0:00:12 > 0:00:17Since February 2011, hundreds of boats packed with migrants
0:00:17 > 0:00:20have set off from the uprisings in North Africa.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22They face a treacherous 70-mile journey
0:00:22 > 0:00:25to the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29For many North Africans,
0:00:29 > 0:00:32this six-mile stretch of rock is the gateway to Europe.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36Many boats have sunk and over a thousand migrants have died
0:00:36 > 0:00:38trying to reach its shores.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45They're just a few of the estimated 300,000 that the Italian government
0:00:45 > 0:00:49warn may be heading to Europe in the wake of the Arab Spring.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53This film tells the story of how these first few arrivals
0:00:53 > 0:00:57have already caused breakdown on the island of Lampedusa...
0:01:03 > 0:01:04..and how the crisis here
0:01:04 > 0:01:09threatens to bring Europe's immigration policy to its knees.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23The tourist island of Lampedusa is famous
0:01:23 > 0:01:27for its crystal-clear waters and remote coves and beaches.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35It's March 2011
0:01:35 > 0:01:37and the island's 6,000 residents are getting ready
0:01:37 > 0:01:39for the crucial summer season,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42when wealthy tourists jet in from Italy and abroad.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52The responsibility of promoting the island's tourist economy
0:01:52 > 0:01:53falls to one man.
0:01:54 > 0:01:59Bernadino De Rubeis has been the island's mayor for four years
0:01:59 > 0:02:02and, at nearly 7ft tall, he's a familiar figure around town.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07TRANSLATION: Everyone calls me Dino, not mayor
0:02:07 > 0:02:13because I am one of them, I am everyone's mayor.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16I'm here all year round, I know everyone, I love everyone.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23Just up the road from Dino's office is jeweller to the tourists,
0:02:23 > 0:02:24Stella Migliosini.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32- TRANSLATION: - I was tired of the city.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35I decided to live here in Lampedusa.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40I love the sea, I love the calmness, the peace.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43This is a peaceful island.
0:02:44 > 0:02:50Our tourist season normally starts at Easter, around mid-April,
0:02:50 > 0:02:52and ends at the end of October.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55But now it's March and we need to clean the island up,
0:02:55 > 0:02:59refurbish the buildings, sort everything out.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07But this year, Lampedusa is attracting
0:03:07 > 0:03:10an entirely different kind of foreign traveller.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15With only 70 miles separating its beaches from the uprisings of the Arab Spring,
0:03:15 > 0:03:19the island has become the first port of call for Tunisians
0:03:19 > 0:03:22leaving North Africa in search of a better life overseas.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29- TRANSLATION: - As a port in the Mediterranean,
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Lampedusa has always been a transit point for immigrants.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38We are always very welcoming to them.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42We give them what we can, blankets, food.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45We do all we can and more.
0:03:45 > 0:03:50With the revolution in Tunis, all immigration agreements with the EU
0:03:50 > 0:03:54have collapsed and word is out that this year,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57things are going to be different.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07With Italian TV news starting to run regular items
0:04:07 > 0:04:11about migrants arriving in Lampedusa,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15Dino knows that this could spell disaster for the summer season.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19Cameras came here because of the phenomenon, this unique phenomenon,
0:04:19 > 0:04:25and they showed Lampedusa to people who had never heard of it, to the whole world.
0:04:25 > 0:04:30But the world must know Lampedusa is not just about migrants,
0:04:30 > 0:04:34it's also a place of tourism which lives off tourism.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48A mile away from the cafes and shops of the town
0:04:48 > 0:04:50and hidden behind the hills,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53is Lampedusa's Migrant Reception Centre.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00It was closed in 2009, but was forced to reopen this year
0:05:00 > 0:05:05to cater for the sudden arrival of the Tunisians.
0:05:05 > 0:05:11We are good pupils, education, we are with diploma, graduation,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15but we not have a chance to have a good job,
0:05:15 > 0:05:17a good life with the minimum.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22Would it not be a good time to stay in Tunisia, when there's democracy?
