is of Moroccan origin; most of this 50 percent have been Spanish nationals for years now, but they maintain the traditions of their roots (language, religion). The advantage, in the past, of arriving in these territories was the fact that one could reach the European Union without the need to cross the sea, since Ceuta is politically Spain but geographically Morocco. In 2018, this route was the most traveled route to EU territory, with nearly 60,000 crossings in one year. After that, thanks to a series of agreements between Spain, the European Union, Frontex, Morocco and other African countries, Ceuta and Melilla became virtually inaccessible. The borders are entirely militarized, with a barbed-wire wall 12 kilometers long (it also goes into the sea for part of it) and 10 meters high, consisting of two fences with a space between each fence of a few meters for a truck patrolling the border to pass through.
Overtaking him is almost impossible. Those trying to overcome it are both people from Sub-Saharan African countries and countries from Northwest Africa, particularly neighboring Morocco. Those from Sub-Saharan Africa are sometimes stuck on the other side of the border for years, some decide to settle in Morocco working informally, others try the route to the Canary Islands. Others keep trying, from Ceuta or Melilla, and sooner or later they succeed.
Those who manage to arrive in Ceuta, if from Sub-Saharan African countries, often end up in the Centros de Estancia Temporal de Inmigrantes (CETI), a very first reception center for about 500 people. After an initial period in the Ceuta hotspot, you are moved to reception centers on the mainland. People of Moroccan descent who wish to proceed with their asylum application, on the other hand, do not have access to CETI until they are able to access the first asylum interview. Interview for which it is very complicated to book because it works with online reservations. Currently this system is in the hands of hackers who charge more than 1,000 euros to have one reserved. For this reason, many of the Moroccan people who would like to apply for asylum stay in Ceuta months or years before they succeed in doing so to raise the necessary money (with precarious and informal jobs). In the time of waiting to access asylum, people in Ceuta very often live on the street or in precarious housing solutions.
The Scalabrinian Fathers (responsible for the pastoral care of migration for the dioceses of Cádiz and Ceuta) are present with a facility in Ceuta, the San Antonio Center (pictured), where outreach activities (by the Cardijn Association) and recreational and educational activities for people living in CETI (by theElìn Association).
What ASCS does in Ceuta
From January 2024, we began a permanent presence in Ceuta, in the San Antonio center (pictured) to support Moroccan migrant people without a housing solution in Ceuta. Currently, a shower service for migrant people sleeping on the streets is held (a necessary service to combat skin diseases such as scabies). It is also planned, in collaboration with the Scalabrinian fathers of the Algeciras-Cadiz-Ceuta mission, for the next few months, to beginhosting Moroccan people living on the streets in particularly vulnerable situations. The support and reception activity is and will be operationally managed by two volunteers/operators from ASCS, in collaboration with the migration ministry, which is given to the Scalabrini Fathers and other local associations.
In addition, as part of outreach, we co-organize volunteer camps in the Ceuta and Tetuan area (the next ones are scheduled for summer 2024). In cooperation with the association Cardijne Tierra de todos.
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Photo by Francesco Cibati, Subotica
Background
In 2015, the Balkan routes, long traveled by people on the move heading toward the European Union (EU), assumed a crucial role as the main entry route to the continent. This change was triggered by the opening of borders by the EU and the Balkan states. Over the course of months, mainly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of migrants have crossed the Balkan countries via Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria. These crossings have had a tangible impact on the geography and borders of these countries. Along the way, temporary refugee camps suddenly sprang up. In addition to the support of nongovernmental organizations, the solidarity of civil society, locally and internationally, with transiting people has been evident. Since March 2016 things have changed, an agreement between the EU and Turkey marked the final closure of the borders along the branches of the Balkan route. This has not only made the journey to the EU more risky and costly, but also increased the use of traffickers. Currently, tens of thousands of people find themselves trapped in refugee camps scattered across Greece, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, with the only outlet to Central Europe being through dangerous illegal channels, endangering the lives of those who undertake them.
What ASCS does on Balkan routes.
