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  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: The Syrian passport belonging to Victim #22 of the August 24th shipwreck is seen here in the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: The personal belongings of Victim #22 of the August 24th shipwreck are seen here in the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: An envelope containing the personal belongings of Victim #22 of the August 24th shipwreck is seen here in the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 21 SEPTEMBER 2016: Folders containing investigation files, including the identification of the 24 victims of the August 24th shipwreck, are seen herein the office of Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the shipwreck, in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 21st 2016.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160921_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 21 SEPTEMBER 2016: Folders containing investigation files, including the identification of the 24 victims of the August 24th shipwreck, are seen herein the office of Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the shipwreck, in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 21st 2016.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160921_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 21 SEPTEMBER 2016: The two folders containing the files of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck compiled by Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the shipwreck in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 21st 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160921_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: A cell phone belonging to Victim #13 of the August 24th shipwreck is seen here in the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: An envelope containing the personal belongings of Victim #13 of the August 24th shipwreck is seen here in the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: A ring belonging to Victim #22 of the August 24th shipwreck is seen here in the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: Prayer beads belonging to Victim #22 of the August 24th shipwreck are seen here in the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: A flight boarding pass belonging to Victim #22 of the August 24th shipwreck is seen here in the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 21 SEPTEMBER 2016: A folder containing the files of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck compiled by Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the shipwreck in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 21st 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160921_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 21 SEPTEMBER 2016: A folder containing the files of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck compiled by Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the shipwreck in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 21st 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160921_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 21 SEPTEMBER 2016: The file for Victim #1 of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck compiled by Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the shipwreck in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 21st 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160921_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: A small palm-size Quran belonging to Victim #22 of the August 24th shipwreck is seen here in the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: A ring belonging to Victim #22 of the August 24th shipwreck is seen here in the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016:  A bracelet belonging to Victim #22 of the August 24th shipwreck is seen here in the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 21 SEPTEMBER 2016: Folders containing investigation files, including the identification of the 24 victims of the August 24th shipwreck, are seen herein the office of Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the shipwreck, in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 21st 2016.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160921_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 21 SEPTEMBER 2016: The file for Victim #20 of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck compiled by Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the shipwreck in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 21st 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160921_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 21 SEPTEMBER 2016: Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym), shuffles through the files of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck for which he was assigned to identify 24 victims, in his office here in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 21st 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Milazzo asked the public prosecutor for permission to open a Facebook profile under the name “SIRIA-GICIC.”  Relying on the descriptions of the bodies contained in the forensic reports, the photos taken on board the rescue ships and during the examinations, and on the collection of personal items that were found along with the corpses, he would work backwards from these slivers to try to arrive at the living people who once animated the now anonymous cadavers. Facebook, he hoped, would help him get the information he needed from the families of the missing to identify the bodies and allow him to inform their relatives of the death.<br />
<br />
The SIRIA-GICIC profile page on Facebook was created on October 10th, 2014, nearly two months after the shipwreck. At the time, 18 of the 24 bodies were still unidentified. Within a few months, Angelo Milazzo was able to identify all 24 bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are mo
    CIPG_20160921_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • PALERMO ITALY - 7 NOVEMBER 2016: A handwritten reproduction of the report of police officer Angelo Milazzo on the identification process for Musaab Shabani (in picture), a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, is seen here in Palermo, Italy, on November 7th 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161227_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 9 NOVEMBER 2016:  Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Siracusa, Italy, on November 9th 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Milazzo asked the public prosecutor for permission to open a Facebook profile under the name “SIRIA-GICIC.”  Relying on the descriptions of the bodies contained in the forensic reports, the photos taken on board the rescue ships and during the examinations, and on the collection of personal items that were found along with the corpses, he would work backwards from these slivers to try to arrive at the living people who once animated the now anonymous cadavers. Facebook, he hoped, would help him get the information he needed from the families of the missing to identify the bodies and allow him to inform their relatives of the death.<br />
