Italy is giving a message of hope to Europe with its solidarity towards the immigrants and asylum seekers fleeing Tunisia and Libya that continue to arrive on Lampedusa’s shores. There have been numerous accounts of the altruism and solidarity shown by the inhabitants of the tiny island, south of Sicily, and by the coastguard and police officers who have assisted and literally rescued men, women and children at risk of drowning at sea or even near the island’s shores.
The stories are numerous: the young Nigerian pregnant woman who lost her baby at the crossing but was able to find her husband with the assistance of a social worker: http://www.corriere.it/cronache/11_maggio_20/storia-jennifer-cavallaro_1c07cbc8-82ed-11e0-baac-f3bedd074966.shtml?fr=correlati
or the night of 8 May 2011 when 500 immigrants were literally rescued from drowning: http://www.cri.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/7823
Perhaps this is the best answer to the continuous rise of the extreme right wing parties in many EU countries. An answer made by actions not by words.