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Italian Film Unmasks Migrant Suffering in Libyan Militia Camps

Migrants in the Mediterranean. (Reuters)
Migrants in the Mediterranean. (Reuters)
    Rome, London - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Italian Film Unmasks Migrant Suffering in Libyan Militia Camps

Migrants in the Mediterranean. (Reuters)
Migrants in the Mediterranean. (Reuters)

An employee in the Italian Interior Ministry secretly visited Libya to reach deals with local warlords and coast guard officials in order to stop the flow of migrants to Europe.

If the events of the fictional film “L'ordine delle cose” by Andrea Segre seem familiar, it is because it highlights many real life developments.

In an interview with the German News Agency (dpa), the Italian director said: "I finished the script a long time ago, and while I was filming, I gradually realized that what I was imagining is actually happening."

The film was launched in Italy on Thursday after being screened for the first time at the Venice Film Festival.

The film’s events, which are based on secret interviews with real Italian spies, tell the story of a man who was told to ask Libyans to stop all migrant boats because people can no longer handle their burden.

The film's release comes in line with a wave of both praise and criticism against Italian Interior Minister Marco Minetti, also a former intelligence service chief, for his success in hindering migration flows.

Last month, only 3,900 people arrived in Italy, less than a fifth, compared to levels recorded in August of 2016.

The drop comes after an Italian move, with the approval of the European Union, to strengthen the coast guard capacity in Libya. Critics said that the measure had the hidden agenda to reduce immigration.

According to many media outlets, former Libyan militias have been preventing migrants from leaving due to secret arrangements with European authorities.

During a screening of Segre’s film at the Italian Senate, former Foreign Minister Emma Bonino said: "Until yesterday, we were, directly or indirectly, encouraging human trafficking.”

Bonino, a member of the radical party (a liberal Italian party) who also served as Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs of the European Union, said that the closure of the migration route between Libya and Italy “is like returning people to hell.”

Amid the growing anti-immigrant calls, Minetti said: "Social and democratic stability in Italy would have been jeopardized if the government did not curb the flow of asylum seekers.”

In an open letter to the European Union last week, Doctors without Borders said that people who are no longer allowed to seek a better life in Europe face rape, torture and slavery in Libya.

"That's what we're showing in the film," said Segre.

The director filmed life in camps run by militias in Libya, with brutal guards, random beatings and scattered bodies.

The Italian director said: "We have in our hearts thousands of people who may not die at sea, but they live in devastating slavery. There is also no real prospect of alleviating their ordeal.”

He also doubted that the United Nations had ever secured assistance, as suggested by Italian authorities.

Segre said all the secret agents he met before filming told him that the only way to do their job was to never think about the human aspect of their actions.

“For them, rule number one is: you should not look at these people as people, but to deal with them as numbers.”

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Varieties

Iraqis Cover Soil with Clay to Curb Sandstorms

Excavators clear sand dunes and extract clay in the desert south of Samawah on December 21, 2025. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
Excavators clear sand dunes and extract clay in the desert south of Samawah on December 21, 2025. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
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Iraqis Cover Soil with Clay to Curb Sandstorms

Excavators clear sand dunes and extract clay in the desert south of Samawah on December 21, 2025. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
Excavators clear sand dunes and extract clay in the desert south of Samawah on December 21, 2025. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)

Deep in Iraq's southern desert, bulldozers and earthmovers spread layers of moist clay over sand dunes as part of a broader effort to fight increasingly frequent sandstorms.

Iraq has long suffered from sand and dust storms, but in recent years they have become more frequent and intense as the country falls prey to the effects of climate change.

Sand and dust storms -- driven by severe drought, rising temperatures and deforestation -- have cloaked cities and villages in an endless ochre haze, grounded flights and filled hospitals with patients suffering from breathing difficulties.

Iraqi authorities have warned that these suffocating storms will intensify further, adding urgency to address the root of the problem.

In a relatively small area between the cities of Nasiriyah and Samawah, not far from ancient Sumerian ruins, laborers are working hard to stabilize the soil by applying a layer of moist clay 20-25 centimeters thick.

The project also includes planting heat-tolerant seedlings like Prosopis and Conocarpus to further stabilize the soil.

