STORY: Europe struggles to fix migrant predicament
SHOOTING TIME: Nov. 20-25, 2023
DATELINE: Dec. 16, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:04
LOCATION: LAMPEDUSA, Italy
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the migrants 
2. various of migrants' ships
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): SERENA CORNIGLIA, Supervisor of migrant reception centers with the Italian Red Cross
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Italian): GIUSEPPE PALMISANO, Bar owner
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): SAMSUN YOSEEF, Migrant from Ethiopia
6. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): DANNIEL WOLDE, Migrant
7. SOUNDBITE 5 (English): FRIEDRICH REICH, NGO Rescue ship member from Germany

STORYLINE:

Migration has returned as a hotly debated issue in the European Union (EU) while a fresh crisis is looming on the continent. 

Irregular crossings at the EU's external borders increased by 17 percent in the first 11 months of this year to over 355,300, surpassing full-year totals in any year since 2016.

Most migrants chose the Central Mediterranean route, a risky one that has seen many migrant shipwrecks due to severe weather conditions and overloading. 

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): SERENA CORNIGLIA, Supervisor of migrant reception centers with the Italian Red Cross
"(Most of the migrants are) from the starting points of Tunisia and Libya, but the nationality of the people is from Africa, sub-Saharan Africa. The trip is very difficult sometimes. The number of the migrants that have arrived here has increased greater than last year."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Italian): GIUSEPPE PALMISANO, Bar owner in Italy
"Perhaps the tourists may have concerns. So, they might say, 'I won't go to Lampedusa (in Italy) because it might be full of illegal immigrants who could attack us.'"

UN data showed that more than 2,600 migrants have been reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean so far this year.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): SAMSUN YOSEEF, Migrant from Ethiopia
"No food, no water, no sleep. I saw in my eyes, dead, dead, dead. First of all, safe place."

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): DANIEL WOLDE, Migrant 
"I want to change my life."

SOUNDBITE 5 (English): FRIEDRICH REICH, NGO rescue ship member from Germany
"We stay here usually one or two days after we bring migrants to the island. Typically, sometimes it takes longer, sometimes it goes faster. We brought around about 1,000 people to Lampedusa this year." 

Europe's main migrants landing ports, including Italy, have been asking their EU peers to shoulder more of the burden, while the Eastern European nations oppose the proposed mandatory migrant relocation quotas and commit to securing their borders.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Lampedusa, Italy.
(XHTV)