Bambini nel Deserto . 26/07/2024 . Reading time: 2 minutes
August is just around the corner and for thousands of Italians the association summer-vacation-sea is automatic. But for a long time now the sea, and in particular the Mediterranean Sea, has been an ambivalent symbol, which no longer evokes only relaxation and summer carefreeness, but also migrations and the dramatic tragedies often associated with them.
The image we bring to our attention today speaks to this truth, and to the NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that fight to save as many human lives as possible, operating in extreme conditions, often without adequate support from national governments. In the recent past, a minister even chose the expression “sea taxi” to discredit their work and sow doubts about the effectiveness and good faith of their actions. The idea of the minister, widely denied by the facts and by documented research by the Italian Institute of Political Studies (ISPI), was that the constant presence of a rescue fleet in the waters of the Mediterranean encouraged migration itself, because it provided migrants with extra security. From a media point of view, the expression was lucky and served its purpose: since then it has spread like wildfire on the internet, has been repeated by many parties and has quickly made its way into the minds of many people, bringing with it all its load of discredit towards the work of the NGOs.
After years of debates and a succession of governments (today the new keywords in vogue seem to be “Centres in Albania”) the expression “sea taxi” does not cease to be used almost everywhere. We think it is right and proper to say clearly that sea taxis do not exist. They have never existed. And they will never exist. Except in this image created with the contribution of Diego Fontana, thanks to artificial intelligence software.
If you are interested in learning more, at this link you can find an article published by Internazionale, by journalist Annalisa Camilli, which deals with the ISPI research and how it has demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that the presence of NGOs at sea has not produced any form of incentive: https://www.internazionale.it/bloc-notes/annalisa-camilli/2018/02/23/taxi-mare-non-esistono (Italian)