<br />
The SIRIA-GICIC profile page on Facebook was created on October 10th, 2014, nearly two months after the shipwreck. At the time, 18 of the 24 bodies were still unidentified. Within a few months, Angelo Milazzo was able to identify all 24 bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migran
    CIPG_20161109_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 9 NOVEMBER 2016:  Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Siracusa, Italy, on November 9th 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Milazzo asked the public prosecutor for permission to open a Facebook profile under the name “SIRIA-GICIC.”  Relying on the descriptions of the bodies contained in the forensic reports, the photos taken on board the rescue ships and during the examinations, and on the collection of personal items that were found along with the corpses, he would work backwards from these slivers to try to arrive at the living people who once animated the now anonymous cadavers. Facebook, he hoped, would help him get the information he needed from the families of the missing to identify the bodies and allow him to inform their relatives of the death.<br />
<br />
The SIRIA-GICIC profile page on Facebook was created on October 10th, 2014, nearly two months after the shipwreck. At the time, 18 of the 24 bodies were still unidentified. Within a few months, Angelo Milazzo was able to identify all 24 bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migran
    CIPG_20161109_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SORTINO, ITALY - 9 NOVEMBER 2016: The new gravestone of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, is seen here in the cemetery of Sortino after replaceing the anonymous gravestone marked with the number "9", in Sortino, Italy, on November 9th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161109_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 8 NOVEMBER 2016: The new gravestone of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, is seen here after being freshly cut, engraved and painted here at the Gibilisco marble-worker's workshop in Siracusa, Italy, on November 8th 2016. It will replace the anonymous gravestone marked with the number "9" in the cemetery of Sortino.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies invol
    CIPG_20161108_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 8 NOVEMBER 2016: Raffaele Gibilisco (35)  cuts the marble that will be used for the gravestone of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, here at the Gibilisco marble-worker's workshop in Siracusa, Italy, on November 8th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161108_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 8 NOVEMBER 2016: Raffaele Gibilisco (35)  cuts the marble that will be used for the gravestone of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, here at the Gibilisco marble-worker's workshop in Siracusa, Italy, on November 8th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161108_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 8 NOVEMBER 2016: The digital file that will be used by the pantograph that will engrave the name of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, into his gravestone, is displayed here on the monitor of the Gibilisco marble-worker's workshop in Siracusa, Italy, on November 8th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161108_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 8 NOVEMBER 2016: Roberto Gibilisco (60)  measures the marble that will be used for the gravestone of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, here at the Gibilisco marble-worker's workshop in Siracusa, Italy, on November 8th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161108_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 8 NOVEMBER 2016: Roberto Gibilisco (60)  cuts the marble that will be used for the gravestone of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, here at the Gibilisco marble-worker's workshop in Siracusa, Italy, on November 8th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161108_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 8 NOVEMBER 2016: Raffaele Gibilisco (35)  cuts the marble that will be used for the gravestone of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, here at the Gibilisco marble-worker's workshop in Siracusa, Italy, on November 8th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161108_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 8 NOVEMBER 2016: Claudia Gibilisco (27) designs the digital file that will be used by the pantograph that will engrave the name of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, into his gravestone, here at the Gibilisco marble-worker's workshop in Siracusa, Italy, on November 8th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161108_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • ISTANBUL, TURKEY - 28 SEPTEMBER 2016: Abd Shabani (23), a Syrian refugee and brother of Musaab Shabani (a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea), poses for a portrait in front of the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 28th 2016.<br />
<br />
When Musaab Shababi left for Europe, Abd chose to stay behind in Turkey, where the brothers had sought refuge after the uprising against Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad began. Two days after the boat that was supposed to carry Musaab Shabani to Italy sank, his brother Abd started to worry. The last time he heard anything from Musaab was on the night that he set out. After the smugglers informed him it was time to leave, Musaab had sent Abd one last text. “I have just one favor to ask you,” it read. “If anything happens to me… you take care of [my son].” <br />
<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between th
    CIPG_20160928_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • ISTANBUL, TURKEY - 28 SEPTEMBER 2016: Abd Shabani (23), a Syrian refugee and brother of Musaab Shabani (a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea), poses for a portrait in front of the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 28th 2016.<br />
<br />