0:05:22 > 0:05:26It's just a title. Just a word.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28But not in reality.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32New arrivals are processed, given food, shoes and cigarettes
0:05:32 > 0:05:36and then moved into dormitories to await specially chartered flights
0:05:36 > 0:05:38to detention centres in Sicily.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44The centre was built to hold 850 people,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47but by early March, there are already 1,000 men here.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Nearly all have come looking for work.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54With no agreement with Tunis to send them back, once on the mainland,
0:05:54 > 0:05:58they'll probably be on the streets within weeks,
0:05:58 > 0:06:02able to travel through Europe's open borders.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Most of them will head straight for France.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09In France, I work, and I have much money.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14It's better, you look, clothes, foods, activities,
0:06:14 > 0:06:20respect from others. Money is not all the world, you know.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23We need just a chance, not more, just one chance.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29So far, Italian politicians in Rome
0:06:29 > 0:06:32have kept their distance from Lampedusa's Tunisian invasion.
0:06:33 > 0:06:38But for far right French politician and presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen,
0:06:38 > 0:06:42the chance to capitalise on the situation proves irresistible.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48With an international press pack in tow, she declares
0:06:48 > 0:06:51that it's time to close Europe's borders.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Le Pen is currently campaigning to be France's next president,
0:07:57 > 0:08:02and is keen to abandon the Schengen Agreement that allows free travel within Europe.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18Away from the foreign press pack,
0:08:18 > 0:08:22local Lampedusians have prepared their own welcoming committee.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31- TRANSLATION:- We are awaiting the arrival of Madame Le Pen,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34to welcome her properly, to make her understand that, in Lampedusa,
0:08:34 > 0:08:38there are also people who don't think like her
0:08:38 > 0:08:41and they're ready to shout it out loud.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52Paola La Rosa is part of a local group that's dedicated
0:08:52 > 0:08:56to welcoming migrants and promoting cultural integration.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10- TRANSLATION:- Europe and the West, as well as the United States,
0:09:10 > 0:09:14got really enthusiastic about the revolutionary movements
0:09:14 > 0:09:18that brought democracy to North Africa, to Arab countries
0:09:18 > 0:09:22like Syria and Yemen.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28The hypocrisy lies in the fact they didn't understand
0:09:28 > 0:09:33that these peoples, these guys, had a revolution in order to be free.
0:09:37 > 0:09:38In their concept of freedom,
0:09:38 > 0:09:42a fundamental element of this freedom is the freedom to move,
0:09:42 > 0:09:46to be able to be free to look for a better future somewhere else.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50The West doesn't like this so much.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53The West would like them to be free, but at home.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57"Now you've finally got your freedom,
0:09:57 > 0:10:01"you don't need to come looking for happiness in our countries.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04"You can enjoy your freedom at home.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07"Stop coming here and threatening our way of life."
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Over the following three days,
0:10:21 > 0:10:2526 boats carrying almost 2,000 migrants arrive in Lampedusa.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28They are nearly all young men,
0:10:28 > 0:10:34who paid around £500 to be shipped across by smugglers like this one.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42And these men told us that many more were on their way.
0:10:59 > 0:11:04With such a sudden spike in numbers, the centre is overflowing.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12There are now almost 3,000 Tunisians in Lampedusa,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15and with reports of tensions running high in the centre,
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Italian guards are turning a blind eye
0:11:17 > 0:11:20to men jumping the fence and taking day trips into town.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25In the past, migrants were kept in the centre
0:11:25 > 0:11:29and away from the eyes of locals and tourists.
0:11:31 > 0:11:36For many of the islanders, this is their worst nightmare.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44Look who's walking around.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48We're used to seeing familiar faces,
0:11:48 > 0:11:52people we talk to, always at ease with each other.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Now we're surrounded by strangers.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00I'm feeling like a prisoner on my island.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04We're all free, normally. Everyone knows each other.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09But you can't walk alone at night with all these African men around, absolutely not.
0:12:14 > 0:12:19With hundreds of young Tunisian men filling up the handful of bars and cafes in town,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22Stella decides enough is enough.
