THE heartrending fate of people escaping conflict, deprivation and instability across the globe is among the weightiest burdens. In the past week, according to the International Organisation for Migration, at least 60 migrants were feared dead following two shipwrecks off the Libyan coast. The first ship capsized near Tripoli with at least 21 people reported missing, including Pakistanis, Egyptians, Sudanese and Eritreans. Five survivors were rescued. Only one person survived the second tragedy off the port city of Tobruk while 39 lives were lost. The UN body’s figures are equally woeful: this year, at least 743 people perished in pursuit of their dream of a life in Europe due to the “increasingly dangerous smuggling practices, limited rescue capacity and growing restrictions on humanitarian operations”.

As Pakistan ranks fifth among countries that export refugees to Europe, its migrant fatalities could potentially hit a few hundred or more. Although it is crucial for international trafficking syndicates operating in the country to be torn down, no crackdown will succeed until we turn over a new leaf. Despite growing desperation and loss of life, influential criminals remain untouched, with pitiful conviction rates as the law that carries a seven to 14-year prison sentence for transactional trafficking in persons is hardly ever invoked. The Mediterranean is a boneyard because Europe has lost its soul. Maritime rescue organisations say that, in the last decade, over 175,000 people were pulled out of these waters. The flow of those fleeing poverty and oppression cannot be plugged without lasting stability through sustainable support as well as a sincere departure from imperial policies by Fortress Europe. Regrettably, in its present xenophobic form, Europe is far from the haven of human rights it claims to be. Migrant arrivals on the Italian coast, states the UNHCR, have risen by 15pc annually. Without compassion, these nations will struggle to stay afloat.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2025