When Musaab Shababi left for Europe, Abd chose to stay behind in Turkey, where the brothers had sought refuge after the uprising against Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad began. Two days after the boat that was supposed to carry Musaab Shabani to Italy sank, his brother Abd started to worry. The last time he heard anything from Musaab was on the night that he set out. After the smugglers informed him it was time to leave, Musaab had sent Abd one last text. “I have just one favor to ask you,” it read. “If anything happens to me… you take care of [my son].” <br />
<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between th
    CIPG_20160928_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • ISTANBUL, TURKEY - 28 SEPTEMBER 2016: Abd Shabani (23), a Syrian refugee and brother of Musaab Shabani (a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea), poses for a portrait in front of the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 28th 2016.<br />
<br />
When Musaab Shababi left for Europe, Abd chose to stay behind in Turkey, where the brothers had sought refuge after the uprising against Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad began. Two days after the boat that was supposed to carry Musaab Shabani to Italy sank, his brother Abd started to worry. The last time he heard anything from Musaab was on the night that he set out. After the smugglers informed him it was time to leave, Musaab had sent Abd one last text. “I have just one favor to ask you,” it read. “If anything happens to me… you take care of [my son].” <br />
<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between th
    CIPG_20160928_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • ISTANBUL, TURKEY - 28 SEPTEMBER 2016: Abd Shabani (23), a Syrian refugee and brother of Musaab Shabani (a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea), poses for a portrait in the Grand Bazaar, where he currently works, in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 28th 2016.<br />
<br />
When Musaab Shababi left for Europe, Abd chose to stay behind in Turkey, where the brothers had sought refuge after the uprising against Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad began. Two days after the boat that was supposed to carry Musaab Shabani to Italy sank, his brother Abd started to worry. The last time he heard anything from Musaab was on the night that he set out. After the smugglers informed him it was time to leave, Musaab had sent Abd one last text. “I have just one favor to ask you,” it read. “If anything happens to me… you take care of [my son].” <br />
<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination
    CIPG_20160928_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • ISTANBUL, TURKEY - 28 SEPTEMBER 2016: Abd Shabani (23), a Syrian refugee and brother of Musaab Shabani (a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea), poses for a portrait in the Grand Bazaar, where he currently works, in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 28th 2016.<br />
<br />
When Musaab Shababi left for Europe, Abd chose to stay behind in Turkey, where the brothers had sought refuge after the uprising against Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad began. Two days after the boat that was supposed to carry Musaab Shabani to Italy sank, his brother Abd started to worry. The last time he heard anything from Musaab was on the night that he set out. After the smugglers informed him it was time to leave, Musaab had sent Abd one last text. “I have just one favor to ask you,” it read. “If anything happens to me… you take care of [my son].” <br />
<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination
    CIPG_20160928_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 23 SEPTEMBER 2016: Marina Mina (40), a transator of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) that worked with policeman Angelo Milazzo in the identification process of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Siracusa, Italy, on September 23rd 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160923_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: (L-R) Carlo Parini, head of the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym), works at his desk in the G.I.C.I.C. office in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: (L-R) Carlo Parini, head of the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym), poses for a portrait behind his desk in the G.I.C.I.C. office in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: Folders and files of investigations related to illegal landing of migrant boats in Sicily from 2011 to 2016 are stored here in the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: Folders and files of investigations related to illegal landing of migrant boats in Sicily from 2011 to 2016 are stored here in the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: Shelving units, boxes, folders and maps can been from the windows of the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: A policeman works in the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 21 SEPTEMBER 2016: Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym), shuffles through the files of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck for which he was assigned to identify 24 victims, in his office here in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 21st 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Milazzo asked the public prosecutor for permission to open a Facebook profile under the name “SIRIA-GICIC.”  Relying on the descriptions of the bodies contained in the forensic reports, the photos taken on board the rescue ships and during the examinations, and on the collection of personal items that were found along with the corpses, he would work backwards from these slivers to try to arrive at the living people who once animated the now anonymous cadavers. Facebook, he hoped, would help him get the information he needed from the families of the missing to identify the bodies and allow him to inform their relatives of the death.<br />
<br />
The SIRIA-GICIC profile page on Facebook was created on October 10th, 2014, nearly two months after the shipwreck. At the time, 18 of the 24 bodies were still unidentified. Within a few months, Angelo Milazzo was able to identify all 24 bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are mo
    CIPG_20160921_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 21 SEPTEMBER 2016: Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym), shuffles through the files of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck for which he was assigned to identify 24 victims, in his office here in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 21st 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Milazzo asked the public prosecutor for permission to open a Facebook profile under the name “SIRIA-GICIC.”  Relying on the descriptions of the bodies contained in the forensic reports, the photos taken on board the rescue ships and during the examinations, and on the collection of personal items that were found along with the corpses, he would work backwards from these slivers to try to arrive at the living people who once animated the now anonymous cadavers. Facebook, he hoped, would help him get the information he needed from the families of the missing to identify the bodies and allow him to inform their relatives of the death.<br />
