Last week, 26 Yazidi immigrants hiding in two containers arrived at the port of Salerno, fleeing persecution at home. Most likely, this is a new illegal route of human traffickers, which is currently being investigated.

The immigrants are Iraqi Yazidis, belonging to a religious minority, one of the most persecuted by ISIS. They came from Mosul, where ISIS terrorists killed thousands of Yazidis and sold as many into slavery. Survivors of the massacre, but still in dire straits, they decided to join their relatives in Germany. These people passed through Iraq and Turkey, were locked in two metal containers. They had only the necessities of the trip with them: food, water bottles, warm blankets, and plastic bags, because for three days they could not go out, closed from the outside, even for physiological needs. All this confirms that there is a group of people behind this, which organizes the illegal transportation of people to European countries.

The container ship Vento di Scirocco, coming from the Turkish port of Aliaga, unloaded containers in the port of Salerno. The immigrants who were in the container made a hole with the tools they brought, and got out of their "transport of movement". After that, port security officers detained a group of people.

The Salerno police said: "The immigrants were family members, aged from 9 to 60 years, there was no tension and resistance during their detention. They are very calm and decent people.

These people were scared, but they were more afraid of deportation than of any other problems. Children and adults speak exclusively in their native Yazidi language. Crucial in this case was the search for available intermediaries who could explain what was happening, transport what had happened, this intermediary turned out to be Nina Iboeva, who is originally from Georgia, a Yazidi and speaks the same language.

After talking to the Yazidi immigrants, Nina said: "They were scared, they told us they had escaped persecution. They were very tired, they needed rest. At their request, the family was given mobile phones so that they could contact their relatives from Germany and let them know that they were all well and alive. These people are undoubtedly happy to have come to Italy, but the final point of their trip was Germany."

According to the immigrants, the trip was paid for by relatives living in Germany. But who was paid the money is not yet known.

The prosecutor's office opened an investigation to find out if someone was waiting for them or what the route was after disembarking. And why the port of Salerno was chosen.

Source avvenire.it