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By Anna Momigliano By Anna Momigliano June 15 at 9:16 AM

Two months ago Giusi Nicolini, the mayor of a small Italian island with a population of 6,000, received the prestigious UNESCO Peace Prize. Lampedusa, the island 70 miles from the Tunisian coast that she has been governing since 2012, has experienced an influx of refugees over the past few years, and Nicolini got the award because of the boundless humanity and unwavering commitment with which she managed the refugee crisis.

In the past few years, Nicolini had become a national symbol of Lampedusa's willingness to help those fleeing war and poverty: When President Obama hosted a state dinner in honor of then-Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in 2016, Renzi brought her along as one of the people who represented the best of Italy.

Yet Nicolini failed to get reelected when local elections were held last Sunday. Not only that, she did not even come second, losing disastrously to an opponent who, during the campaign, famously said that he cannot stand seeing migrants swarming everywhere.

So, does Nicolini's defeat mean that being nice to migrants could cost a politician their seat?

People on the right were quick to celebrate the election results as proof that Italians are tired of helping out immigrants and asylum-seekers.

Matteo Salvini, the leader of the anti-immigration Northern League, mocked Nicolini for what he described as feel-good propaganda that cost her the election. Conservative activists joyfully posted altered images representing the former mayor as an illegal immigrant expelled from the country and memes claiming she is an agent of George Soros, the liberal tycoon whom conspiracy theorists accuse of being behind the wave of African immigration to Europe.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Nicolini said she has been insulted for the national and international attention she got because of the migrant crisis: They called me 'ladra di medaglie,' medals thief, and accused me of talking too much to the media. But I was just trying to promote the image of the island.

Lampedusa's economy revolves around fishing and tourism and Nicolini said that, during her tenure, she tried to balance the moral duty to welcome migrants and the need to keep the island appealing for tourists and with good results: the tourism business grew 36 percent.

It's true that the new mayor, Salvatore Tot Martello, had used harsher language about migrants. Martello, who, like Nicolini, belongs to the center-left Democratic Party, won the election focusing his campaign on the promise of obtaining financial compensation for fishermen whose business is allegedly hurt by the shipwrecks of migrants boats. He contends that the presence of sunken ships in that area of the Mediterranean is damaging the fishermen's nets.

However, after the elections, he immediately toned down his approach, expressing his respect for migrants who risk their lives at sea.

Alessandro Puglia, a freelance journalist who did extensive work on Lampedusa and authored a documentary about the island, is skeptical that the election results had anything to do with the migrant crisis. He noted in an interview that Lampedusa's residents have demonstrated their solidarity throughout the decades: Migrants have been coming to the island since the 1990s and locals have always offered them food and blankets. Moreover, it was often the fishermen of Lampedusa who rescued migrants at sea.

If anything, said Puglia, some of the locals resented the fact that the mayor was getting all the attention, while their work remained largely unknown to the wider world.

Nicolini acknowledges the migrant crisis was just one of the factors, claiming that her policy of sustainable growth made her enemies among investors and developers less concerned with the environment.

But whether the migrant crisis was a determining factor in the local elections of this small island remains debatable, it is pretty clear that it is becoming a hot-button issue nationally. With elections scheduled next year, two of the country's major parties, the Five Star Movement and the Northern League, are heavily campaigning against immigration the latter openly using Nicolini as a target. According to a recent poll, 62 percent of Italians would favor a stricter immigration policy.

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An Italian mayor won an international award for helping migrants. Then she lost her job. - Washington Post

European Migrant Crisis: EU open cases against Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland over migration quotas

The European Union stepped up its efforts in taking a hard line stance against several countries, namely Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic which have refused to entertain the migrant quotas adopted by the European Union. In an effort to reduce the pressure on individual countries, the European Union led by Germany adopted a migrant quota system, under which all member states will have to share the burden of the refugee crisis that saw millions of people arriving in Europe mainly via Greece and Italy from war-torn regions in the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. Poland and Hungary have refused to accept a single refugee, while the Czech Republic backed out earlier this month, citing security concerns, after taking in just 12 from their quota of almost 2,700.

