Refugees and migrants move from Italy to Sweden

The first group of migrants to be relocated under a EU-wide program have departed Italy for a new beginning in Sweden

Pictures have emerged showing 19 Eritreans boarding a plane as the first of 120,000 to be moved from Italy and Greece to other member EU states. Both countries have called for help to deal with the migrant crisis as reports state that some Greek islands are seeing 7,000 migrants and refugees arriving on a daily basis, which is a steep increase from the 4,500 for the whole of last month.

This European Union agreement to move 120,000 refugees from Italy and Greece to member states seems a modest move when put up against the numbers. For instance, to move 19 migrants on a first flight to signal a controlled exodus is nothing but a mere drop in the ocean when you compare that with the numbers of hundreds still flooding into Italy off the coasts of Sicily on a daily basis.

The 14 men and women have boarded the special Italian government organised flight for Sweden. At that point they will be given EU assistance to help them start new lives. More than anything this is a symbol, more than it is a cure for the major issue of the migrant crisis.