0:12:35 > 0:12:40A demonstration about the growing number of migrants has been called in the town square,
0:12:40 > 0:12:42and the community has turned out in force.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52Some are beginning to suspect that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
0:12:52 > 0:12:57is deliberately turning a blind eye to Lampedusa's problems,
0:12:57 > 0:13:01and that images of a small Italian town overrun with migrants
0:13:01 > 0:13:05may actually win support for his anti-immigration policies.
0:13:10 > 0:13:16Former Lampedusian councillor Anthony Papalardo steps in to address the crowd.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16The speech has touched a nerve with his audience.
0:14:16 > 0:14:22And Paola's group are shocked by the overwhelming local support for Papalardo's views.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35TRANSLATION: If I had the strength,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38I would go out there and talk to as many people as possible,
0:14:38 > 0:14:42to make them see them understand that their slogans
0:14:42 > 0:14:46are deeply racist and illiberal.
0:14:46 > 0:14:52I saw one of the banners in the square and it left me feeling empty.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54"Send them back now."
0:15:11 > 0:15:15The key is to work out who's responsible for what's happening on Lampedusa.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20The only party responsible is our government, which is incapable of managing the situation.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23It's really very simple.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25It's true 10,000 migrants have arrived.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28But what are 10,000 migrants? Nothing!
0:15:28 > 0:15:32Especially 10,000 migrants who don't even want to stay in Italy.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36Even if they did want to stay in Italy, or even Sicily,
0:15:36 > 0:15:38it would still be nothing.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42But it becomes a massive problem if they stay on Lampedusa.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51It's five days since we first met Ali in the centre, and since then,
0:15:51 > 0:15:5642 boats carrying over 3,000 migrants have arrived in Lampedusa.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00Ali tells us that the centre has descended into chaos.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03OK, when we look the Centro from this place,
0:16:03 > 0:16:06we feel the photo is happy,
0:16:06 > 0:16:10but when you go inside, you discover something not good.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16Normally off limits to journalists, he says that no-one is in control
0:16:16 > 0:16:19and he can escort us in to show us how bad the conditions have become.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26With no room to sleep, hundreds of men have been forced to shelter
0:16:26 > 0:16:28under plastic sheets and bin bags.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Some were even sleeping in the toilet blocks.
0:16:33 > 0:16:38OK. He say, I prefer to come back to my country because it's better than what I live there.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41No beds, no good foods.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45We still there five days
0:16:45 > 0:16:48and the last night we have much rain there.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56It's not a good food.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01He say, "Just let me go to work."
0:17:42 > 0:17:45This is my daily way when I leave the Centro.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Ali is one of the lucky ones
0:17:48 > 0:17:51and is being evacuated on a flight to Sicily.
0:17:51 > 0:17:52SHOUTING >
0:17:56 > 0:17:58- OK, I think I have to go. - What's happened?
0:17:58 > 0:18:01My travel is in this time.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03I leave the Centro.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05- Good luck, Ali.- Thank you.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09And thank you, BBC, for this chance to tell the truth, all the world.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11Goodbye.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18- TRANSLATION: - We're on our way to see the women...
0:18:18 > 0:18:21and some children,
0:18:21 > 0:18:23who are guests in my mother's house.
0:18:26 > 0:18:27Away from the centre,
0:18:27 > 0:18:32some migrants are living in somewhat better conditions.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35Dino's family owns a number of luxury tourist villas,
0:18:35 > 0:18:37and in the absence of paying guests,
0:18:37 > 0:18:42he's taken in the women and children who've arrived on the island.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44Our migrant children, and this week...
