Qaddafi’s Revenge

Col. Muamar Gheddafi, the Man of Many Spellings, has always played the extortionist with Europe concerning immigration. He repeatedly warned the Europeans over the years that if they didn’t provide sufficient “aid”, he would cease to hold back the flood of migrants, particularly sub-Saharan Africans, who gathered in Libya in an attempt to find passage across the Mediterranean to the Land of Milk and Welfare Payments.

When the civil war started in Libya, Col. Qadhafi warned the EU not to interfere, or he would open the floodgates and swamp the northern Med with the flotsam and jetsam of black Africa. Once the NATO war began, he vowed to carry out his plan of revenge. Italy was to be a particular target, since it had long enjoyed a special relationship with Libya — the state oil company ENI had the Libyan oil concession, and Ghadaffi was Prime Minister Berlusconi’s good “friend”. The proximity of Italian territory guaranteed that the Italians would bear the brunt of any onslaught of refugees from Libya.

And now it seems to have begun. The island of Lampedusa is already overwhelmed, and although the Italian government is attempting to ship the overflow of migrants to camps on the mainland, bad weather and simple logistics mean that the refugees pour in faster than they can be moved out.

In the following article, notice that most of the new arrivals from Libya are from Eritrea and Somalia, which means that they will be even more dysfunctional, violent, and criminal than the Tunisians and Libyans.

From: ANSAmed:

More Migrants Arrive in Lampedusa

LAMPEDUSA (AGRIGENTO), APRIL 5 - Following yesterday’s mass repatriation, which left Lampedusa virtually empty, another wave of migrants landed on the island. Two barges with over 600 migrants on board docked on the Island at dawn this morning.

One of the vessels, which allegedly left Libya carrying some 400 emigrants, most of whom are Eritrean and Somali, managed to escape notice and reach Cala Creta, where some of the refugees took off on foot. Several women and a dozen children were also on board the barge. Police units are still conducting searches in the area.

Another barge was intercepted last night, having broken down some 60 miles off the coast. The Coast Guard brought it to safety during the night, and a tugboat took it to Lampedusa this morning. A total of 77 migrants were on board, in addition to the 34 illegal immigrants who reached the port a few hours ago after being discovered some 20 miles from the Island. A fifth barge was spotted at sea early this morning and “escorted” to the port by a Port Authorities unit.

Last night another three barges reached Lampedusa, bringing a total of over 200 people.

Hat tip: Insubria.