Since 2019, ASCS has had an eye on what is happening on the Balkan routes. It all started with Unbroken Humanity, a month-long journey across the land borders of one of the branches of the Balkan routes, from the Syrian-Turkish border to Italy. The purpose of this project was to witness the moving stories of violence and solidarity of the people who pass through these places. Out of this project came a book, a photographic exhibition e The Game, a role-playing game to raise awareness of this issue. After this experience, ASCS joined the network Facing the Balkans, collaborating in the various activities carried out together with the other associations that comprise it, in particular participating in a trip to monitor and learn about the realities of the Balkan countries that the network has supported over the years. ASCS still continues as an active member of the network.
Our last presence in the Balkan countries was in November 2022, when ASCS worker Davide spent about ten days in Subotica, on the border between Serbia and Hungary, a place of daily rejections and violence against people on the move. In particular, we accompanied and supported the organization No Name Kitchen in operations to assist migrant people in informal encampments in the border strip.
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- Updates from the Serbia-Hungary border, ASCS, November 2022
- Lipa, the field where Europe fails, ReVolts to the Balkans, Dec. 2021
- Bosnia and Herzegovina, the failed reception, ReVolved to the Balkans, July 2021
- Unbroken Humanity, Seipersei, 2021
- The Balkan route. Migrants without rights in the heart of Europe, ReVolved to the Balkans, February 2021
- The Borders of Fortress Europe – News From the Serbian-Hungarian Frontier., transform! europe, January 2021
Photos by Matteo Rioda – Trieste
Background
Among the latest stops on one of the branches of the Balkan migration routes. In the year 2023, there are nearly 15,000 transiting people supported by the local associations we work with. These are high numbers compared to past years. More than half of the people who arrived in Trieste are from Afghanistan, then Pakistan, Turkish Kurdistan, and Bangladesh. From the end of 2023, the Italian government announced the resumption of border controls at the border (inside the Schengen area) with Slovenia.
In addition to the people who transit, there are those who apply for asylum but do not access reception, in violation of the rules that stipulate that anyone seeking asylum has the right to a place in reception. The significant influx of people transiting the Balkan routes, coupled with the lack of reception of asylum seekers, means that the major critical issue in Trieste is the lack of a reception venue. Associations working in Trieste have reported to municipal and regional institutions the lack of a center where people can sleep a few nights before resuming their journey. In the absence of shelter, people passing through Trieste remain in tents in a large abandoned building near the train station, in precarious sanitary conditions.
What ASCS does in Trieste
From 2021, as an activity of ASCS Intercultural Animation two or three times each year, service and training events will be organized (ConFinee Through) for young people from 18 to 29 years old.
In addition, since 2023 some medium- to long-term ASCS volunteers have been sent to Trieste to work in cooperation with local associations. For the entire month of March 2023, Philip, an ASCS volunteer, volunteered with local associations, in particular, with the Italian Consortium of Solidarity (ICS)andShadow Line in Italian language school activities and first aid assistance to people on the move. From May to August 2023, in collaboration with Notre Dame University, Gabe, an undergraduate medical student served as an ASCS volunteer in partnership with Donk – Humanitarian Medicine, an association of volunteer doctors, which provides free health care to all people who are not guaranteed access to medical care.
Finally, in collaboration with a network of associations in Trieste, in November 2022 we activated a fundraiserfor basic necessities for the unwelcomed people sleeping on the streets in Trieste. In addition, a donation of materials is organized every year for local associations to distribute to migrant people in the area.
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Background
The Italo-Swiss border in 2023 was confirmed as a crossing and rejection zone in the migration routes proceeding from Italy to the northern countries of the European Union. Transit zone because this border seems to be the preferred stop for people arriving in Italy via the various branches of the Balkan route. A good part of the transiting people (about 3/4 of the total), once after arriving in Trieste, Udine or Gorizia, continue their journey to northern Europe, not wanting to stay in Italy. Most prefer to try to reach northern Europe via this border area, much more than the French-Italian border (Ventimiglia and the Susa Valley above all). In addition to being a transit zone, from the data we were able to obtain through a civic access request to the Ministry of the Interior, this border zone is confirmed as a place of rejection. In technical jargon, this is not referred to as rejections but as “passive readmissions.” These are police practices carried out against foreign persons considered irregular by the authorities, conducted under the 1998 Italian-Swiss Bilateral Agreement, which was never ratified by the Italian parliament. On both sides of the border, unlike other Italian borders, there are not many entities acting to support people in transit. This lack, in addition to not allowing effective support for migrant people passing through, means that at the local and national level there is a lack of knowledge and discussion about such a hot border from the point of view of crossings and rejections.
