0:00:02 > 0:00:05Now on BBC News, Our World.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11A flimsy inflatable dinghy full of migrants is adrift in the open
0:00:11 > 0:00:17sea, around 30 miles from the Libyan coast.
0:00:17 > 0:00:22They have no fuel, no water and no food.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31They have been detected by a Spanish NGO.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35Most of these migrants have never seen the ocean.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39They can't swim.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41And after hours at sea in the sweltering heat,
0:00:41 > 0:00:45they are exhausted.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48This boat has just arrived with about 500 migrants who have
0:00:48 > 0:00:51been rescued, trying to make the very dangerous journey
0:00:51 > 0:00:54from Libya to Sicily.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57So far this year, more than 80,000 people from different
0:00:57 > 0:01:01countries have arrived.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Around 2,000 have drowned.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08But the vast majority are not refugees fleeing war,
0:01:08 > 0:01:12but those in search of a better life.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Most will stay in Italy.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20Sympathy for the migrants is wearing thin.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34And blame is starting to focus on the NGOs saving lives.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37There are critics who have accused NGOs of acting as a taxi
0:01:37 > 0:01:39service to Europe.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45There are fears now that anti-immigration groups
0:01:45 > 0:01:49are exploiting the crisis for their own ends.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52So you would like to see this mosque closed?
0:01:52 > 0:01:55Yeah, I would like to see a museum or something else.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58Tensions here are rising, but what is the solution
0:01:58 > 0:02:02to Italy's migrant crisis?
0:02:15 > 0:02:22This is the gateway from Sicily to the rest of Italy.
0:02:22 > 0:02:30A short passage for many towards their new lives.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33This is the route that hundreds of thousands of migrants follow
0:02:33 > 0:02:35to get to the mainland.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39Many of them end up in the north, but some are being settled
0:02:39 > 0:02:41in the south of the country.
0:02:41 > 0:02:46I'm on my way to one of those towns.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50In this quiet corner of Calabria, for centuries, the locals have
0:02:50 > 0:02:56only spoken Italian.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59But in recent years, Riace has suffered from an exodus
0:02:59 > 0:03:05of people in search of jobs and better prospects.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07And things are changing.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Hello, ciao, how are you?
0:03:22 > 0:03:25Today, over half the population are new arrivals from Africa
0:03:25 > 0:03:29and the Arab world.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49The mayor's initiative, with government and EU money,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52is breathing life into his town and providing a haven
0:03:52 > 0:03:55for recent arrivals who have endured much to reach here.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59These young men of 16 and 17 are from the country which makes up
0:03:59 > 0:04:01the second largest number of migrants to come to Italy
0:04:01 > 0:04:07this year - Bangladesh.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25The boys told me they never intended to come to Europe
0:04:25 > 0:04:29that they had paid people smugglers to take them to Libya for work.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31But when they got there, they became their victims.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Bought and sold from one trafficker to another,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53the boys managed to finally get onto the boats for Italy,
0:04:53 > 0:04:57but their ordeal was not over.
0:05:25 > 0:05:32Not everyone is welcoming to migrants coming to Europe.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34This is a promo video from a group
0:05:34 > 0:05:36calling themselves the Identitarian Movement.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Made up of mainly young, tech-savvy members, they have been
0:05:39 > 0:05:44described as the hipster right.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48With headquarters in Austria and France, they are a small
0:05:48 > 0:05:52but growing group and their aim is to campaign against immigration.
0:05:52 > 0:06:02Senior membership of the group is known to have links with neo-Nazis.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Their annual camp is all about physical strength and fitness
0:06:05 > 0:06:09but with a definite sense of purpose.
0:06:09 > 0:06:18Stop immigration now!
0:06:18 > 0:06:20This summer, the movement tried to stop a MSF rescue ship
0:06:20 > 0:06:21from leaving port.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25The stunt ultimately failed but in just a few weeks
0:06:25 > 0:06:28the organisation raised over 70,000 euros and they have now chartered
0:06:28 > 0:06:31a ship they say they will use to disrupt trafficking and monitor
0:06:31 > 0:06:38the NGOs in the Mediterranean.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40I had heard that the group was developing plans
0:06:41 > 0:06:42for further action.
0:06:42 > 0:06:48Their Italy coordinator, Lorenzo Fiato, has flown down
0:06:48 > 0:06:50specially from Milan.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52I want to defend Europe from mass immigration and multiculturalism.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56We think that in every city where multiculturalism is present
0:06:56 > 0:07:01there is also radical Islam and violence regarding illegal
0:07:01 > 0:07:07immigrants and more.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10So you want European culture, Western societies, to just be white?
0:07:10 > 0:07:11It is not about white.
