On the 18th of October 2025, a protest culminated in an impressive performance organized by members and comrades from Refugees in Libya. The stage of survivors was the highlight of five days of actions in the capital of Italy to mobilize against the deal for crimes against humanity.
The series of activities started with a press conference on the 14th of October in the parliament building, on the same day, when the oppositional parties submitted a resolution against the prolongation of the memorandum of understanding. Speakers from TAI (Tavulo Asilo), Amnesty Italy, Open Arms, and Refugees in Libya (RiL) were supported by Elly Schlein, the leader of PD (Partito Democratico).
On the 15th of October, a political debate took place on perspectives against the externalization and the brutalization of the border regime. The event in the social center ESC was introduced by a promise: “We have made mistakes, but one thing we should never make is the mistake of giving up on trying to change the world for the better.“ Accordingly, in several working groups, medium-term perspectives from and with Refugees in Libya were re-discussed.
On the 16th of October, the conditions and struggles of women formed the main focus of another event in the university, mainly organized by the legal clinic of UniRoma3. “No deal on women’s bodies: stories of resistance from Libya“ was the title, and institutional actors for women’s rights were connected to and confronted with the women of RiL experiences on the ground. On the same evening, the film documentary “The years we have been nowhere“ was presented in the space of the anti-mafia association Libera.
The 17th of October began with public actions in the touristy city center: a big Stop MoU banner from civil fleet organizations was presented at Piazza Navona fountains, while RiL activists and supporters wore life jackets with slogans against the deal of crimes. The banner was later hung in front of the colosseum.
Picture: Demonstration Piazza Navona, on the 17th of October
In the early evening, a commemorAction was held in front of the Basilica S.Croce. In two speeches, the lethal violence of migration control was contrasted with the lived experience of open borders, while the dimension of the mass killing was presented in the outrolled lists of 66.519 documented deaths, decorated with candles, banners, and life jackets. This strong coming together – supported by Spin time lab – was closed by an inter-religious prayer by an Imam and a priest.
Picture: CommemorAction
The morning of the 18th of October started with a video and a debate on pushbacks and abuse in Libyan detention centers based on reconstructions from Forensic Architecture and Liminal.
In the early afternoon, about 400 participants followed the call to the central demonstration at Piazza Vidoni and were welcomed by RiL members to the announced stage of survivors. Within the next two hours about 50 witnesses – men, women and children – collectively came on the stage, testifying their suffering and their struggles in Libya. In an impressive mix of performances and personal stories, the strong voices of self-organisation echoed across the square. The unique event of the protagonists was completed with a tribunal to accuse, name, and display “wanted” posters of responsible politicians, and raise demands with the never-ending slogan: Stop Memorandum. The audience responded with sustained applause, and the program ended with congratulations and short speeches by supporting civil society and civil fleet actors.
Picture: stage of survivors
First brief conclusions: the events in Rome were very powerful and received attention from mass media outlets. Thanks to the initiative by RiL, the protests against the MoU were louder than ever, but of course the renewal of MoU could not be stopped. For RiL it was a successful mobilization, strengthening mainly the self-organizational process. The civil society coalition supported on various levels, but its concrete mobilization for the central manifestation was limited. The strong voices of the protagonists need and deserve the attention of tens of thousands rather than just a few hundred!
RAGE POEM
Presented on the stage of survivors on 18th of October at Piazza Vidoni in Rome by Refugees in Libya
“Even under the sun — our world is dark.
Our world is chaotic. Our world is nightmarish. Our world is betrayal. Our world is shame.
Rage against Tripoli — against its prisons, its militias, its torture camps, its crimes.
Rage against Italy — against her ministers, her signatures, her complicity, rage against her hate.
Rage against Brussels — against the architects of border death and denial.
Rage against Geneva — against the white papers that bury the truth in reports.
We have rebelled against Tripoli. We have rebelled against Italy. We have rebelled against Brussels. We have rebelled against Geneva. We have rebelled against the silence of the world. We have rebelled — all the more so, that we may not be erased. Rebellion has been our voice — our lifeline.
We know. Knowing is a burden, for we know our pain and its inflictors.
We know. Knowing is a wound that does not close — unless justice is served. Although we know — we are still here.
We are the remnants of the forgotten sea, the faces Europe pretends not to see. We were not born to drown on high seas in search of safety. We were not born to kneel in submission to slavery, torture, and rape. We were not born to be counted by surveillance drones of Frontex and more. We are not statistics. We are not shadows. We are the evidence — walking. Our breath — is rebellion. Our steps — rebellion. Even our silence — rebellion. Even our pain has learned to rise and walk.
Europe calls it migration — We experienced it as refuge. Europe calls it border control — we experienced it as deliberate murders. What Europe calls cooperation — we experienced it as slavery.
Our name, our body, our women, our face, our humanity, are not MoUs replicated in Libya, Khartoum, Rabat, Tunis, Egypt, Turkey, Niamey and more.
Our lives are not their signatures. Our children are not their votes. We will not be footnotes in their democracy. Even under the sun — our world is dark. But we — we are the ones who will bring the light.“
Alarm Phone Central Mediterranean group
