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Lampedusa

Lampedusa is a small, idyllic Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea. It's also "the door to Europe" for migrantsheaded north from nearby Africa.

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All Content on this topic

Symbolbild EU-Erweiterung

Inside Europe 19.10.17

On today's programme: Spain moves to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy - Austria’s wunderkind wins elections – Mental health emergency in Greek refugee camps - A Bavarian field at the heart of the EU - Journalist’s murder shocks Malta - Poland’s rosary for peace - The Polder model and Dutch decision making - A library for migrant children in Lampedusa.
PoliticsOctober 20, 201754:59 min
Italien minderjährige Flüchtlinge nach Mittelmeer-Überfahrt

Inside Europe: A library for migrant kids in Lampedusa

The tiny southern Italian island of Lampedusa has seen thousands of migrants seek safety there after a dangerous Mediterranean crossing. Men, women and children. Many spend weeks there, with little to do. That’s why a group of librarians from around the world, decided to offer those children a library of books that everyone can read. Megan Williams reports.
PoliticsOctober 20, 201702:45 min
Refugees and migrants are seen floating in an overcrowded rubber boat as they wait to be assisted by search and rescue crew members from NGO Sea-Eye on May 19, 2017 in international waters off the coast of Libya.

Italian migrant island at risk of 'collapse'

The mayor of Lampedusa island that was once a symbol for refugee compassion has warned it is descending into anarchy.
SocietySeptember 18, 2017
Lampedusa Arzt Pietro Bartolo

'Migrant doctor' heals the wounded on Lampedusa

Pietro Bartolo is the so-called "migrant doctor" on Lampedusa. He treats migrants who arrive there every day.
SocietyJuly 7, 2017
external

Malky: Deep Soul-Pop

Pop duo Malky at the Volksbühne in Berlin: music for your head... and for your heart.
MusicFebruary 25, 201703:32 min
DW popxport

A portrait of the soul-pop duo Malky

Pop duo Malky at the Volksbühne in Berlin: music for your head... and for your heart.
MusicFebruary 24, 2017
Migrants on Italian ship (Photo by Alfonso Di Vincenzo / Pacific Press)

More than 6,000 migrants rescued from Med

A total of 6,055 migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya on Monday, one of the largest rescues in a single day.
ConflictsOctober 4, 2016
Refugees sread blankets over cardboard on the ground on a square in Lampedusa

Refugees protest in Lampedusa, causing headaches for locals

As asylum-seekers occupy town plazas to protest detention in Lampedusa, locals call for removal of an island hotspot.
May 12, 201610 images
Griechenland Lesbos Ankommendes Flüchtlingsboot

Dozens missing after migrant dinghy sinks

An NGO has said that 84 people are missing and feared dead after an overcrowded dinghy sank between Libya and Italy.
April 30, 2016
Symbolbild Flüchtlingsboot vor Sizilien

Hundreds feared dead in new migrant disaster

Calm seas and warmer weather paved the way for fresh tragedy in the Mediterranean on Monday.
April 18, 2016
Deutsche Welle Strack Christoph Portrait

Pope on the fringe

Christoph Strack
Pope Francis is set to visit refugees in Lesbos. He's staying true to his faith, DW's Christoph Strack writes.
April 8, 2016
A symbolic picture for migration off the island of Lampedusa. A silhouette of a boat at sunset.

Inside Europe: Lampedusa, an island of migration

Angelo van Schaik reports on Lampedusa and its history of two way migration for centuries.
PoliticsDecember 17, 201505:52 min
Passau - Flüchtlingslager

Passau's refugee fairytale

The German border city of Passau is dealing with a large influx of refugees, and it is doing so quite well.
December 12, 2015
Mittelmeer Küstenwache Italien Flüchtlingsboot Flüchtlinge Rettung

Thousands rescued from Mediterranean Sea

Italy's coast guard has said that around 5,800 migrants seeking to reach the EU have been rescued in the Mediterranean.
May 4, 2015
Italien Küstenwache Navy Rettungsoperation

EU ships rescue 3,400 migrants from Mediterranean

Italy has said that more than 3,400 migrants have been rescued off the Libyan coast.
May 3, 2015
Türkei Flüchtlinge aus Syrien

Refugees' hopes

Europe's refugee crisis: DW looks at migrants' departure, journey and destination.
April 29, 2015

