Divine and the right to happiness

Divine comes from Nigeria and he survived a terrible journey at sea on a boat that to him looked “bad, but not scary”. He was traveling with his mum and…

Atlantic Council Freedom Award

The Atlantic Council Freedom Award recognizes extraordinary individuals and organizations that defend and advance the cause of freedom around the world, with a view to strengthening transatlantic leadership on global…

What’s left of European solidarity?

Article 2, The Lisbon Treaty The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the…

Isman: a ghost generation

Imagine one day your mum tells you that you have to leave home because living there has become impossible. You are only 14 years old. You collect your belongings and…

An action plan to re-launch European solidarity

On July 4th the European Commission approved an action plan aimed at finding a solution –at least in the short run- to the issue of disembarkations on Italian shores. For…

Nobody decides to become a refugee

Last week around 12,000 people were disembarked on Italian shores after being rescued by 22 ships, mainly run by NGOs, which are operating at sea to assist and rescue an…

A Syrian family fleeing war

Jalal is 29 and comes from Syria. In 2012 he was forced to leave his homeland due to the nefarious consequences of the ongoing civil war. Jalal comes from Deraa…

What’s left beyond criticism and fake news

On May 29th in Italy a report was issued by Cospe, Carta di Roma and Osservatorio di Pisa to discuss the role of NGOs operating at sea. This report focuses…