<br />
The SIRIA-GICIC profile page on Facebook was created on October 10th, 2014, nearly two months after the shipwreck. At the time, 18 of the 24 bodies were still unidentified. Within a few months, Angelo Milazzo was able to identify all 24 bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are mo
    CIPG_20160921_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 21 SEPTEMBER 2016: Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym), shuffles through the files of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck for which he was assigned to identify 24 victims, in his office here in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 21st 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Milazzo asked the public prosecutor for permission to open a Facebook profile under the name “SIRIA-GICIC.”  Relying on the descriptions of the bodies contained in the forensic reports, the photos taken on board the rescue ships and during the examinations, and on the collection of personal items that were found along with the corpses, he would work backwards from these slivers to try to arrive at the living people who once animated the now anonymous cadavers. Facebook, he hoped, would help him get the information he needed from the families of the missing to identify the bodies and allow him to inform their relatives of the death.<br />
<br />
The SIRIA-GICIC profile page on Facebook was created on October 10th, 2014, nearly two months after the shipwreck. At the time, 18 of the 24 bodies were still unidentified. Within a few months, Angelo Milazzo was able to identify all 24 bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are mo
    CIPG_20160921_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: Folders and files of investigations related to illegal landing of migrant boats in Sicily from 2011 to 2016 are stored here in the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • PALERMO ITALY - 7 NOVEMBER 2016: A photographs of the Facebook profile picture of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, are seen here in Palermo, Italy, on November 7th 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161226_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • PALERMO ITALY - 7 NOVEMBER 2016: Photographs of the Facebook profile pictures of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, are seen here in Palermo, Italy, on November 7th 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161226_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • PALERMO ITALY - 7 NOVEMBER 2016: Photographs of the Facebook profile pictures of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, are seen here in Palermo, Italy, on November 7th 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161226_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • PALERMO ITALY - 7 NOVEMBER 2016: A projection on water of the Facebook profile picture of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, is seen here in Palermo, Italy, on November 7th 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161214_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 9 NOVEMBER 2016:  Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Siracusa, Italy, on November 9th 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Milazzo asked the public prosecutor for permission to open a Facebook profile under the name “SIRIA-GICIC.”  Relying on the descriptions of the bodies contained in the forensic reports, the photos taken on board the rescue ships and during the examinations, and on the collection of personal items that were found along with the corpses, he would work backwards from these slivers to try to arrive at the living people who once animated the now anonymous cadavers. Facebook, he hoped, would help him get the information he needed from the families of the missing to identify the bodies and allow him to inform their relatives of the death.<br />
<br />
The SIRIA-GICIC profile page on Facebook was created on October 10th, 2014, nearly two months after the shipwreck. At the time, 18 of the 24 bodies were still unidentified. Within a few months, Angelo Milazzo was able to identify all 24 bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migran
    CIPG_20161109_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SORTINO, ITALY - 9 NOVEMBER 2016: The  gravestone of Musaab Shabani (Victim #9), a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, is seen here in the cemetery of Sortino after being replaced by a new gravestone bearing the victim's name in Sortino, Italy, on November 9th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161109_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SORTINO, ITALY - 9 NOVEMBER 2016: The new gravestone of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, is seen here in the cemetery of Sortino after replaceing the anonymous gravestone marked with the number "9", in Sortino, Italy, on November 9th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161109_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SORTINO, ITALY - 9 NOVEMBER 2016: The new gravestone of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, is seen here in the cemetery of Sortino after replaceing the anonymous gravestone marked with the number "9", in Sortino, Italy, on November 9th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161109_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SORTINO, ITALY - 9 NOVEMBER 2016: The new gravestone of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, is seen here in the cemetery of Sortino after replaceing the anonymous gravestone marked with the number "9", in Sortino, Italy, on November 9th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161109_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SORTINO, ITALY - 9 NOVEMBER 2016: The new gravestone of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, is seen here in the cemetery of Sortino after replaceing the anonymous gravestone marked with the number "9", in Sortino, Italy, on November 9th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161109_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SORTINO, ITALY - 9 NOVEMBER 2016: The new gravestone of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, is seen here in the cemetery of Sortino after replaceing the anonymous gravestone marked with the number "9", in Sortino, Italy, on November 9th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161109_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 8 NOVEMBER 2016: The new gravestone of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, is seen here after being freshly cut, engraved and painted here at the Gibilisco marble-worker's workshop in Siracusa, Italy, on November 8th 2016. It will replace the anonymous gravestone marked with the number "9" in the cemetery of Sortino.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies invol
