Oct 20, 2009, 13:53 GMT
Lampedusa, Italy - Many people are acquainted with Lampedusa from news reports of African 'boat people.'
What they probably do not know, however, is that Italy's southernmost island is a draw for nature tourists with its turquoise water, white beaches, jagged cliffs and - amid the rocks and scrub - yellow daisies and pink mallows that grow alongside wild artichokes and fennel.
Lampedusa impresses visitors with its contrasts. The largest of the three Pelagie Islands, it is about 200 kilometres from Sicily, 120 kilometres from Tunisia and, geologically, part of Africa. Politically, it has been contested for centuries. Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Saracens, and Aragonese were all keen on capturing Lampedusa as a staging ground for the conquest of Africa.
Most of the island's approximately 5,000 inhabitants live in the sole town, also called Lampedusa. Coffee bars bake in the sun next to the pub. The pace of daily life seems more African than Italian. Small boys play football on the bumpy, cobblestone square in front of the mayor's office. A few old men chat next to a vegetable cart. Women holding children by the hand hurry past.
Rain is Lampedusa's only source of fresh water. Apart from occasional olive and palm trees, the landscape is dominated by Barbary figs and agaves. Here and there a visitor will come across a vegetable garden with a few stray goats, but the barren soil is ill- suited for agriculture and livestock breeding. The islanders' earn their livelihood mainly by fishing and tourism.
Tourism has been hit hard by the headlines about overcrowded camps for illegal migrants on the island. 'At Eastertime we used to have 300 to 500 guests, depending on the weather. This year it was less than 30,' complained Emanuele Billardello, who makes his living with boat tours and rentals of flats.
The situation may be changing, though. The two temporary reception camps on Lampedusa have been empty since mid-May, when the Italian government, in cooperation with Libya, began sending would-be migrants back to Africa before they could set foot on Italian soil.
The deportation programme is highly controversial. Relief groups including the United Nations' refugee agency, UNHCR, say that it violates the 1951 Geneva Convention on refugees.
In any event, the 'sbarchi,' as Italians term the landings of rickety wooden boats overflowing with economic refugees, have diminished dramatically. As a result, so has the concentration of soldiers and police on the island. In early 2009, poorly informed tourists probably thought that Lampedusa was an occupied territory.
People who visit the tranquil town centre today can hardly believe that, in 2008, about 32,000 desperately poor Africans were stranded on the island, a gateway to Europe covering 20 square kilometres.
In Lampedusa's interior, hundreds of sea-battered fishing boats lie in heaps at the Cimitero delle Barche, the 'boat cemetery.' East of the harbour entrance, a monument called Porta d'Europa, designed by Italian artist Mimmo Paladino, commemorates the countless Africans who have perished in the Mediterranean Sea attempting to reach Europe.
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