Despair surrounds Libyan refugees

The Libyan Coast Guard is poorly funded and equipped, so are Libyan refugee detention centers.
April 28, 2015
Griechenland - Füchtlinge vor Rhodos

Closer EU cooperation on migrant boat crisis

Italian politician Sandro Gozi says the EU's reputation has been "severely affected" by the migrant boat crisis.
April 24, 2015
Symbolbild - Flüchtlingsboot Mittelmeer

Europe must prioritize asylum in Med: UN

The UN Security Council is concerned about people smuggling following a shipwreck that likely killed 800 people.
April 22, 2015
Beck Johannes Kommentarbild App

EU needs a new refugee policy

Johannes Beck
Yet another refugee boat has capsized off the coast of Libya. It's high time for the EU to act, writes Johannes Beck.
April 19, 2015
Rettungsaktion Lampedusa

EU refugee policies slammed after disaster

Calls for a rethink of EU refugee policies are growing after the capsize of a refugee boat with hundreds on board.
April 19, 2015

Lampedusa, locals and refugees

Some 1,500 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Italy were rescued in just one day over Easter off the island of Lampedusa. The island's locals have become accustomed to hundreds, even thousands, of migrants given refuge there. But many of them fear another tragedy like the one on October 3rd 2013, when more than 300 immigrants drowned. Angelo van Schaik reports.
April 9, 201506:20 min
Italien Insel Lampedusa Flüchtlinge

EU refugee problem pawned off on Lampedusa

Since the expiration of Mare Nostrum and the flare-up of war in Libya, over 1,000 people have landed in Lampedusa.
February 22, 2015
Migrants wait to disembark from an Italian Coast Guard ship after being rescued in Porto Empedocle, Sicily, southern Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Save the Children, Amnesty International and other aid groups blasted the new EU-backed rescue patrol as insufficient for the task at hand. The European Union took over Mediterranean patrols after Italy phased out its robust Mare Nostrum operation in November. Mare Nostrum (Our Seas) had been launched in 2013 after 360 migrants drowned off the coast of the Sicilian island of Lampedusa. But the EU's Triton mission only operates a few miles off Europe's coast ¿ its job is to patrol Europe's borders ¿ whereas Mare Nostrum patrols took Italian rescue ships up close to Libya's coast. (AP Photo/Francesco Malavolta)

Italy launches migrant rescue bid in Med.

The Italian coast guard says it is trying to rescue more than 600 migrants in difficulty near the Libyan coast.
February 15, 2015
An Italian Coast Guard boat arrives with migrants to Lampedusa island, southern Italy, 11 February 2015.

Hundreds feared dead in Mediterranean boat tragedies

More than 300 migrants are feared dead after their overcrowded boats struck trouble.
February 11, 2015
Schlauchboot Mittelmeer-Flüchtlinge Italien Symbolbild

Hundreds of migrants missing

Hundreds of people disappeared while attempting to flee from Africa to Europe.
February 11, 2015
Verstorbene Flüchtlinge im Hafen von Lampedusa

Tragedy at sea

29 people have died on the border of Europe because the EU is trying to save money.
February 10, 2015
Schlauchboot Mittelmeer-Flüchtlinge Italien Symbolbild

Dozens of migrants freeze to death crossing Med

A group of Africans has lost their lives while crossing the Mediterranean in an small boat in icy weather.
February 10, 2015
Tod von Flüchlingen Schiff vor Sizilien 05.12.2014

More migrant boat deaths in Italy

More than a dozen people have died on a migrant boat heading for Italy. The Italian navy reported that the harsh elements killed the refugees, who were seeking asylum in the EU.
December 5, 2014
Lampedusa Triton Patrouillenschiff Viana do Castelo

'Triton' starts

For the past few days, the new EU refugee operation "Triton" has been operational.
November 13, 2014
Mittelmeer-Flüchtlinge/ Italien/

Refugee rescue as a magnet?

