Three
Gambians and five other African asylum seekers were attacked on Tuesday living
many wounded and immediately helpless in an asylum camp in Acerra, Italy.
The
violence happened between the hours of 20:00-21:00 at the asylum camp of
Acerra, in the periphery of Napoli on 11 October 2016.
According
to the asylum seekers, two unknown man and woman came to their house and
suddenly jumped on them leaving them in blood and terrified. Some of the asylum seekers are minors.
The
attack happened at a time the asylum seekers have continued to request for some
winter clothing from the camp authorities as the cold season drives nearer.
The
Point’s correspondent in Italy, Alagie Jinkang, said he has tried to reach the
camp authorities but to no avail. The
authorities at the camp of Raggio Di Luna, Via Valio No. 56, Acerra, who are
responsible for the welfare of the migrants, refused to speak to the
correspondent after many attempts.
The
migrants are presently seeking help from the police but the assailants were
still unknown.
Mr
Jinkang said the camp authorities are furious for being accused of sending the
attackers. He said the asylum seekers
are willing to make all efforts to get justice.
As
the winter draws nearer, many of such complaints and occurrences define asylum
seekers, he said.
Italy
is a signatory to the Geneva Convention 1951 and the 1967 protocol that
guarantees minimum living conditions to all asylum seekers.
The
Italian and EU migration policies also state that certain basic conditions of
asylum seekers must be met without compromise and migrants must be provided
full protection in line with the international law and the 2030 dream goals of
UN High Commission for Refugees.
However,
Italy is apparently not meeting up its obligation under these statutes.
Our
Italy correspondent said the general condition of asylum seekers in Italy did
not meet the international standard as the rights of the migrants at the camps
are under continued threats and violation.
“As
a journalist, I face a lot of problems in trying to break the barriers to write
the happenings in these hosting centres,” our correspondent said.
“The
camp authorities see me as a rival, who is closing their doors. They do not
even want to speak to me or let the asylum seekers tell me anything. The asylum
seekers human rights are pies in the skies,” the correspondent said.
He
also pointed out that there are already more than 200 Gambians imprisoned in
Italy and many more struggle daily to be accepted in the communities they live.