"The main goal is to reduce the impact of transboundary dust storms, which may reach Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar," said Udai Taha Lafta from UN-Habitat, which is leading the project to combat sandstorms with Iraqi expertise.

"It is a vital area despite its small size, and will hopefully help reduce dust storms next summer," AFP quoted Lafta as saying.

A short-term objective is to shield a southern highway where many traffic accidents have occurred due to poor visibility during dust storms.

The Ministry of Environment estimates that Iraq now faces about 243 storms per year, and the frequency is expected to increase to 300 "dust days" by 2050 unless drastic mitigation measures are adopted.

In 2023, Iraqi authorities teamed up with the UN-Habitat and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development in areas that have been identified as major sources of sandstorms.

The project has been implementing several methods in three southern areas, including digging water canals and supplying electricity to pump water from the Euphrates river, preparing barren lands for vegetation.

One of the project's ultimate goals is to increase green spaces and for farmers to eventually sustain the lands after droughts and chronic water shortages have drastically reduced agricultural areas.

Qahtan al-Mhana, from the agriculture ministry, said that stabilizing the soil gives agricultural efforts in sandy areas a chance to endure.

He added that Iraq has extensive "successful" experience in combating desertification and dust storms by stabilizing sand dunes.

Since the 1970s, the country has implemented such projects, but after decades of turmoil, environmental challenges have largely fallen by the wayside.

With the severe recent impact of climate change, "work has resumed," said Najm Abed Taresh from Dhi Qar University.

"We are making slow but steady progress," Taresh said.

Varieties

'Acoustic Hazard': Noise Complaints Spark Vietnam Pickleball Wars

This photo taken on December 23, 2025, shows children playing pickleball in the playground of a residential area in Hanoi. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
This photo taken on December 23, 2025, shows children playing pickleball in the playground of a residential area in Hanoi. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
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'Acoustic Hazard': Noise Complaints Spark Vietnam Pickleball Wars

This photo taken on December 23, 2025, shows children playing pickleball in the playground of a residential area in Hanoi. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
This photo taken on December 23, 2025, shows children playing pickleball in the playground of a residential area in Hanoi. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)

The piercing pop-pop of pickleball paddles starts before sunrise and ends after midnight at dozens of newly built courts across Hanoi, as residents relish one of Vietnam's fastest-growing sports -- or rage at the noise it makes.

The initial craze saw more people in Vietnam pick up a paddle per capita than anywhere else in Asia, according to one survey.

Now unwitting spectators are yelling fault, filing noise complaints and petitions to curb playing hours that have left authorities in a pickle.

In the country's densely packed cities, courts are wedged between tight alleyways and nestled beneath high-rises, disturbing thousands of people at once.

"It drives me nuts," said Hoa Nguyen, 44, who lives with her family behind a multicourt complex in Hanoi's northeastern outskirts.

"People are playing in the middle of the night and there's nothing we can do about it," Nguyen told AFP, adding that she had filed a complaint with local authorities.

"The noise makes it impossible for me to sleep. It just keeps going pop-pop-pop."

Most noise complaints on the capital's iHanoi app stem from pickleball, according to state media, which has dubbed the sport an "acoustic hazard".

Associated noise-related issues range from unruly crowds to honking horns in overcrowded parking lots.

Lam Thanh, 50, who manages a dormitory for workers near one of Ho Chi Minh City's estimated 1,000 courts, says the cacophony is proving to be costly.

"Many tenants couldn't stand the noise and have moved elsewhere," she said.

"There's the popping sound of paddles, cheering, shouting and joking around -- it's all extremely exhausting for us."

Vietnam's pickleball boom began around two years ago, players and coaches say, well after its popularity surged in the United States and Canada.

But the country is now the sport's second-fastest-growing market in Asia after Malaysia, according to pickleball rating company DUPR.

Regional professional circuit PPA Tour Asia says more than 16 million people in Vietnam have picked up a paddle, though that figure is extrapolated from a survey of around 1,000 respondents.

Hanoi's Long Bien district, its pickleball center, has more than 100 courts, up from 54 in less than a year, according to state media.

Pickleholic Club, Victory Pickleball and Pro Pickleball Vn are all within a five-minute walk, with dozens more a short drive away.