UK refuses to support rescue operations in the Mediterranean saying it will attract more refugees.
October 28, 2014
Flüchtlingsboot Zypern

'They are our dead'

The EU needs to spread the responsibility for dealing with refugees, says Karl Kopp of ProAsyl.
October 4, 2014

AfricaLink on Air - 03 October 2014

Boko Haram leader Shekau appears in a new video disputing claims of his death +++ Italy marks anniversary of boat incident at Lampedusa +++ A group of African artists embark on a road trip from Nigeria to Bosnia
October 3, 201424:59 min
Refugees being taken up the stairs of Rosenheim train station by police

Last stop Rosenheim

German police have seized more than 5,000 refugees this year - more than in the whole of 2013
October 3, 2014
Verhaftung von Flüchtlingen auf dem Rosenheimer Bahnhof

Rosenheim refugees

Police in southern Germany have detained 5,000 migrants so far this year
October 3, 2014
Migrants near Lampedusa, south of Sicily

18 migrants found dead

The Italian navy has found the bodies of 18 migrants on a dinghy, south of the Italian island of Lampedusa. More than 3,500 people trying to make the perilous trip from Africa to Europe have been rescued since Friday.
August 24, 2014
Überfahrt Mittelmeer Zustände an Bord der Schiffe Überfüllung

Migrant boat sinks off Libya

A boat carrying at least 150 migrants has sunk off the Libyan coast. Most are missing, feared drowned. Fishermen are said to have rescued 16 people.
August 23, 2014
File photo: A packed boat arrives at Lampedusa on April 9, 2011. (photo via EPA/ETTORE FERRARI)

Suffocating en route to Europe

Nineteen passengers aboard an overcrowded wooden boat bound for Lampedusa have died, according to the Italian coast guard. Italy's Navy has rescued more than 4,000 such migrants just in the past three days.
July 19, 2014
Joachim Gauck

Gauck: Improve refugee policy

President Joachim Gauck has urged Germany and the EU to take in more refugees and rethink policies. Speaking at a conference in Berlin, he called for more solidarity with refugees and among EU member states.
June 30, 2014
Member of Italian navy watching a migrant boat from on board a ship.

More migrants rescued

Coastguards in Italy and Malta have rescued hundreds of more migrants from boats in the Mediterranean, after 2,500 were picked up a day before. Italian authorities are speaking of a growing and urgent crisis.
June 7, 2014
A symbolic Image of a wrecked fishing boat on Lampedusa

Fatal shipwreck near Italy

A boat carrying hundreds of migrants has sunk south of the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, with Italian media reporting several fatalities. A day ago, dozens of migrants died in another shipwreck off Libya.
May 12, 2014
Symbolbild Bundesverfassungsgericht Euro-Rettungsschirm ESM

Deadly shipwreck off Libya

A makeshift boat carrying over a hundred migrants has capsized off the coast of Libya, killing dozens. Authorities have begun searching the water for survivors.
May 11, 2014
Bildergalerie Einwanderung Immigration Italien Afrika Senegal

Italy rescues migrants - but more will come

Four thousand refugees travelling from Africa by boat have been rescued in Italian waters.
April 10, 20148 images
A picture of migrants arriving by boat after being resuced off Lampedusa in Italy.

Immigration crisis grows in Italy

Italy appeals to the EU to help stem the tide of growing numbers of migrants reaching Europe.
April 10, 201405:02 min
Italiens Marine rettet in kurzer Zeit mehr als 1000 Flüchtlinge 8.4.2014

Italy highlights boat migrants

Italy says 4,000 boat migrants have made landings "non-stop" along its shores or have been rescued by ships over the past two days. Interior Minister Angelino Alfano has urged the EU to "take the situation in hand."
April 9, 2014
Junge Flüchtlinge an der SchlaU-Schule in München

Refugees in Germany

Refugees from Africa who make it to Europe face numerous challenges.
December 27, 2013
Joachim Gauck Weihnachtsansprache Berlin 2013 BITTE TEXT BEACHTEN!

Gauck calls for tolerance

The German president has called for more consideration for the plight of refugees. The focus of his annual Christmas speech was influenced by two humanitarian crises in the Mediterranean that made headlines this year.
December 24, 2013
African migrants arriving in Lampedusa

EU probes Italy over migrants

The European Commission has threatened to take legal action against Italy over its treatment of migrants. This comes as a video showing apparent mistreatment of migrants causes outrage in Europe.
December 18, 2013
Malta Gerettete Bootsflüchtlinge 12.10.2013

Refugees welcome!

A tiny Italian village welcomes migrants - they find jobs, homes and financial aid.
December 11, 2013
Workers of the EU's Eurosur surveillance network.

Italy rescues 100 refugees

The Italian navy and coast guard have rescued more than 100 refugees from a small boat which was facing difficulties in the Mediterranean Sea. It follows a similar rescue by Italy earlier this week.
December 7, 2013