Migrant crisis

Published May 31, 2016

AS another summer gets under way, disaster looms large on the southern Mediterranean with terrified people hanging onto flimsy boats capsizing in the sea’s azure waters. Last week, more than 700 people from three migrant ships drowned while trying to reach Europe. Termed a ‘massacre’ by rescuers, the UNHCR describes this as one of the deadliest weeks in the Mediterranean since April 2015. Clearly, this indicates that Europe’s migration crisis has taken a turn for the worse. The latest drownings, that push the death toll to 2,000 this year, underscores the increase in human trafficking along the North African coastline. It also reiterates Europe’s failure to clamp down on traffickers despite an EU anti-smuggling naval mission patrolling the seas. Besides, closing European land routes by throwing up razor-wire fences in a display of collective panic leaves illegal sea journeys as the only option for migrants — 41,000 have been rescued at sea since the start of this year.

The recent disaster also points to the EU’s failure to allocate collective resources to concentrated search-and-rescue operations — rescue operations are only being undertaken by humanitarian missions and Italian coastguard and navy ships. The next few months are critical with the summer weather facilitating profit-seeking traffickers focused on dangerous sea routes from Libya to Italy. Attempts to deter migrants from reaching Europe, such as the EU-Turkey pact, also raise questions of whether Syrians and Iraqis can still use land routes given that Europe’s borders have been fortified. The possibility of being forced to take sea routes (via Libya) — as previously attempted — will increase the probability of drowning incidents, especially in warmer weather, when migrants are most likely travel. Workable solutions to the refugee crisis include an EU agreement on sharing the migrant burden and beyond the meagre number of refugees wealthy countries have pledged to resettle. Presently, the resettlement quota of European countries is unequal in the light of resources and space each state can provide. Also, European nations must be reminded of their pledge to help countries neighbouring Syria that house refugees under great economic stress. Providing war-weary populations (and other asylum seekers) a realistic chance of a better future in the long term will surely require negotiated political settlements to the conflicts and issues in their respective countries. But, in the meantime, shutting borders to keep migrants out will not stop desperate people when the danger at home exceeds their fear of death at sea.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2016

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