    CIPG_20161108_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 8 NOVEMBER 2016: A pantograph engraves the name of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, on his new gravestone here at the Gibilisco marble-worker's workshop in Siracusa, Italy, on November 8th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161108_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 8 NOVEMBER 2016: Roberto Gibilisco (60)  prepares the marble that will be engraved by a pantograph for the gravestone of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, here at the Gibilisco marble-worker's workshop in Siracusa, Italy, on November 8th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161108_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 8 NOVEMBER 2016: Roberto Gibilisco (60)  cuts the marble that will be used for the gravestone of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, here at the Gibilisco marble-worker's workshop in Siracusa, Italy, on November 8th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161108_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 8 NOVEMBER 2016: Raffaele Gibilisco (35)  cuts the marble that will be used for the gravestone of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, here at the Gibilisco marble-worker's workshop in Siracusa, Italy, on November 8th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161108_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 8 NOVEMBER 2016: Claudia Gibilisco (27) designs the digital file that will be used by the pantograph that will engrave the name of Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, into his gravestone, here at the Gibilisco marble-worker's workshop in Siracusa, Italy, on November 8th 2016.<br />
<br />
Musaab Shabani was buried in the cemetery of Sortino, marked by a gravestone with the number nine because at the time he hadn't been identified yet. He was later identified by his brother Abd thanks to the efforts of policeman Angelo Milazzo. Since then, Abd has arranged to have a gravestone made bearing his brother’s name and date and place of birth as well as a religious inscription in Arabic, bringing a final bit of closure to this tragic chapter. <br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20161108_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • ISTANBUL, TURKEY - 28 SEPTEMBER 2016: Abd Shabani (23), a Syrian refugee and brother of Musaab Shabani (a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea), poses for a portrait in front of the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 28th 2016.<br />
<br />
When Musaab Shababi left for Europe, Abd chose to stay behind in Turkey, where the brothers had sought refuge after the uprising against Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad began. Two days after the boat that was supposed to carry Musaab Shabani to Italy sank, his brother Abd started to worry. The last time he heard anything from Musaab was on the night that he set out. After the smugglers informed him it was time to leave, Musaab had sent Abd one last text. “I have just one favor to ask you,” it read. “If anything happens to me… you take care of [my son].” <br />
<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between th
    CIPG_20160928_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • ISTANBUL, TURKEY - 28 SEPTEMBER 2016: Abd Shabani (23), a Syrian refugee and brother of Musaab Shabani (a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea), poses for a portrait in front of the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 28th 2016.<br />
<br />
When Musaab Shababi left for Europe, Abd chose to stay behind in Turkey, where the brothers had sought refuge after the uprising against Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad began. Two days after the boat that was supposed to carry Musaab Shabani to Italy sank, his brother Abd started to worry. The last time he heard anything from Musaab was on the night that he set out. After the smugglers informed him it was time to leave, Musaab had sent Abd one last text. “I have just one favor to ask you,” it read. “If anything happens to me… you take care of [my son].” <br />
<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between th
    CIPG_20160928_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • ISTANBUL, TURKEY - 28 SEPTEMBER 2016: Abd Shabani (23), a Syrian refugee and brother of Musaab Shabani (a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea), poses for a portrait in front of the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 28th 2016.<br />
<br />
When Musaab Shababi left for Europe, Abd chose to stay behind in Turkey, where the brothers had sought refuge after the uprising against Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad began. Two days after the boat that was supposed to carry Musaab Shabani to Italy sank, his brother Abd started to worry. The last time he heard anything from Musaab was on the night that he set out. After the smugglers informed him it was time to leave, Musaab had sent Abd one last text. “I have just one favor to ask you,” it read. “If anything happens to me… you take care of [my son].” <br />
<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between th
    CIPG_20160928_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • ISTANBUL, TURKEY - 28 SEPTEMBER 2016: Abd Shabani (23), a Syrian refugee and brother of Musaab Shabani (a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea), poses for a portrait in front of the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 28th 2016.<br />
<br />
When Musaab Shababi left for Europe, Abd chose to stay behind in Turkey, where the brothers had sought refuge after the uprising against Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad began. Two days after the boat that was supposed to carry Musaab Shabani to Italy sank, his brother Abd started to worry. The last time he heard anything from Musaab was on the night that he set out. After the smugglers informed him it was time to leave, Musaab had sent Abd one last text. “I have just one favor to ask you,” it read. “If anything happens to me… you take care of [my son].” <br />
<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between th
