“PROTECT PEOPLE, NOT BORDERS”

Proteggere le persone, non i confini.

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COMITATO 3 OTTOBRE – YESTERDAY AND TODAY

The Comitato 3 Ottobre is a non-profit organization that was born after 368 migrants and people seeking asylum died in a shipwreck off the coast of Lampedusa on October 3rd, 2013. Our aim is to make that date known as the ‘Day of Remembrance and Reception’ at both national and European levels, in the belief that raising awareness and information gathering can be a first step to change the current European policies.

HUMANITARIAN CORRIDORS

If there were alternative and legal routes to enter Europe, deaths at sea and serious violations of human rights could be avoided.

INTEGRATION

Integration and inclusion of immigrants is the pre-condition for social cohesion in an increasingly inter-cultural european countries.

RAISING AWARENESS

We advocate in European and Italian’s institutions by carrying out awareness-raising and educational activities.

MONITORING

We created a European database of DNA for the recognition of victims.
Reform of the Dublin Regulation.

OUR STORY

368 migrants died in a shipwreck off the coast of Lampedusa on October 3rd 2013. There were 155 survivors, 41 of which were children.

It was neither the first, nor the last, tragedy in the Mediterranean. But it was the first time the sea washed up numerous bodies of the victims, exposing what happens when we do not have safe and legal asylum seeking passages.

After the shipwreck, Comitato Tre Ottobre established October 3rd as a symbolic date. Firstly we wanted to commemorate the victims of the tragedy and to remember the thousands of people who have died in an attempt to reach Europe. Secondly, we wanted to create an opportunity to raise awareness and analyse, the phenomenon of migration in depth throughout Italy and Europe: in Municipalities, local communities and schools.

After years of advocacy campaign, the Italian Senate definitively approved Comitato’s legislation proposal to establish October 3rd as the ‘Day of Remembrance and Reception’, which is now celebrated every year.

OUR MISSION

The mission of the Comitato Tre Ottobre is to achieve the creation of humanitarian corridors by opening legal and safe routes for all people fleeing wars, dictatorships, oppression and poverty to seek asylum. We also want to guarantee decent reception for migrants and methods for social inclusion. Moreover, Comitato dedicate itself to promoting equal rights and opportunities for immigrants, to disseminating accurate information and to raise awareness in civil society about the culture of migrant reception.

Our advocacy actions at the institutional level and the awareness-raising activities revolve around three areas:

  • Humanitarian corridors and legal entries: if there were a real political will to address safe migration by offering alternatives and legal routes, deaths at sea could be avoided.People would not be forced to take long and dangerous trips which expose them to suffering from exploitation, torture and serious violations of human rights;

  • Memory and responsibility: the institution of the ‘Day of Remembrance and Reception’ was created to remember the victims of seeking asylum and to tell the story of the people who survived.We commemorate the reasons why they left and the journey they had to endure; the border control regulations and practices that hinder the safety of people who seek asylumJustice – to give a name to victims and to ensure they receive a proper burial.

  • Justice: give a name to the victims of the migrations and ensure that the bodies are buried in a dignified manner.