Consequences of sealing Europe off

In view of the protests on Lampedusa the left-leaning daily die tageszeitung criticises Italy's immigration policy: "It is quite possible that the Italian government will get its way. ... But its strategy won't be truly successful because whenever in the past European governments have made access to the continent more difficult, the only thing they achieved was that the flow of immigrants transferred to somewhere else. ... But Europe's policy of sealing itself off has dramatic consequences for the refugees: with each step their crossings become longer and more dangerous, and the number of those who drown, die of thirst or over-exposure rises. Europe's states act as if the thousands of dead had nothing to do with them; as if only the unscrupulous people traffickers were to blame. But Europe's anti-immigration policies provide these people traffickers with an enduring basis for business, and they know they can rely on European policy. Italy's government has proved this once more."

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