Italy: Mafia, in Cahoots with Catholic Charity, Made Millions off Migrants
Italian prosecutors say the Mafia skimmed millions of euros in public funds through operations at a migrant center in southern Italy with the assistance of a Catholic charity.
Police arrested 68 people, including a Catholic priest and the prominent leader of the Catholic volunteer organization Misericordia (Mercy), which runs several migrant centers around the country.
Investigators said the Arena clan of the ’Ndrangheta mob – Italy’s largest Mafia group – took control of catering at the Isola di Capo Rizzuto center for the past decade, during which they siphoned off 36 million euros ($39.5 million) in public money.
“If 500 migrants had to have lunch, just 250 meals would arrive at the center. The other 250 would either have to eat in the evening, or else the next day,” prosecutor Nicola Gratteri told journalists. “In the meantime the head of the Misericordia, the priest and their friends grew fat, bought luxury cars, flats and boats.”
Prosecutors said the Arenas are also suspected of involvement in a center on Lampedusa island. Italy’s anti-corruption czar Raffaele Cantone said the case is just “the tip of the iceberg.”
Police Investigate Triple Arson Attack on Asylum Centers in Sweden
More than 300 asylum seekers were evacuated from three temporary refugee centers in Sweden after the buildings were set ablaze.
Swedish police said they were investigating the fires at Vaxjo, Borrby and Malilla asylum centers as arson attacks.
There were no injuries reported from the blaze, which broke out before dawn on May 17. Around 200 of the asylum seekers were moved into a nearby nursing home.
In 2015, there were 43 arson attacks on asylum-seeker accommodation in Sweden. While the country has fairly open attitudes and policies toward immigration, anti-migrant sentiment is growing in political and media discourse, according to the European Network Against Racism.
‘World Refugee Council’ Launched
A Canadian think-tank has launched a “World Refugee Council” of leading thinkers and policymakers to advise on the reform of refugee responses.
The Centre for International Governance Innovation said the independent expert group will provide research and recommendations “on broad-reaching reform and innovation to reinvigorate the global refugee system.”
The World Refugee Council is chaired by former Canadian foreign minister Lloyd Axworthy and supported by the Canadian government. Others on the council include academics such as Alexander Betts and Susan Martin, as well as Per Heggenes, the head of the IKEA Foundation, and George Papandreou, the former prime minister of Greece.
Recommended Reads:
- Voice of America: Cameroon Communities, Refugees at Odds Over Food Shortages
- Norwegian Refugee Council: Nigeria Struggling to Manage Large Returns
- The New Yorker: An Underground College for Undocumented Immigrants
- Deutsche Welle: Dire Conditions in Shatila Mirror Refugees’ Lack of Perspectives
- IRIN News: Slave Labour? Death Rate Doubles for Migrant Domestic Workers in Lebanon