    CIPG_20160928_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • ISTANBUL, TURKEY - 28 SEPTEMBER 2016: Abd Shabani (23), a Syrian refugee and brother of Musaab Shabani (a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea), poses for a portrait in front of the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 28th 2016.<br />
<br />
When Musaab Shababi left for Europe, Abd chose to stay behind in Turkey, where the brothers had sought refuge after the uprising against Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad began. Two days after the boat that was supposed to carry Musaab Shabani to Italy sank, his brother Abd started to worry. The last time he heard anything from Musaab was on the night that he set out. After the smugglers informed him it was time to leave, Musaab had sent Abd one last text. “I have just one favor to ask you,” it read. “If anything happens to me… you take care of [my son].” <br />
<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between th
    CIPG_20160928_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • PALERMO, ITALY - 26 SEPTEMBER 2016: Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Palermo, Italy, on September 26th 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Milazzo asked the public prosecutor for permission to open a Facebook profile under the name “SIRIA-GICIC.”  Relying on the descriptions of the bodies contained in the forensic reports, the photos taken on board the rescue ships and during the examinations, and on the collection of personal items that were found along with the corpses, he would work backwards from these slivers to try to arrive at the living people who once animated the now anonymous cadavers. Facebook, he hoped, would help him get the information he needed from the families of the missing to identify the bodies and allow him to inform their relatives of the death.<br />
<br />
The SIRIA-GICIC profile page on Facebook was created on October 10th, 2014, nearly two months after the shipwreck. At the time, 18 of the 24 bodies were still unidentified. Within a few months, Angelo Milazzo was able to identify all 24 bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migra
    CIPG_20160926_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • PALERMO, ITALY - 26 SEPTEMBER 2016: Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Palermo, Italy, on September 26th 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Milazzo asked the public prosecutor for permission to open a Facebook profile under the name “SIRIA-GICIC.”  Relying on the descriptions of the bodies contained in the forensic reports, the photos taken on board the rescue ships and during the examinations, and on the collection of personal items that were found along with the corpses, he would work backwards from these slivers to try to arrive at the living people who once animated the now anonymous cadavers. Facebook, he hoped, would help him get the information he needed from the families of the missing to identify the bodies and allow him to inform their relatives of the death.<br />
<br />
The SIRIA-GICIC profile page on Facebook was created on October 10th, 2014, nearly two months after the shipwreck. At the time, 18 of the 24 bodies were still unidentified. Within a few months, Angelo Milazzo was able to identify all 24 bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migra
    CIPG_20160926_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • PALERMO, ITALY - 26 SEPTEMBER 2016: Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Palermo, Italy, on September 26th 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Milazzo asked the public prosecutor for permission to open a Facebook profile under the name “SIRIA-GICIC.”  Relying on the descriptions of the bodies contained in the forensic reports, the photos taken on board the rescue ships and during the examinations, and on the collection of personal items that were found along with the corpses, he would work backwards from these slivers to try to arrive at the living people who once animated the now anonymous cadavers. Facebook, he hoped, would help him get the information he needed from the families of the missing to identify the bodies and allow him to inform their relatives of the death.<br />
<br />
The SIRIA-GICIC profile page on Facebook was created on October 10th, 2014, nearly two months after the shipwreck. At the time, 18 of the 24 bodies were still unidentified. Within a few months, Angelo Milazzo was able to identify all 24 bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migra
    CIPG_20160926_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • PALERMO, ITALY - 26 SEPTEMBER 2016: Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Palermo, Italy, on September 26th 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Milazzo asked the public prosecutor for permission to open a Facebook profile under the name “SIRIA-GICIC.”  Relying on the descriptions of the bodies contained in the forensic reports, the photos taken on board the rescue ships and during the examinations, and on the collection of personal items that were found along with the corpses, he would work backwards from these slivers to try to arrive at the living people who once animated the now anonymous cadavers. Facebook, he hoped, would help him get the information he needed from the families of the missing to identify the bodies and allow him to inform their relatives of the death.<br />
<br />
The SIRIA-GICIC profile page on Facebook was created on October 10th, 2014, nearly two months after the shipwreck. At the time, 18 of the 24 bodies were still unidentified. Within a few months, Angelo Milazzo was able to identify all 24 bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migra
    CIPG_20160926_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SORTINO, ITALY - 24 SEPTEMBER 2016: The numbered gravestones of unidentified victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck are seen here in the cemetery of Sortino, Italy, on September 24th 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160924_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SORTINO, ITALY - 24 SEPTEMBER 2016: The gravestone with the inscription "9" corresponding to Musaab Shabani, a victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, is seen here in the cemetery of Sortino, Italy, on September 24th 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160924_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SORTINO, ITALY - 24 SEPTEMBER 2016: The numbered gravestones of unidentified victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck are seen here in the cemetery of Sortino, Italy, on September 24th 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160924_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • MELILLI, ITALY - 24 SEPTEMBER 2016: The gravestone of an unidentified victim of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck is seen here in the cemetery of Melilli, Italy, on September 24th 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160924_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 23 SEPTEMBER 2016: Marina Mina (40), a transator of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) that worked with policeman Angelo Milazzo in the identification process of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Siracusa, Italy, on September 23rd 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160923_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 23 SEPTEMBER 2016: Marina Mina (40), a transator of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) that worked with policeman Angelo Milazzo in the identification process of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Siracusa, Italy, on September 23rd 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160923_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 23 SEPTEMBER 2016: Marina Mina (40), a transator of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) that worked with policeman Angelo Milazzo in the identification process of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Siracusa, Italy, on September 23rd 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160923_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 23 SEPTEMBER 2016: Marina Mina (40), a transator of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) that worked with policeman Angelo Milazzo in the identification process of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Siracusa, Italy, on September 23rd 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160923_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 23 SEPTEMBER 2016: Marina Mina (40), a transator of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) that worked with policeman Angelo Milazzo in the identification process of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Siracusa, Italy, on September 23rd 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160923_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 23 SEPTEMBER 2016: Marina Mina (40), a transator of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) that worked with policeman Angelo Milazzo in the identification process of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Siracusa, Italy, on September 23rd 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160923_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 23 SEPTEMBER 2016: Marina Mina (40), a transator of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) that worked with policeman Angelo Milazzo in the identification process of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Siracusa, Italy, on September 23rd 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160923_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 23 SEPTEMBER 2016: Marina Mina (40), a transator of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) that worked with policeman Angelo Milazzo in the identification process of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Siracusa, Italy, on September 23rd 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160923_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 23 SEPTEMBER 2016: Marina Mina (40), a transator of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) that worked with policeman Angelo Milazzo in the identification process of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Siracusa, Italy, on September 23rd 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160923_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 23 SEPTEMBER 2016: Marina Mina (40), a transator of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) that worked with policeman Angelo Milazzo in the identification process of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Siracusa, Italy, on September 23rd 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160923_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 23 SEPTEMBER 2016: Marina Mina (40), a transator of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) that worked with policeman Angelo Milazzo in the identification process of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in Siracusa, Italy, on September 23rd 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160923_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • PRIOLO GARGALLO, ITALY - 23 SEPTEMBER 2016: The gravestone of an unidentified migrant of the shipwreck of August 24th 2014 is seen here in the cemetery of Priolo Gargallo, Italy, on September 23rd 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160923_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: Objects such as maps, flags,  compasses and personal belongings of migrants recovered from smugglers' boats are stored here in a deposit of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: Objects such as maps, flags,  compasses and personal belongings of migrants recovered from smugglers' boats are stored here in a deposit of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: Folders and files of investigations related to illegal landing of migrant boats in Sicily from 2011 to 2016 are stored here in the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: (L-R) Carlo Parini, head of the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym), and translator Marina Mina discuss a wiretapping of a migrants smuggling ring during an investigation in their office in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck. Angelo Milazzo then hired Marina Mina, who speaks five languages including Arabic, to help him in the investigation.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: (L-R) Carlo Parini, head of the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym), and translator Marina Mina discuss a wiretapping of a migrants smuggling ring during an investigation in their office in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck. Angelo Milazzo then hired Marina Mina, who speaks five languages including Arabic, to help him in the investigation.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: (L-R) Carlo Parini, head of the office of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym), and translator Marina Mina discuss a wiretapping of a migrants smuggling ring during an investigation in their office in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br />
<br />
The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck. Angelo Milazzo then hired Marina Mina, who speaks five languages including Arabic, to help him in the investigation.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br />
<br />
Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.
