Humanitarianism: Saving People From Themselves

"This could be the second deadliest shipwreck we have ever recorded after the tragic shipwreck of April, 2015 en route to Italy."

"[Timely maritime search and rescues are] a legal and humanitarian imperative, [there is a dire need for] urgent and decisive action to prevent further deaths at sea."

UN Missing Migrants Project, Migration and Refugee agencies

"The Greek government had specific responsibilities toward every passenger on the vessel, which was clearly in distress."

"This is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions, all the more so because it was entirely preventable."

Adriana Tidona, Amnesty International

"I feel great pain at the death of the migrants, including many children, in the shipwreck."

"We must do everything possible so that migrants fleeing war and poverty do not meet death while seeking a future of hope."

Pope Francis

"Let's be clear. this is not a Greek problem. This is a European problem."

"I think it's time for Europe to be able, in solidarity, to define an effective migration policy for these kinds of situations not to happen again."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

Photo: Greek Coast Guard

 

Greece has been overrun with migrants chancing a Mediterranean crossing to bring themselves to Europe. Italy has been overrun with migrants; the routes proximate and the destinations similar; not necessarily to remain in either Greece or Italy, but to enter Europe with the intention of moving on elsewhere, wherever future prospects appear most feasible in terms of personal advancement. It is telling that most of the migrants who chance these crossings are often young, single males. 

In the events where families are part of the gamble of arriving safely, and children are involved, heart strings are pulled. And considering the number of tragic events that take place year after year, it can only be reasonably assumed that mature adults with dependent children feel little other option available to them as a result of dire poverty or endemic crime or civil war -- but to take such enormous risks.

The most recent migrant ship -- a fishing trawler -- to set off packed with migrants from the Greater Middle East was disastrously overloaded, carrying up to 700 passengers who had paid handsomely in thousands of dollars for each individual to smugglers who convince them that the journey will be made and they will reach entry to Europe, as desired. Paying hefty sums for illegal actions hardly reflects dire poverty. Foolhardly can hardly describe people deciding to embark on such a voyage where conditions were so dire there was no room to move.

500 people are missing after the Wednesday sinking. Just over 100 people were picked up from the sea and rescued by an assortment of boats. The sinking off the south coast of Greece was utterly catastrophic. The Greek coast guard has defended its response to the ship's passage even as criticism mounts over the European failure to design a comprehensive migration and asylum policy. Bearing in mind the  wholesale numbers of migrants that have inundated Europe over the past number of years.

A helicopter and patrol boats remained deployed to scourge the area of the Mediterranean where the fishing vessel capsized and sank. Up to 500 passengers are now assumed to have have drowned as the trawler sank on its route from Libya to Italy, according to the Organization for Migration. The Greek coast guard has committed to extending search and rescue beyond the standard 72 hours. Rescuers had taken 104 survivors from the water in total, with 78 bodies recovered.

According to the Coast Guard, they had made contact with the trawler's crew who had absolutely refused their offers of assistance. Other ships in the area had offered assistance such as food and water. According to Greek officials, the ship appeared to have lost power; something seemed to have affected the passengers causing panic -- speculation being that the ship was put off-balance by people moving to one side, causing the boat to list and roll over.

 

Most of the passengers are reported to have been single men. Mostly from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Do these adults making these decisions bear no responsibility themselves for the outcome of their decision-making? Do their countries of origin have no responsibility for their citizens? The European countries that have so far taken in hundreds of thousands of migrants find themselves coping with situations of people with a heritage, a culture, a religion and values different from their own, unamenable to integration.

This picture of the fishing boat in the hours before it sank was released by the coastguard on Thursday  Greek Coast Guard