Over the past years, the European Union has threatened to end its financial support to the above-mentioned countries if it fails to accept the migrant quota. Dismayed over the failure of these states to accept asylum-seekers, the European Commission has decided to step up and send letters of formal notice to Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. These letters are the first step toward opening cases against the countries for not living up to their legal obligations. Despite these efforts, Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec told that any decision to punish the country over the quotas would lead to a loss of trust in the EU. In a government-backed referendum last October, a huge majority of Hungarians rejected the EUs mandatory migrant resettlement scheme. But low turnout rendered the referendum invalid.

Forcing asylum seekers to countries like Poland and Hungary could have a ripple effect and could lead to EU membership referendums in those countries.

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European Migrant Crisis: EU open cases against Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland over migration quotas - EconoTimes

ROME Pope Francis sent a letter last week to the Latin American Parliament as they discuss migration in the region, encouraging governments to protect all who reside in their territory regardless of their origin.

As members of a large family, we must work to place the person at the centre; this is not a mere number or an abstract entity but a brother or sister who needs our help and a friendly hand, the Pope wrote in his June 7 letter to the Latin American Parliament, which is holding its 33rd General Assembly.

The assembly of representatives from 23 Latin American and Caribbean countries is meeting to discuss migration in the region and international responses.

Francis offered his congratulations to the parliament on this initiative that aims to help and make life more dignified for those who, having a homeland, regrettably do not find in their countries adequate conditions of security and subsistence and are forced to flee.

The popes message highlighted three themes: reality, dialogue, and commitment. He explained how each of these can be oriented toward developing effective humanitarian aid for migrant peoples.

Speaking about his first chosen word, reality, Francis emphasized knowing the causes of migration.

This requires not only analysis of this situation from the study desk, he said, but also in contact with people, that is to say with real faces. He warned against an aseptic analysis which produces sterile measurements, instead encouraging the parliament to pursue a relationship with a person in the flesh (which) helps us to perceive the deep scars that he carries with him, caused by the reason, or unreason, of migration.

Francis expressed hope that the assembly would produce valid responses for migrants and host countries, as well as security which is based in reality.

Dialogue is indispensable in this work, Francis explained. One cannot work in isolation; we all need each other.

He condemned the throwaway culture, calling instead for member nations to work for approaches which welcome migrants fairly and efficiently. He emphasized the need for unity in dialogue, saying that attaining a consensus between the parties is a craft; a meticulous, almost imperceptible task but essential for shaping agreements and regulations.

Dialogue is essential to foster solidarity with those who have been deprived of their fundamental rights, Francis said.

Speaking on commitment, the pope cautioned against spending too much energy on the detailed analysis and the debate of ideas, saying instead that a solution must be sought.

Latin America and the Caribbean have an important international role and the opportunity to become key players in this complex situation, he said.

He emphasized the need for mid-term as well as long-term planning so that aid can extend beyond emergency responses. This, he said, will allow for migrants integration into their new nations and, assistance in the lands they fled.

Francis called special attention to the needs of children in this struggle, recalling their right to be children, and once more spoke out against human trafficking, which he described as a scourge.

He acknowledged the enormity of the work, saying that we need men and women of good will who, with their concrete commitment, can respond to this cry.

I urge national governments to assume their responsibilities to all those residing in their territory, the pope said, and I reiterate the commitment of the Catholic Church, through the presence of the local and regional Churches, to responding to this wound.

In closing, Pope Francis encouraged the assembly in their work on this crisis, and prayed for the intercession of the Holy Virgin, recalling the Holy Familys flight to Egypt. He asked for the prayers of the assembly, and asked God to bless them.

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Francis: Migrant crisis require focus on reality, dialogue, commitment - Crux: Covering all things Catholic

CALAIS was once again thrown into chaos as UK-bound lorries appeared to be held up by burning barricades erected by migrants.

Shocking video footage showed several lorries queuing up behind the roadblock on a highway into the French port.

