More than 8,000 people from North Africa have arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa in the last week. That’s more than the island’s population. Migrants could be escaping economic and social turbulence in places like Tunisia, Libya and Sudan. The spike of people has overwhelmed the island's resources. The United Nations refugee agency says it's vital that people be relocated. "It's imperative to move people off the island because the resources there, the capacity, is so limited," said UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh. He also says that people arriving on the island were traumatized and in need of medical care. “It is hard to identify a single factor behind this recent spike in migrant arrivals on Lampedusa,” Saltmarsh said. #Italy#Lampedusa#Migrants
More than 8,000 people from North Africa have arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa in the last week. That’s more than the island’s population. Migrants could be escaping economic and social turbulence in places like Tunisia, Libya and Sudan. The spike of people has overwhelmed the island's resources. The United Nations refugee agency says it's vital that people be relocated. "It's imperative to move people off the island because the resources there, the capacity, is so limited," said UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh. He also says that people arriving on the island were traumatized and in need of medical care. “It is hard to identify a single factor behind this recent spike in migrant arrivals on Lampedusa,” Saltmarsh said. #Italy #Lampedusa #Migrants