What ASCS does in Como-Chiasso
Since February 2023, Davide and Irene of ASCS have begun a series of site visits to the border to learn about the migration dynamics of that border and the associations operating on both sides of the border: in Como, Chiasso, Lugano, Mendrisio. Given the lack of organized monitoring work on the border, in collaboration with the independent magazine Altreconomia, Irene and Davide published a report, where the situation of refoulement and crossing at the border is described. A key tool for this report was a request for civic access to the Italian Ministry of the Interior, through which the intensity of the phenomenon of refoulement in this area could be seen. The report was presented in the city of Como in late August with significant local participation.
In February 2024, thanks to the network created on this border, the first edition of ConFine Como was held for a group of young people aged 18 to 29.
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Background
The border between France and Italy (specifically, in the Alpine mountain range at Oulx and on the sea at Ventimiglia) is a place where thousands of people pass through each year on their way to France and then the northern European countries. The French gendarmerie, both in Oulx and Ventimiglia, is wont to turn back people who try to cross the border into Italy.
What ASCS does in Ventimiglia and Oulx.
ASCS has been organizing volunteer weeks for young boys and girls for years now (ConFinee Through). Miriam, also an ASCS volunteer, spent two weeks in the refuge of Oulxin early 2023. Finally, every year we organize the sending of materials to support migrant people.
Background
It is a very quiet border; almost no one talks about it. is particular because it is the subject of a dual migration flow, one from Italy going to Austria, and one from Austria going to Italy. Case histories are different, those who go to Austria do so because they then want to try to apply for asylum in Austria or Germany. Those who arrive in Italy from Austria do so either because they come from one of the branches coming from the Balkan route, which passes through Hungary, or because, having received a negative outcome from northern European countries regarding their asylum applications, they prefer to try to build an alternative in Italy. This border (at train stations and on car roads) is systematically controlled by Austrian and Italian national police.
What ASCS does at Brenner and Innsbruck.
Together with theAssociation for Legal Studies on Immigration (ASGI) and other Italian and Austrian organizations active on the border since early 2023, we have begun to work on a series of monitoring and paper-writing actions to chronicle the situation on that border in order to be able to collect a range of quantitative and qualitative data regarding checks on people in transit, with the aim of identifying any illegitimate practices against migrants (such as racial profiling, violence).
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Participation in conferences and events
Since the inception of Borders, there have been multiple opportunities for ASCS and Scalabrinians to present their project. Specifically to:
- Paris, October 4, 2022, at the Conference Fraternité et migrations en Europe: Regards Croises et partages d’expériences a la lumiere de Fratelli Tutti. Organized by the Ile de France migrant ministry. Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre.
- Radio Marconi, on November 26, 2022, during an interview, which can be listened to here
- Rome, February 7, 2023, at thegeneral assembly of the Scalabrinian Fathers.
- Simi Talks, in February 2023, during an interview that can be found here.
- Venice, March 9, 2023, at a meeting organized by a university residence hall(Santa Fosca)
- Rome, March 14, 2023, at the University of Notre Dame.
- People not numbers… (Un)Welcoming migrants in Europe, April 24, 2023, webinar organized by SIMI, Pontifical Urbanian University, University of Oslo, Åbo Akademi University, Uppsala University, Centre for Multidisciplinary Research on Religion and Society (Sweden)
- Como, on August 24, 2023, at the presentation of the report published in Altreconomia. The speeches of Irene, Davide and the other guests can be seen here.
- To the Senate of the Italian Republic (Rome), October 3, 2023, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Lampedusa shipwreck. Irene and Davide spoke regarding their report published in Altreconomia about the situation on the Italian-Swiss border. Their talk can be found here.
Unisciti a noi
Insieme possiamo costruire una comunità aperta ed inclusiva nella quale la diversità rappresenta una ricchezza e ciascuno può contribuire alla creazione del bene comune.
