Al Amra, Tunisia – As European leaders met in Italy at the weekend to discuss the “migration crisis” on Lampedusa and how to limit arrivals, Tunisian police rounded up thousands of Black people from Sfax and bussed them to one of the principal departure points where desperate refugees start their Mediterranean crossings, hoping to land on the Italian island.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was invited to Lampedusa on Sunday by far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who wanted to show how the arrivals were impacting the island. The two announced a 10-point plan intended to salvage their increasingly controversial “pact on migration” signed with Tunisia in July.