    CIPG_20160922_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 21 SEPTEMBER 2016: Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, poses for a portrait in his office here in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 21st 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Milazzo asked the public prosecutor for permission to open a Facebook profile under the name “SIRIA-GICIC.”  Relying on the descriptions of the bodies contained in the forensic reports, the photos taken on board the rescue ships and during the examinations, and on the collection of personal items that were found along with the corpses, he would work backwards from these slivers to try to arrive at the living people who once animated the now anonymous cadavers. Facebook, he hoped, would help him get the information he needed from the families of the missing to identify the bodies and allow him to inform their relatives of the death.<br />
<br />
The SIRIA-GICIC profile page on Facebook was created on October 10th, 2014, nearly two months after the shipwreck. At the time, 18 of the 24 bodies were still unidentified. Within a few months, Angelo Milazzo was able to identify all 24 bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,50
    CIPG_20160921_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 21 SEPTEMBER 2016: Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, works at his computer in his office here in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 21st 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Milazzo asked the public prosecutor for permission to open a Facebook profile under the name “SIRIA-GICIC.”  Relying on the descriptions of the bodies contained in the forensic reports, the photos taken on board the rescue ships and during the examinations, and on the collection of personal items that were found along with the corpses, he would work backwards from these slivers to try to arrive at the living people who once animated the now anonymous cadavers. Facebook, he hoped, would help him get the information he needed from the families of the missing to identify the bodies and allow him to inform their relatives of the death.<br />
<br />
The SIRIA-GICIC profile page on Facebook was created on October 10th, 2014, nearly two months after the shipwreck. At the time, 18 of the 24 bodies were still unidentified. Within a few months, Angelo Milazzo was able to identify all 24 bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,5
    CIPG_20160921_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 21 SEPTEMBER 2016: Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) who was assigned to identify the 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck, works at his computer in his office here in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 21st 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Milazzo asked the public prosecutor for permission to open a Facebook profile under the name “SIRIA-GICIC.”  Relying on the descriptions of the bodies contained in the forensic reports, the photos taken on board the rescue ships and during the examinations, and on the collection of personal items that were found along with the corpses, he would work backwards from these slivers to try to arrive at the living people who once animated the now anonymous cadavers. Facebook, he hoped, would help him get the information he needed from the families of the missing to identify the bodies and allow him to inform their relatives of the death.<br />
<br />
The SIRIA-GICIC profile page on Facebook was created on October 10th, 2014, nearly two months after the shipwreck. At the time, 18 of the 24 bodies were still unidentified. Within a few months, Angelo Milazzo was able to identify all 24 bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,5
    CIPG_20160921_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
  • SIRACUSA, ITALY - 21 SEPTEMBER 2016: Angelo Milazzo (57), a local policeman in Siracusa formerly working in the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym), shuffles through the files of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck for which he was assigned to identify 24 victims, in his office here in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 21st 2016.<br />
<br />
On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br />
<br />
Milazzo asked the public prosecutor for permission to open a Facebook profile under the name “SIRIA-GICIC.”  Relying on the descriptions of the bodies contained in the forensic reports, the photos taken on board the rescue ships and during the examinations, and on the collection of personal items that were found along with the corpses, he would work backwards from these slivers to try to arrive at the living people who once animated the now anonymous cadavers. Facebook, he hoped, would help him get the information he needed from the families of the missing to identify the bodies and allow him to inform their relatives of the death.<br />
<br />
The SIRIA-GICIC profile page on Facebook was created on October 10th, 2014, nearly two months after the shipwreck. At the time, 18 of the 24 bodies were still unidentified. Within a few months, Angelo Milazzo was able to identify all 24 bodies.<br />
<br />
Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br />
<br />
Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are mo
    CIPG_20160921_WIRED_BodyIdentificati...jpg
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