France has already called in an extra 150 police to guard the port town.

The problem was a common theme last year as migrants attempted to board lorries heading for Britain.

But it was believed the barricades had been stopped when the Calais Jungle was razed to the ground at the end of last year.

Now, this latest footage posted to YouTube by a Polish trucker on Friday will once again raise serious questions about how the UK and France are dealing with the migrant crisis on their borders.

The exact date of the incident remains unclear.

The Sun reported last week how violence was on the increase in Calais as rival migrant gangs clashed in a desperate bid to reach the UK.

Groups of Eritrean and Ethiopian asylum seekers fought running battles in the French port town as a flaming barricade was set up on an approach road.

Reuters

Getty Images

Reuters

One group erected the burning obstacle in a bid to stop lorries bound for Britain before boarding them.

Only seven months have passed since French authorities disbanded the Calais Jungle - a sprawling camp with up to 10,000 migrants.

Many of those were seeking asylum in the UK.

But fears are now growing the giant camp could return with at least 600 migrants now back around the Channel port.

The burning barricade was the first such incidence since the break up of the Jungle.

Before that, migrants had often created barriers in the roads around Calais before attempting to board lorries bound for Dover.

Getty Images

Last week growing tensions spilled over when two East African gangs clashed.

One riot officer was injured trying to regain order, The Times reported.

A camp in nearby Grande-Synthe burned down following clashes between Sudanese and Afghan migrants in April.

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Calais migrants 'spark blazing roadblocks in bid to stop and jump on trucks bound for Britain' as violence returns ... - The Sun

BUNGLING Donald Trump has put Europe on a collision course with a fresh migrant crisis.

The US President has pulled his country out of a deal designed to stop the world heating up too much.

The Paris Climate Change Agreement was meant to keep global temperatures from rising by more than two degrees.

But with the US one of the worlds biggest polluters pulling out, experts say were almost certain to miss the temperature target.

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If we go too far it will become unstoppable

And with some places in the Middle East and Africa already on the verge of being too hot for humans, Europe could face an influx of climate refugees.

Professor Eric Wolff from Cambridge Universitys Department of Earth Sciences told Daily Star Online the change would come in our lifetimes.

He said: "The changes in where it rains, and where we get droughts, floods and heatwaves will happen over the next few decades.

"It is likely places will become I dont like to say uninhabitable but difficult enough to live in that people will want to move."

As migrants clash with each other in over crowded camps across Europe, we take a look through the hard task of policing the migrant crisis in Europe.

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Moroccan Police look at immigrants trying to jump the six-meter-high fence in Ceuta, Spanish enclave on the north of Africa, 09 December 2016.

The warning follows scorching highs of 60c in Iran and the United Arab Emirates last summer, and 54c in Iraq and Kuwait.

Professor Wolff, who is a member of the Royal Society, said places on the edge of the Sahara were also at risk.

He said: "Places which are already close to not having enough water to grow things would definitely not have enough water.

"Some places would become very uncomfortably hot you could have air conditioning, but that uses more energy so thats a feedback loop.

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"Some places that are currently marginal to live in become much harder to live in still and that will cause economic disruption as well as national disruption."

And thats only the effect over the next 20 to 50 years in the longer term, melting ice would send sea levels surging, displacing even more people.

Professor Wolff said: "If we dont do anything at all then we will set in motion melting parts of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet.

"I dont want to exaggerate that thats going to happen in peoples lifetimes, but if we go too far it will become unstoppable."

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Gavin Schmidt of NASA says we must now try to adapt to, rather than prevent, climate change and Professor Wolff agrees.

He said: "Youve got to try to do as much as possible but also prepare for the fact that climate is going to change.

"I think its a shame. Wed found a way, through the Paris Agreement, to at least reduce the likelihood of there being any really bad effects."

Withdrawing the US from the deal last week, President Trump accused the other signatory states of costing America "trillions of dollars" in tough trade practices.

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NEW MIGRANT MAYHEM: Trump mistake to unleash refugee crisis on Europe - Daily Star