The upcoming papal visit might draw only fleeting attention to the situation in the Central Mediterranean. Ragazzi Baye Fall, Refugees in Libya, Mediterranean Hope – Federazione delle Chiese Evangeliche in Italia (FCEI), Maldusa, Resqhip, and Sea-Watch, thus, are putting the stark reality of the border regime on the agenda. Drawing from their own lived experiences of flight and daily on-the-ground solidarity with arriving people, the representatives will expose the ongoing systemic injustices that are often overlooked. Speakers will outline recent developments at the arrival pier, Molo Favaloro, following the enforcement of the European Union’s (EU) New Pact on Migration and Asylum (CEAS).
We cordially invite all interested journalists to this press point. Three brief opening interventions, in both Italian and English, will be followed by ample opportunity for individual interviews, follow-up questions, such as both audio and video statements.
- Date / Time: 3 July, 2026, at 18:00
- Location: Agricola ’Mpidusa, Contrada Imbriacola (near the HotSpot)
Alongside the interventions of the main speakers, representatives from the co-organising associations Resqship and Sea-Watch will be available for questions and interviews.
Since 2021, Refugees in Libya has acted as a voice to draw attention to the situation of people on the move in the north African country. In a first intervention, Naeima Yaqoub, co-founder and president of the organisation, will speak about the severe violence and extreme abuses that refugees face in Libya.
»To Pope Leo XIV, the media, and civil society in Lampedusa: we ask you to look beyond the shore. For many people, the border does not begin in Lampedusa, it begins in Libya, in detention, in fear, in interceptions at sea, and in agreements that turn violence into migration management. As Refugees in Libya, we speak with survivors and for those who have been silenced. We welcome every gesture of compassion, but compassion must become responsibility. Europe must choose protection, dignity, and life over containment.«
– Naeima Yaqoub
Seck Baye Fall, coordinator of Ragazzi Baye Fall in Lampedusa, will subsequently take the floor. Ragazzi Baye Fall is a self-organized initiative of the Senegalese and Gambian diaspora that actively fights for the rights of the so-called ›boat drivers‹ – people who find themselves navigating at sea and who are both criminalised and prosecuted under the pretext of anti-traffic laws.
In a third intervention, representatives from Maldusa and Mediterranean Hope-FCEI will focus on the implementation of accelerated border procedures and on the effects of the new pact currently being implemented against the backdrop of the growing externalisation and militarisation of migration control.
Media Contacts:
- David Yambio, Refugees in Libya: +393515136619, yambio@refugeesinlibya.org
- Cheikh Baye Fall, Ragazzi Baye Fall: +393895543249, ragazzibayefall@gmail.com
- Edoardo Avio, Maldusa:+39 3517635899, info@maldusa.org
- Francesca Saccomandi, Mediterranean Hope: +39 371 543 4697, mh.lampedusa@fcei.it
- Merle Dammhayn, Resqship: +39 331 4218860, press@resqship.org
- Luca Faenzi, Sea-Watch: +39 338 836 4299, italy-office@sea-watch.org
Photo credit: Pietro Bertora | RESQSHIP