0:18:52 > 0:18:55I know only a few, unfortunately.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59I'd save them all if I could. It's not easy.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03This is Zakaria.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32So here we have an entire family. Husband, wife, the little one.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35Here's the grandmother.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41This mother, the old lady, went through a long journey
0:19:41 > 0:19:44so she wouldn't be separated from the family.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55TRANSLATION: This is one of the youngsters
0:19:55 > 0:19:58I found in the middle of the street.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Found in the middle of the street with a bottle of water, crying.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09We gave him some food and brought him here.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19TRANSLATION: They're eating. They've made the food themselves.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23I will ask charities and the church to go shopping for them.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26So, instead of eating pasta all the time, which bores them,
0:20:26 > 0:20:30now they can eat their own Tunisian food.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36They have enough space here to be comfortable.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42TRANSLATION: And so my heart led me
0:20:42 > 0:20:45to make this big humanitarian gesture.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49If everyone did the same, there wouldn't be migrants on the streets.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55Italy has six boats and a helicopter
0:20:55 > 0:20:58patrolling the waters between Lampedusa and North Africa.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Giovanni Monteleone is a commander in the Italian Coast Guard.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11And, over the last seven years, he and his crew have rescued
0:21:11 > 0:21:15over 5,000 migrants as they tried to reach the island.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26- TRANSLATION:- Our feeling, it's a beautiful feeling
0:21:26 > 0:21:28to be able to see people change,
0:21:28 > 0:21:33to see them go from being worried and frightened to being relaxed,
0:21:33 > 0:21:35maybe even happy.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42Once they're on-board the boat, they feel safe.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45It is a beautiful feeling.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51It makes you feel...valuable.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Today, local fishermen have reported up to seven boats
0:22:01 > 0:22:03on their way to Lampedusa.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06Many boats are unseaworthy,
0:22:06 > 0:22:09and part of Giovanni's job is to check on them.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22Under international law,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25any boat in distress must be rescued or escorted to shore.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31But, knowing this, Tunisian smugglers often pretend
0:22:31 > 0:22:34their engines are broken, or that their boat is sinking.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Seeing that this boat is relatively seaworthy
0:22:55 > 0:22:59and its engine is still running, Giovanni directs it to Lampedusa.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07Within three hours, this boat made it safely to port.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Giovanni heads further out to sea,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19in search of other boats that may be at greater risk.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25Eight miles further out
0:23:25 > 0:23:29is another boat with three sick people on board.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56These 110 men are among the lucky ones.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00The United Nations estimates that this year alone,
0:24:00 > 0:24:04nearly 1,500 people have drowned while trying to make this journey.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27SHOUTING CONTINUES
0:26:09 > 0:26:13- TRANSLATION:- It's the first time this has ever happened.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20It's something that's never happened in Lampedusa, a welcome like this.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24But there's always a first time.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29- TRANSLATION: - They're right, but so are we.
0:26:29 > 0:26:30And this is not the way.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36I hear what they're saying. They speak for their island.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41They're sick of people coming every day.
0:26:41 > 0:26:451,000, 2,000, 3,000.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50If it was my country, I'd probably do the same.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03With the boat unable to dock, it's a triumph for the protestors,
0:27:03 > 0:27:06and, for the first time in Lampedusa's history,
0:27:06 > 0:27:09the port has been blockaded against migrants.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Giovanni must take them out to sea until the crowd can be cleared.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16But the crowd isn't going anywhere.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14After two hours, word spreads that a landing area has been prepared
0:28:14 > 0:28:19on the other side of the harbour, at the island's larger ferry port.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21Local mum Rosy decides to take charge.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51The crowd moves quickly around the harbour to the ferry port,
0:28:51 > 0:28:54to stop Giovanni's boat from landing.
0:28:55 > 0:29:00But when a line of riot police prevent them from getting near the landing area,
0:29:00 > 0:29:03the demonstration gets out of control.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23Protected by a line of armed police,
0:29:23 > 0:29:28the Tunisians are quietly brought ashore, as the rain begins to fall.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32Long into the night,
0:29:32 > 0:29:35the Lampedusians and the Tunisians are kept apart.
0:29:45 > 0:29:50That night, 1,106 migrants landed on the island.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52With the migration centre full,
0:29:52 > 0:29:56and Lampedusians unwilling to let them in, most are trapped here
0:29:56 > 0:29:59to sleep where they can at the ferry port.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04There are only two chemical toilets, no food or water
0:30:04 > 0:30:06and just bed sheets for blankets,
0:30:06 > 0:30:09and with nowhere to go, these men soon get desperate.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24Dino the mayor is forced to take things into his own hands.
