ROME-  Two 32-year-old African migrants, died when a fire engulfed a shack in the large immigration settlement of Borgo Mezzanone, near the Apulian city of Foggia, police said. The couple, a woman from Ghana and man from Gambia, evidently suffocated after inhaling a large amount of carbon monoxide fumes that were emitted from the brazier next to their bed, which they had been using for heating on Sunday.

 Authorities were informed by other residents of the settlement which currently permanently houses over 1500 migrants, the majority of whom are employed in the Foggia area countryside. When police arrived they confirmed two dead and found two more intoxicated by the fumes. The dead man has since been identified as Ibrahim, from Gambia, who had been employed in agriculture and sold collected recyclable materials. And the woman has been identified as Queen, from Ghana who had been working as a prostitute to make ends meet. Neither of the two had documents so their family names were unknown.

 The Borgo Mezzanone settlement is one of the 11 shanty settlements in the Foggia area, which house thousands of migrants. Housing was built from discarded materials such as planks, old doors, and bricks. Others are abandoned military structures and barracks from the World War 2 era. The area is very isolated and hard to reach even for ambulances and military vehicles. 

 Many of the migrants who live here migrated from Africa and have expired documents, or none at all, meaning they have no other living alternatives than these settlements, where conditions are dire, and danger is constant, social workers say. Many are also forced to take jobs in agriculture where they often work 12 to 14-hour shifts, often in extreme weather for pitiful wages. Due to a lack of insulation, and heating in these structures, many are forced to use braziers and other heating alternatives, which are not only a fire hazard but also emit toxic fumes.  

 The two migrants are not the first victims to lose their lives in the Borgo Mezzanone settlement but only the latest in a number of fatal incidents over the last few years.

 Khady Sene, the cultural mediator at the Foggia-Bovino Caritas immigration office, said “We provide health and legal assistance but that's not enough. We need state support."

 "It's a shame that must affect everyone, not just us workers who try to give these people a better life and dignity. We have to put a hand on our conscience and say 'enough' because we see too many people dying.”

 jp-sz