ROME -- A campaign to increase awareness of the dangers involved in migration was presented on Thursday by Minister of the Interior Angelo Alfano and Mario Morcone, Head of the Civil Liberties and Immigration Department. 

The presentation begun by contextualising the campaign: the death rate of people trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa is on the rise, with 3000 casualties this year alone, but few are aware of the perils involved in the crossing. 

“Migrants who have completed the journey refuse to tell their families back home about the perils they have endured,” director of the IOM Coordination Office for the Mediterranean Federico Soda said, adding that to do so “would constitute a taboo.” 

Morcone, whose department has put 1.5 million euros into the project, stressed how important it was to “reveal the truth” so that migrants could “make an informed decision.” 

With this in mind, the campaign has set up social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram, where it has uploaded close to a hundred videos from survivors of the crossing and their experiences. The information is available in English, French and Arabic, with the campaign also being advertised on radio and television channels across 15 countries in North Africa. 

The Minister of the Interior praised the campaign for “moving a new lever” on what he deems “a phenomenon of our epoch.” 

“Migrants start their journey filled with dreams for the future, but these dreams of theirs quickly turn to nightmares.”

On the topic of immigration more broadly, Alfano concluded by saying the problem “should remain a priority for the EU,” which at the moment does not show “sufficient urgency in dealing with the matter."

"We aren't able to welcome everyone, only those escaping war and persecution."