MSF Photo Blog

Migrants queue for breakfast at the “CPSA” (centro primo soccorso accoglienza) first aid centre in Lampedusa, Italy.

Since 2003, MSF has operated medical triage and first aid on the dock where migrants land. In the past 3 years, more than 50,000 people arrived in over 700 boats. Many of the boats come from Libya after a journey that last approximately 2 to 4 days; the last leg of a migration that sometimes lasts years. Once landed, migrants are identified by the police and kept inside the CPSA before being redirected to other centres where they stay longer and have their future decided. Some of them ask for asylum, the others are expelled.