Scirocco: Current news from Italy
Scirocco [ʃiˈrɔkko-Scirocco] is a southeasterly, hot strong wind that carries dust and sand across the Mediterranean Sea to Sicily and the north of Italy for often only a few hours. This short info is published since March 2021, and since June 2025 in a new format: Instead of once a month, the new Scirocco timeline provides up-to-date information on the latest political and social developments in Italy relating to the topic of migration.
20. June 2025 - DEATH AND DISAPPEARANCE
Deaths and disappearances at the borders: between memory and erasure
On 13 June, we took part in a conference organised by the association Memoria Mediterranea and CLEDU (the Law Clinic of the University): "Together with the mothers, sisters, fathers, brothers and family members of people who have died or gone missing along European borders – at sea, in detention centres, or at border crossings – the event will provide a space for families to assert their struggle for the search, identification, truth and justice for their lost loved ones, in the face of the responsible and competent institutions."
Memoria Mediterranea is the association that has taken over the structure of Borderline Sicilia, our former partner. Its primary focus is on supporting relatives in the identification and repatriation of human remains.
At the conference, the relatives of the deceased and missing at the borders had the opportunity to speak (see pictures below). In the afternoon, a list was drawn up of the measures urgently needed from the state in order to carry out identifications in a systematic and standardised manner and to establish a binding procedure within the authorities in cases of deaths and disappearances at sea.
We also featured the voices of MemMed in our Streiflicht magazine “Verlorene Leben, unerzählte Geschichten" (currently only in German).
Cover picture: Wolfgang Hasselmann, unsplash
