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Some migrants, helped by Spanish rescuers, were allowed to disembark at Lampedusa on Monday evening, 19 August. Francisco Gentico / Open Arms / Handout via REUTERS

The wrecked of the Open Arms have been stranded off Lampedusa for 18 days now. The situation is critical. A hundred migrants are still on the humanitarian ship without a global landing solution. On Monday 19 August, Italy finally agreed to evacuate some people.

With our special envoy to Lampedusa, Juliette Gheerbrandt

There are just under 100 people aboard the Open Arms and the evacuation of migrants is a trickle when there is a danger to their health. Psychologically, all are more and more fragile, for example, one person was thrown into the water on Tuesday. The situation is very difficult. It's been days since migrants see the coast a few hundred meters from the ship.

The NGO is currently managing an emergency situation. The transport minister said he was ready for the Italian coastguard to take the migrants to Spain. A proposal that the NGO never excluded.

Matteo Salvini, it's Matteo Salvini, but all the times France sent Italy to Ventimiglia, without saying anything, like that, young people, minors ... Nobody said anything!

[Reportage] Lampedusa feels good alone against the influx of migrants 20/08/2019 - by Juliette Gheerbrant Listen

Matteo Salvini's showdown on NGOs has never been so far and it is no coincidence of the calendar. The Italian Minister of the Interior wants elections as soon as possible. The Senate is meeting on this issue on Tuesday afternoon.

In Lampedusa, life goes on

In Lampedusa, the atmosphere is rather pareo, sunshades and scooters of the seas of holidaymakers farting around the port. It is currently the peak of the season. The presence of the boat does not disturb the tourists or the inhabitants that we have met. What comes up in the conversations is that Italy is alone in this situation, as always.

Especially in Lampedusa, people are well placed to note that, if Matteo Salvini attacks NGOs and makes a lot of noise on Twitter, migrants continue to arrive every day or almost in Sardinia, Sicily or Lampedusa, aboard what Italians call " ghost ships ", small boats that sometimes go unnoticed.

Do not know why landing is not allowed; not knowing where, how, and if they will arrive on land, creates a lot of tension and rekindles traumas. We must not forget that they experienced torture, violence, wars for months or even years for some. So being denied the opportunity to land is a new kind of torture.

Rosella Miccio, president of the Italian medical NGO Emergency 20/08/2019 - by Juliette Gheerbrant Listen