0:30:40 > 0:30:46The building of the port houses the Coastguard's headquarters and a turtle conservation centre.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51Overnight, newly arrived Tunisians have forced open doors
0:30:51 > 0:30:54and used the building to shelter from the rain.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00This is the office of the captains of the coastguards.
0:31:00 > 0:31:04The captains of the vessels who rescue migrants at sea.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06E allora. Mi saluto. Ciao.
0:32:40 > 0:32:45Four days, 25 boats and 2,400 migrants later,
0:32:45 > 0:32:47Italian politicians in Rome
0:32:47 > 0:32:51have still done nothing to relieve the pressure on Lampedusa.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56With the centre and the port both overflowing,
0:32:56 > 0:32:58new arrivals are forced to seek shelter
0:32:58 > 0:33:00on the hill above the ferry port.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04The Lampedusians soon dub it the Hill of Shame.
0:33:13 > 0:33:17Two newcomers on the hill are Yusuf and his friend Adel.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26From beginning I know all the people don't like to stay here.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28We don't like Italy because Italy is nothing
0:33:28 > 0:33:33compared to England, Germany, France.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36The three countries, but Italy is nothing.
0:33:36 > 0:33:42Italy is as Tunisia, I'm sure. Me, I like to go to France.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44But my dream is to be in England.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46From when I'm young, when I was a kid.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49I know many things about England.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52But England, it's so, so difficult.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56So step by step, one day, I will be there, I hope so.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03Vive l'Angleterre.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15- TRANSLATION:- I'm glad they had a safe journey and I'm happy they've come.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21They're my Tunisian brothers, and they haven't died at sea.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24They've made it here safe, thank God.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07Across the water in Libya, a war is raging.
0:35:07 > 0:35:12And Colonel Gaddafi announces he's abandoning all immigration agreements with the EU,
0:35:12 > 0:35:15and threatens to flood Europe with migrants.
0:35:26 > 0:35:31- TRANSLATION:- You can't stop immigration. You can't stop people who want to move, no matter what.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35You can't stop it.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41At a moment like this, we're dealing with history.
0:35:41 > 0:35:46An upheaval in North Africa that really could bring in a new world order.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50A reworking of everything we were taking for granted.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58Finally, Rome responds.
0:36:02 > 0:36:07The Italian Ministry of the Interior has sent some tents and portable toilets to the island,
0:36:07 > 0:36:11with orders to build a tented encampment for the migrants.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16But another day brings another protest.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23Fearing that a refugee camp would just attract more migrants
0:36:23 > 0:36:27and ruin Lampedusa's image, the islanders are having none of it.
0:36:27 > 0:36:34- TRANSLATION:- We are staying here. We are not moving for any reason. We will not let the trucks through.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37The mayor is on our side. He's declared a state of emergency
0:36:37 > 0:36:41and a council meeting is going to be held here.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04But despite his promises to the crowd, Dino is under pressure
0:37:04 > 0:37:07from Italy's Minister of the Interior
0:37:07 > 0:37:09and police chiefs in Palermo.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17After an hour of phonecalls behind the scenes,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20he is ordered to take everything off the ferry.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24As he prepares to break the news,
0:37:24 > 0:37:27police reinforcements are brought in to help.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30MICROPHONE FEEDBACK
0:38:37 > 0:38:41As a compromise, Dino has negotiated that the containers of aid
0:38:41 > 0:38:43will be brought on to the island,
0:38:43 > 0:38:45but will remain unopened on the quayside.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13YELLING AND ARGUING
0:39:27 > 0:39:31SHOUTING
0:39:41 > 0:39:45Stella agrees with this compromise, but she's in a minority.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42After more than eight hours' negotiation,
0:40:42 > 0:40:46the containers of tents and toilets are finally driven on to the quayside,
0:40:46 > 0:40:49where they will be held under guard by the Italian army.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07And, as if to taunt the nearby protestors,
0:41:07 > 0:41:09as the ferry prepares to leave,
0:41:09 > 0:41:11another boat arrives to take its place.