0:07:11 > 0:07:17It is about the other side of multiculturalism.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19This is a different kind of migration.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22These are thousands of illegal migrants coming to our shores
0:07:22 > 0:07:23and flooding into our cities.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27Lorenzo told me that it wasn't just new migrants that concerned him.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29His organisation has a policy of re-patronisation of the children
0:07:29 > 0:07:35of existing immigrants.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39You want these people who live in Europe, who are second or third
0:07:39 > 0:07:42generation, to go back to the home country of their own parents?
0:07:42 > 0:07:51I want them to respect our way of life or leave.
0:07:51 > 0:07:52That simple.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57And the people who respect your way of life?
0:07:57 > 0:07:58Sorry.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03The problem is not about them.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06But most of them maybe have some parents or friends or people
0:08:06 > 0:08:07who are related to them.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10So I can't trust anyone in this matter.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12But Lorenzo's first goal is to combat those he sees
0:08:12 > 0:08:15as facilitating mass immigration - the NGOs.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18You say you don't want the NGOs operating in those waters,
0:08:18 > 0:08:24that you want them to stop.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28They say that if they do stop, more lives will be lost.
0:08:28 > 0:08:29No, I think this is false.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32Because these people are coming to Europe because they know someone
0:08:32 > 0:08:33will save them.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36You cannot solve this problem by helping the human traffickers
0:08:36 > 0:08:38doing their jobs, because they want to transport illegal migrants,
0:08:38 > 0:08:44so you are just helping them.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48There has been another rescue - this time by the organisation
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Save the Children.
0:08:51 > 0:08:57An inflatable carrying 125 people has been located off Libya.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00It has been at sea for 24 hours, it is beginning to deflate,
0:09:00 > 0:09:06and it is taking on water.
0:09:06 > 0:09:0925 children are on board, four babies, and several
0:09:09 > 0:09:14pregnant woman.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17-- pregnant women.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20And there are fatalities.
0:09:20 > 0:09:37Four people died - one the mother of a 15-month-old baby.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41The ship comes into a port in Sicily.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45It is where a local prosecutor is investigating whether some NGO
0:09:46 > 0:09:52ships may be facilitating illegal immigration.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24The NGO missions are coordinated by the Italian coastguard
0:10:25 > 0:10:27but the country's legal system has launched two investigations
0:10:27 > 0:10:30into whether they are saving lives or assisting illegal immigrants
0:10:30 > 0:10:33on their journey.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55Do you feel that by rescuing these boats that the NGOs are somehow
0:10:55 > 0:11:00encouraging the people smuggling trade?
0:11:25 > 0:11:27There are critics who have accused NGOs of acting
0:11:27 > 0:11:30as a taxi service to Europe.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40They say if they weren't operating, more lives would be lost.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01Back on the quay, the Save the Children ship is preparing
0:12:01 > 0:12:02to continue its mission.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04Since last September, the boat has rescued more
0:12:04 > 0:12:06than 4,000 migrants at sea, including over 500 children.
0:12:06 > 0:12:07Hi, David.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10I asked the captain what he thought of claims that NGOs were acting
0:12:10 > 0:12:16as a taxi service to migrants and people smugglers.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Yes, I have heard that before and I think I can see
0:12:19 > 0:12:21why people say that, but the evidence is
0:12:21 > 0:12:27absolutely to the contrary.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31You only have to see the craft they put them in to realise
0:12:31 > 0:12:33how absolutely cynical and ruthless they are.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36They do not need a pull factor, they are pushing these
0:12:36 > 0:12:38people out come what may, and if we are not
0:12:38 > 0:12:40there they will drown.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42What is the solution here because the numbers
0:12:42 > 0:12:44are not dropping at all?
0:12:44 > 0:12:47The solution is a political solution, it is not within the remit
0:12:47 > 0:12:49of a humanitarian organisation to solve this, but people
0:12:49 > 0:12:53will continue to do this until there is a safer legal way
0:12:53 > 0:13:04to do it.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07In the meantime, this tragedy will go on unfolding
0:13:07 > 0:13:10and we will continue to pick up the pieces and continue to get
0:13:10 > 0:13:13the blame for something that only other people can solve.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15I'm sorry, that is how it is.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30Lorenzo has an important day.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43He is waiting for some new Identitarian recruits who have
0:13:43 > 0:13:44come from the Sicilian capital, Palermo.
0:13:44 > 0:13:45Hello, hi.
0:13:45 > 0:13:51Viviana and Claudia are university students and they have come to help
0:13:51 > 0:14:00on the Defend Europe launch.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04Lorenzo says that he would take me on a tour of the town.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06All these restaurants are owned by migrants?
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Yeah, most of them, it is easy to organise and easy to do.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11The food is not so healthy.
0:14:11 > 0:14:12They grew up like rabbits.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14They grew up like rabbits?
0:14:14 > 0:14:15What do you mean?
0:14:15 > 0:14:23It is like saying there are a lot of them and they continue to appear.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25In Italy they are replacing the people living in
0:14:25 > 0:14:26these neighbourhoods.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28We are always less and they are always more.
