The deadly shipwreck off Lampedusa in Italy which killed 110 people and left hundreds missing is all too common. Lampedusa is the closest Italian island to Africa, the first point of entry to Europe, and so has become a destination for tens of thousands of refugees seeking to enter European Union countries to start a better life. The number of deaths, although seldom on the scale seen on the island of Lampedusa on Thursday, is the latest in the hundreds of incidents of lives being lost at sea in a voyage of desperation. Had they arrived safely on shore, these passengers from Eritrea, Somalia and Ghana, probably with no papers, and whose sole goal was to feed and shelter themselves and their families, would probably have spent a day or a week on Lampedusa before moving to another city on the mainland. But they never made it. Boats carrying migrants often are in peril. Migrants are often sent to sea in overcrowded vessels without the engine power to make a one or two-day dangerous journey. That weather conditions on Thursday were not significant enough to be likely to sink a boat attests to the flimsiness of these rickety vessels. There is a rising global phenomenon of migrants and people fleeing conflict or persecution and perishing at sea in boats that are barely seaworthy. Furious demands are being made for an end to the dangerous trafficking of people, across the Mediterranean in particular. But it is hard to curb the flow with so many people desperate for a chance to make a new life in Europe, and with traffickers in so many ports ready to take their money. Without the necessary paperwork, the only way for migrants to get to Europe is to put themselves and their lives in the hands of criminal gangs. More must be done to prevent further loss of life. This is not just an Italian problem but one that affects all of Europe. Both Italy and the European Union must do more to safeguard the thousands who risk their lives each year in the hope of protection or a better life. It is not enough to increase search-and-rescue missions in the Mediterranean Sea for that is an after-the-fact mission. There must be effective alternatives so people do not risk their lives trying to make perilous journeys by sea. In recent years, the Italian Coast Guard has been involved in the rescue of more than 30,000 refugees around the island. It is a noble mission. However, instead of rescuing people right and left, the world should help prevent such people from putting themselves in a position in which they have to be rescued. This means providing them with their rights, such as basic living conditions. So instead of trying to make sure that migrants are being tracked by satellite phones to prevent them from coming to harm, it would be infinitely better if migrants were not forced to make such trips in the first place. The Lampedusa vessel sank near Rabbit Beach, recently voted one of the best beaches in the world. But the migrants were not going on holiday; they went to seek a better life, but paid with their lives. It used to be the Canary Islands that were the target of migrants, after which the pressure moved to the central Mediterranean, then Greece, and then with the Arab Spring, it moved back to Italy. The destinations were different but the reasons for the trips are the same, and in so many cases, the results, too, are tragically similar.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Oct 2013 06:26:51 +0000
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