0:41:17 > 0:41:21It's the first of six that will arrive in the next five hours,
0:41:21 > 0:41:23bringing 800 more Tunisians to Lampedusa.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29For the first time in the island's history,
0:41:29 > 0:41:31foreign migrants now outnumber Italians.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46- TRANSLATION:- I'm tired, tired.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49Tired because it's a massive phenomenon,
0:41:49 > 0:41:51a historical phenomenon.
0:41:53 > 0:41:54It's enormously difficult
0:41:54 > 0:41:57to deal with this daily humanitarian emergency,
0:41:57 > 0:42:00an emergency that we find difficult to deal with
0:42:00 > 0:42:02because the numbers are just so big.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16The next day, three more abandoned Tunisian fishing boats
0:42:16 > 0:42:19are added to the growing pile in Lampedusa.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49The authorities are flying 200 Tunisians off the island
0:42:49 > 0:42:51to the mainland every day.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56But even these small numbers are causing political standoffs in Europe.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00Knowing where most of the migrants are heading,
0:43:00 > 0:43:04France threatens to close its border with Italy.
0:43:04 > 0:43:08Silvio Berlusconi has a public row with French President Sarkozy,
0:43:08 > 0:43:12saying that this is a problem for Europe, not just Italy.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20On the island, the locals feel frustrated.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20Finally, over a month after the crisis began,
0:44:20 > 0:44:24the first senior Italian politician flies to Lampedusa -
0:44:24 > 0:44:27President of Sicily, Rafaelle Lombardo,
0:44:27 > 0:44:30has come to hear the varied complaints of the islanders.
0:46:27 > 0:46:31Knowing that Lombardo has the ear of senior politicians in Rome,
0:46:31 > 0:46:33Dino decides to make a stand.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52But just as Dino is trying to put pressure on Rome,
0:46:52 > 0:46:54Rome is on the phone.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02A call from Prime Minister Berlusconi himself.
0:47:05 > 0:47:07Shh!
0:47:08 > 0:47:10Shh!
0:47:12 > 0:47:14THE ROOM FALLS SILENT
0:47:19 > 0:47:20Pronto?
0:47:21 > 0:47:23Pronto?
0:48:12 > 0:48:15The ever-growing number of migrants on the Hill of Shame
0:48:15 > 0:48:18are making politicians nervous all over Europe.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22No-one seems to know what to do with them.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29Around the EU, states have begun to drop hints
0:48:29 > 0:48:33that they're considering abandoning Europe's Schengen agreement,
0:48:33 > 0:48:35and closing their internal borders.
0:48:39 > 0:48:43But for Adel and his friends, all that matters is staying warm.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02Down in town, there's a breakthrough.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10For the first time in Lampedusa's history,
0:49:10 > 0:49:14the island is to welcome the nation's serving Prime Minister.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18Silvio Berlusconi has come to answer his critics.
0:49:30 > 0:49:34Rosy Policardo considers herself Berlusconi's number one fan.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39TRANSLATION: So finally the Prime Minister's coming.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42We've been waiting for him for a long time.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44Let's hope he'll give us some good news
0:49:44 > 0:49:47and everything will get back to normal.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50We hope so, I trust my president.
0:49:52 > 0:49:53Do you know what we need?
0:49:53 > 0:49:54Photos of Lampedusa.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02I could go to the print shop now and get something.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32Berlusconi has been busy of late,
0:50:32 > 0:50:36fending off allegations of political corruption
0:50:36 > 0:50:40and sex with underage girls at his notorious "Bunga Bunga" parties.
0:50:41 > 0:50:46But Dino's determined to keep Berlusconi's problems off the agenda.
0:51:44 > 0:51:49Scusatemi! Scusatemi!
0:52:18 > 0:52:20APPLAUSE
0:52:43 > 0:52:45APPLAUSE
0:52:45 > 0:52:46CHEERING
0:52:56 > 0:52:58CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:54:18 > 0:54:23CROWD CHANTING: Silvio! Silvio! Silvio! Silvio! Silvio!