0:14:28 > 0:14:34This is a mosque.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37What to think when you see this mosque here?
0:14:37 > 0:14:39I do not feel anything, because Islam is OK
0:14:39 > 0:14:43if it is in the Middle East or in some other places.
0:14:43 > 0:14:50I just know this is not the place for a mosque here.
0:14:50 > 0:14:51That sounds Islamophobic.
0:14:51 > 0:14:52I want to prevent this actually.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54You want to prevent Islamophobia?
0:14:54 > 0:14:57I want to prevent hate and fights and the clash of civilisations.
0:14:57 > 0:15:07You would like to see this mosque closed?
0:15:07 > 0:15:11I would like to see a museum or something in its place.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14As we sat down, I wanted to find out why Viviana and Claudia had
0:15:14 > 0:15:15joined the movement.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17For Claudia it was something more personal.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20There are accusations that this is a racist group,
0:15:20 > 0:15:22an Islamophobic group, a group that is linked to neo-Nazis.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25So what do Sicilian think of Lorenzo and his friends,
0:15:25 > 0:15:26their movement and views?
0:16:06 > 0:16:08There are accusations that this is a racist group,
0:16:09 > 0:16:15an Islamophobic group, a group that is linked to neo-Nazis.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38So what do Sicilian think of Lorenzo and his friends,
0:16:38 > 0:16:45their movement and views?
0:16:47 > 0:16:48I wanted to see him in action.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18Lorenzo sees the chance for a bit of PR and tells the man
0:17:18 > 0:17:26about blocking the NGO ship.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28But it is not just ordinary Sicilians who feel their
0:17:28 > 0:17:42voices need to be heard.
0:17:49 > 0:18:02Across Italy you see scenes like this.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07Nigerian woman forced into prostitution.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10It is thought that a staggering 80% of Nigerian woman who come
0:18:10 > 0:18:18to Europe are trafficked.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20Three years ago, 1,500 Nigerian woman arrived in Italy.
0:18:22 > 0:18:32Last year it was more than 11,000.
0:18:32 > 0:18:45I went to meet some who were lucky enough to be rescued.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48Jennifer and Anna, not their real names, told me their stories began
0:18:48 > 0:18:50in Nigeria where they were offered work as baby-sitters
0:18:50 > 0:19:04and hairdressers in Europe.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07They agreed, but on the drive through the desert towards Libya
0:19:07 > 0:19:09things started to go badly wrong.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11When you got to Libya, that is when you realised
0:19:11 > 0:19:24they wanted you to do prostitution?
0:19:32 > 0:19:35That was when the girls were taken to what is known
0:19:35 > 0:19:37as "the Carnation House."
0:19:50 > 0:19:52And how many other girls were there with you in that space?
0:19:55 > 0:20:03Were you talking to each other?
0:20:03 > 0:20:03Yes.
0:20:03 > 0:20:04What were you saying?
0:20:04 > 0:20:07But once they arrive in Europe, many find they cannot escape.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10They still have to repay a debt to the traffickers
0:20:10 > 0:20:26and the debts are huge - up to 40,000 euros.
0:20:26 > 0:20:31So they remain in virtual slavery.
0:20:34 > 0:20:41It really is quite difficult for these girls to now go back home.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44They have no ID and they are effectively stateless.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47For many of them, they have made such a tough journey coming
0:20:47 > 0:20:50here that they do not want to go back, they see their
0:20:50 > 0:20:51future here in Europe.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Lorenzo has hired a room in an upmarket hotel
0:20:54 > 0:20:56for the Defend Europe launch, but there are complications.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58Plainclothes policemen have turned up and are keen
0:20:58 > 0:21:11to make their presence felt.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13They question Lorenzo, suspecting someone in the town's
0:21:13 > 0:21:24port might be passing information on migrant shipping.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Our safety, our way of life, we have become a minority
0:21:27 > 0:21:31in our own country.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33Perfect.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48Does that mean that you will keep trying to stop the boats?
0:21:49 > 0:21:51Of course, we are ready to face our problems,
0:21:51 > 0:21:52these kinds of problems.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55Even today you were approached by police, they are watching you.
0:21:55 > 0:21:56Yeah, I know.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59But we have our channels to keep these kind of things secret.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01The website, the Internet, is a gift.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04We can talk there and organise these kind of things
0:22:04 > 0:22:24in almost total freedom, and this will help us a lot.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27It is estimated that this year a quarter of a million migrants
0:22:27 > 0:22:29will make the perilous journey from Libya to Italy.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31Several thousand will drown on the way.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33While this crisis continues, so too will criticism
0:22:33 > 0:22:51of the humanitarian effort and the message of intolerance.
0:22:51 > 0:22:52And a solution?
0:22:52 > 0:23:08No end in sight.