Sicily, Italy 2016
What: The first service project GHSI will embark on will be to Sicily in response to the European refugee migrant crisis. Our services are intended to support the migrants in their time of need while also relieving the Italian government and the European Union from a part of this burden. We will be visiting many migrant centers including S.P.R.A.R. Center (Servizio per Richiedenti Asilo e Rifugiati) in Montedoro, Sicily.
Refugees eating at S.P.R.A.R. centers.
How: By collaborating with the University of Palermo and the Euro Mediterranean Institute of Science and Technology, the GHSI team of students, professors, and professionals will offer free health care and counseling services to the North African and Middle Eastern refugees arriving to the country in seek of asylum.
Describe your image.
Describe your image.
Describe your image.
Describe your image.
Refugees arriving by boat.
Why: For the past five years, Europe has experienced a sudden influx of economically struggling migrants and political refugees that are embarking on illegal journeys from their respective countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. There are several migratory routes that are particularly dangerous, including the central Mediterranean route that leads to the Island of Lampedusa and Sicily. In the majority of cases, the asylum-seeking refugees are in search of a more stable life and wish to escape the economic and political turmoil that exists in their home countries. The number of deaths associated with this mass migration is staggering - it is estimated that close to 1,700 people have already died this year alone. The transport vessels used by the migrants are of extremely low quality and in many cases used to transport far more people than they are designed for. The Italian Navy and other European countries have put a great deal of effort in search and rescue operations to bring these people to land safely. The number of journeys being made combined with the differing opinions on the matter throughout Europe has made this a tremendously difficult problem to solve. By mid-April of this year, approximately 15,000 people had reached the Italian shores, and a staggering 170,000 people in 2014.