The Italian authorities tried to block the entrance to the port with smaller ships in the hope that the captain would turn back and return to Albania, but without success. The captain reported on the bad conditions on the ship, as the passengers had spent 36 hours there in the brutal heat, almost without water and food. There were also injured people on board, and the ship was technically unable to turn around. Therefore, in the end, “Vůra” was allowed to dock at the pier, which was located further from the city center and was used for unloading coal.
The Italian government had passed a law that prevented refugee ships from docking at their country’s shores, and immediately expelled all captured refugees from the country. The passengers of “Vōora” were not welcomed with open arms either. Rome ordered all refugees to be kept out of port for the time being and to find a way to bring them back to Albania immediately.
On the same day, however, the refugees began to be moved to an abandoned stadium, where they had to live until they were deported back. By the afternoon, the Albanians had already understood Italy’s intention, so riots broke out and several groups of refugees tried to break out of the stadium surrounded by the police. Many succeeded, so they stopped sending new refugees to the stadium, but the stadium itself was closed.
2023-09-08 21:00:00
#television #thousands #Albanian #refugees #Italy
