The situation on the crowded Italian island of Lampedusa was getting worse as aid workers did not have enough food for thousands of immigrants here on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.
According to Lampedusa's mayor De Rubeis, there was shortage of food here for some 1,000 migrants because food here was only enough to feed 5,000 people but there were some 6,200 on the southern tiny island.
Earlier in the day, some of the island's 5,000 inhabitants continued to protest against the government's slow pace to deal with the emergency. They held protests against the migrant invasion and health risks and staged a sit-in in local council offices.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said the situation on this island is "unacceptable." The government has pledged to get all the migrants off the island with six ships starting Wednesday.
Rosetta Greco, 45, who runs a hotel and a fish restaurant here, was worried about the worsening situation. "We residents and the immigrants are both victims of what is happening, we are not enemies nor do we hate each other. We are two different peoples but we are both suffering for this outrageous and inhuman situation that has deprived all of us of our dignity and freedom," she told Xinhua.
Rosetta has joined local women to stage protests at the island' s harbor these days with the request of concrete solutions to the humanitarian tragedy which concerns both locals and refugees.
"We are fed up with words, we want an operative plan for exiting this crisis because we want to know what will happen to Lampedusa, if there is a future for our children. Ever since the refugees' mass arrivals started, our lives have been shattered," she said.
As a form of dissent, but also for safety concerns, Rosetta is not sending her children to school anymore. "This is what it has all come down to: we have been forced to deny to our children their right to education and fun. Before our kids freely played in the streets but now we must keep them at home."
But the real issue is what will happen after the government's immigrant evacuation plan kicked-off on Wednesday. Rosetta fears it might turn out to be just a temporary solution because landings will eventually resume in the short run.
"Residents here are known as calm, peaceful and welcoming people who are not used to take to the streets for demonstrations. We have always faced our local problems with dignity and responsibility but now things are running out of control.
"Many Italians believe the immigration wave concerns just Lampedusa. Wrong, it's a drama for all Italy. We understand the despair of the immigrants but our island just cannot cope alone with the emergency. We too are in misery, just like the immigrants, and feel abandoned by the state," she told Xinhua.
Rosetta's family lives-off summer tourism, like most locals here. Pizzerias, cafes, bars and resorts make the largest profits at summer time but the upcoming season is set to be gloomy.
Rosetta complained that waste was also accumulating along streets and on beaches, damaging the environment. "I'm afraid very few people will come visit our breathtaking, paradise-like Rabbit Island beach and this will be a great damage for Italy's tourism. We have a lovely sun, who will enjoy it?"
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