In October 2013, images of 111 coffins, four containing children, shocked the world. They were lined up in a shed on the Italian island of Lampedusa.
Since that date, Europe has not been able to cope with a humanitarian crisis that has continued to grow in scale.
At dawn on October 3, 2013, 368 migrants en route from Libya drowned near to the island.
But the drama did stir some to act. Fisherman, Vito Fiorino, says he was able to rescue some people from the water.
“We started sailing out there and the scene was dramatic. There were all these people with their arms raised, crying out for help. At that point, we immediately called the port and we quickly started pulling these people onto the boat. We managed to pick up 47 people.”
Mare Nostrum operation
Confronted head on with the situation, Italy reacted and put in place the Mare Nostrum rescue operation. A 900-strong force, led by the Italian navy, succeeded in saving 170,000 lives in the 13 months during which the oper
