Refugee Rights Europe

2017

Abstract: While the ‘hot-spot’ centres in Greece and Italy, alongside the squalid make-shift camps in Northern France, have received periods of heightened international attention, the town of Ventimiglia on the French-Italian border seems to have been largely overlooked by media agencies and human rights groups. In this context, Refugee Rights Europe sent a research delegation to Ventimiglia from 21-24 August 2017, to document and shed light on the situation there. The research findings, based on interviews with 150 refugees and displaced people, highlight detrimental living conditions coupled with police violence and dangerous border crossings, creating a situation characterised by chronic insecurity and extensive mental and physical health concerns.

Keyword(s): Italy ; Human Rights ; Refugees ; Migration