459 deaths 1ST 6 months 2009

ANSAmed

(ANSAmed) - ROME - ''The massacre continues: 459 deaths in the first six months of 2009.'' This is the most recent figure from Fortress Europe, the online observatory on the victims of immigration. There is however some hope: ''the figure is falling for the first time in three years. In the first few months of 2008, there was a total of 985 victims.'' A report by Gabriele Del Grande published on the observatory's website claims that most migrants die in the Sahara: ''a route they are forced to take, which is more dangerous than the sea crossing''. According to a census carried out through international press, at least 1,691 people have died in the desert since 1996. On her journey in the footsteps of the migrants, Del Grande stopped at Agadez in Nigeria, the crossroads for all African migrants who want to reach Algeria or Libya across the Sahara. The final destination is either Spain or Italy, despite the policies of expulsion or immediate return undertaken by the two countries. Amongst the many resources available on the Fortress Europe website is a video by a Senegalese journalist, which was filmed on June 16 at Barajas airport in Madrid. It reports on violence perpetrated on a fellow countryman: ''feet and hands bound like an animal,'' a note on the website explains, ''whilst a plain-clothed policeman holds him to the ground, underneath an airplane bound for Dakar.'' An investigation into forced returns from Lampedusa that began some weeks ago reports that ''the passengers onboard the boat refused entry off the coast of Lampedusa on July 1 were Eritreans. Eritrean refugees who now risk being repatriated. Or else they risk long-term detention in Libyan prisons, where they are already under arrest.'' Fortress Europe also notes that Italy knows the dangers facing Eritreans who are sent back. ''Italy is well aware of the fate that awaits Eritreans. So much so that last year the authorities granted permits to stay to most of the 2,739 Eritreans who landed on the Sicilian coast.''(ANSAmed).