Coach Pham Duc Trung, 37, said the sport's accessibility was key to its popularity.

"The paddle is light and the ball is light... Children can play it, and so can adults," he said.

"The sound of the ball hitting the paddle is quite appealing," he added.

Not everyone agrees.

Around the world, the plinks and pops of pickleball have spawned outrage, provoking protests and even lawsuits.

But Vietnam's widespread embrace of the sport, and its cities' rapid growth in recent decades as the economy boomed, help explain the intense frustration.

Ho Chi Minh City already ranks among the loudest cities in Asia, according to the United Nations, with noise pollution levels high enough to damage hearing.

And experts say pickleball sounds are louder and higher-pitched than tennis or badminton.

A nationwide noise ordinance is supposed to limit the din, especially late at night, but residents say the courtside clatter often goes unmuted.

Hanoi high school student Duong, 16, cannot focus on his homework.

"The sound made by this ball is very unpleasant," he said. "My mind feels blank because I cannot concentrate."

Vietnam's sports ministry did not reply to AFP's request for comment.
But pressure is building to smash the problem, with state media carrying health warnings from doctors.

"The constant bouncing of the pickleball is not only annoying but also subtly triggers stress, disrupts sleep, and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease," according to state-run VTC News website.

Ball strikes register "like the ticking of a clock against the temples", it said this month, adding many people are "haunted by the sound of popping".

Varieties

Hong Kongers Bid Farewell to 'King of Umbrellas'

Yau Yiu-wai, 73, one of the few remaining umbrella repairmen in Hong Kong, is closing his 183-year-old family-run business at the end of the year. Tommy WANG / AFP
Yau Yiu-wai, 73, one of the few remaining umbrella repairmen in Hong Kong, is closing his 183-year-old family-run business at the end of the year. Tommy WANG / AFP
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Hong Kongers Bid Farewell to 'King of Umbrellas'

Yau Yiu-wai, 73, one of the few remaining umbrella repairmen in Hong Kong, is closing his 183-year-old family-run business at the end of the year. Tommy WANG / AFP
Yau Yiu-wai, 73, one of the few remaining umbrella repairmen in Hong Kong, is closing his 183-year-old family-run business at the end of the year. Tommy WANG / AFP

Scores of residents flocked to a cramped shop in Hong Kong's old district to bid farewell to the city's "king of umbrellas", who is retiring after spending decades repairing umbrellas at his family business.

Established in 1842 during the Qing Dynasty, the Sun Rise Company was founded by the Yau family in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

Current proprietor Yau Yiu-wai, 73, announced earlier this month that his 183-year-old family business would close its doors at year's end.

The family-run shop has been passed down through five generations, but due to shifting consumer habits towards online shopping and his advancing age, it has to cease operations, Yau told AFP on Friday.

"We've upheld our family's reputation, and this legacy has come down to me... It truly pains me to end it," Yau said. "I'm sorry to my ancestors."

After enduring wartime turmoil, the shop relocated to Hong Kong, eventually finding its place amid the bustling meat and vegetable vendors in Sham Shui Po district.

"(Today's) wheel of time rolled over me and crushed me beneath its weight," Yau said.

News of the closure spread across social media, with one user calling it "another loss of a wonderful community business".

"He genuinely cared about selling customers a good, practical umbrella," student Niki Lum told AFP, referring to Yau.

"I could tell he put his heart into running this shop," said the 20-year-old.

Resident Peter Tam, 60, said witnessing the disappearance of these classic shops felt like the end of an era.

"It's such a pity... These are all pieces of history," he said. "And we ourselves are becoming history too."

While most retailers rely on customers replacing damaged umbrellas with new ones, Yau said he aims for durability.

"This is for environmental protection. It's a social responsibility."

Those who brought umbrellas for repair included couples hoping to mend their relationships and married couples who had used umbrellas as tokens of affection.

Yau said fewer than five repairmen like him remain in Hong Kong practicing this "barely profitable" umbrella trade.

But now, Yau said he has no choice but to end the service he took pride in.

"I'm getting old. You have to forgive me, I just can't carry on any more," he said, adding he had suffered a stroke several years ago.

"The most important thing for you is to stay smart... and learn to be eco-friendly," he added.