0:54:23 > 0:54:26FERRY HORN BLARES
0:54:29 > 0:54:34Two day later, Yusuf and Adel will be given space on one of six ships
0:54:34 > 0:54:37taking migrants to Sicily on Berlusconi's orders.
0:54:40 > 0:54:44We have to go now, to regroup our...
0:54:44 > 0:54:49Our group, and hope that we leave this...
0:54:49 > 0:54:50Maybe.
0:54:50 > 0:54:53This magic place(!) Thanks to God.
0:54:56 > 0:54:58And merci bien, thanks.
0:54:59 > 0:55:00Merci bien.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03I wear all my clothes, all of them.
0:55:03 > 0:55:05Tous se porte.
0:55:06 > 0:55:11One, two, three, four...
0:55:13 > 0:55:16Five, and six and seven.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18T'a vu?
0:55:18 > 0:55:19C'est la merde.
0:55:23 > 0:55:25Berlusconi kept his word.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28Within days, the island is cleared of Tunisians,
0:55:28 > 0:55:31and Lampedusians turn out to see them off.
0:55:45 > 0:55:50Within a week, Yusuf, Ali and Adel would all be in Paris.
0:55:51 > 0:55:54500 million people live in the European Union,
0:55:54 > 0:55:57but the arrival of 30,000 migrants
0:55:57 > 0:56:01triggered a profound political crisis
0:56:01 > 0:56:05TRANSLATION: Isn't adapting our European institutions a normal thing to do?
0:56:05 > 0:56:10- TRANSLATION:- Controls must be possible in extreme situations.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13- TRANSLATION:- We have to move quickly from words to action.
0:56:13 > 0:56:14This is what's missing.
0:56:14 > 0:56:18France and Denmark closed their internal borders.
0:56:18 > 0:56:21I think that you have seen a lot of problems
0:56:21 > 0:56:24concerning cross-border criminal activities.
0:56:25 > 0:56:29Paola remains convinced that the breakdown in Lampedusa
0:56:29 > 0:56:33was manufactured to win support for anti-immigration policies.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40TRANSLATION: When they were forced to stay on the island,
0:56:40 > 0:56:42and started threatening the island's image,
0:56:42 > 0:56:45people's attitudes changed.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48We started to see these people as a threat, a real threat.
0:56:56 > 0:57:01This is the situation that government policies created on this island,
0:57:01 > 0:57:05to manufacture in people some kind of fear, terror,
0:57:05 > 0:57:06at the invasion of the other -
0:57:06 > 0:57:09of the criminal, of the stranger, of the bad guy -
0:57:09 > 0:57:11of the other.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19Two months later, and the islanders are hoping
0:57:19 > 0:57:22that the tourists will still come this year.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26But they know that the next wave of migrants is on its way,
0:57:26 > 0:57:30this time from the war in Libya.
0:57:30 > 0:57:35With boats of refugees already arriving, the crisis in Lampedusa
0:57:35 > 0:57:40has shown how unprepared Europe is for the fallout of the Arab Spring.
0:57:40 > 0:57:42TRANSLATION: We're all scared.
0:57:42 > 0:57:46Let's remember that Africa is in turmoil, they're at war.
0:57:46 > 0:57:49We should shut the borders like Europe is planning to do.
0:57:49 > 0:57:50Italy should do the same.
0:57:50 > 0:57:53We can't get them through the door of the Mediterranean
0:57:53 > 0:57:56and keep them here in Italy - we don't have enough space.
0:57:59 > 0:58:03- TRANSLATION:- We are a welcoming people, and not racists.
0:58:03 > 0:58:09This is different from Europe, whose behaviour is questionable.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12You could call them dismissive, even perhaps racist.
0:58:15 > 0:58:17We're still welcoming people here,
0:58:17 > 0:58:20but the rest of Europe must do the same.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28Europe's politicians now face the biggest challenge ever
0:58:28 > 0:58:31to the EU's policy on immigration -
0:58:31 > 0:58:34will they stand alone, or act together?
0:58:43 > 0:58:46Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:46 > 0:58:50E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk