Africa To Europe: The Endless Mediterranean Tragedy

[MOON Ki]

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It is now feared that something like 700 died last week alone trying to make the crossing.    Last year, 3500 people died.  Just like that.

Some pictures:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32314562

There needs to be less noise about "Africa Rising" and more effort going into making it a less desperate place.

[vooke]

It also offers a steady source of ISIL beheadees

It is now feared that something like 700 died last week alone trying to make the crossing.    Last year, 3500 people died.  Just like that.

Some pictures:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32314562

There needs to be less noise about "Africa Rising" and more effort going into making it a less desperate place.

[MOON Ki]

[jakoyo]

What do the Italians do with all these dead bodies ?

[vooke]

Bury them

What do the Italians do with all these dead bodies ?

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

Gruesome.  Their plans did not quite pan out as planned.  Drowning was not in their plan. 

Someone is responsible for this trafficking.  My hunch is the culprit is sitting pretty, and wont be held to account, somewhere on the beloved continent.

[Omollo]

Prior to this, I used to think very lowly of Italians. In my travels I gave Italy a wide berth and did not even want to transit in their airports. That came about as a result of racist incidents. At one time, the limo driver sent to pick me nearly assaulted me when I approached and tried to board. He drove off and on getting a tongue lashing tried to come back for me but I opted to take a taxi and pay for it.

But now I am seeing it in completely new light. We have Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern Europeans. Italians are Southern Europeans. It is turning out that Southern Europeans are doing something about this. Northern Europeans are heavy on do good rhetoric in line with their Western European brothers (Uk, Germany etc). The extreme right wing parties are doing very well in those countries. There is UKIP in Britain about to decide who becomes PM. In Sweden there is the New Democracy party in a position to throw out the minority Social democratic government at will. In Norway the extremists are in power with a right wing party. The French extremists just scored a landslide victory and placed their leader in line to win the Presidential elections.

All these parties get their support from fear mongering. They influenced the EU decision to reduce rescue efforts knowing that this would result in more deaths. They argued that more deaths would serve as a deterrent to would be migrants.

If that is not a Crime Against Humanity, what is?

[Kadudu]

When will the Au call a special session to discuss this tragedy?
Maybe special sessions are only there when one of the African leaders is in trouble with the Western countries.

[RV Pundit]

Right. This need thorough investigation. You can never be sure. Those Italians might have sank the boat seeing 900 African docking on their shore. The developed world has to do MORE in Africa...to stem the invetiable immigration. They can begin by genuinely helping Africans like Chinese are doing.

Prior to this, I used to think very lowly of Italians. In my travoels I gave Italy a wide berth and did not even want to transit in their airports. That came about as a result of racist incidents. At one time, the limo driver sent to pick me nearly assaulted me when I approached and tried to board. He drove off and on getting a tongue lashing tried to come back for me but I opted to take a taxi and pay for it.

But now I am seeing it in completely new light. We have Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern Europeans. Italians are Southern Europeans. It is turning out that Southern Europeans are doing something about this. Northern Europeans are heavy on do good rhetoric in line with their Western European brothers (Uk, Germany etc). The extreme right wing parties are doing very well in those countries. There is UKIP in Britain about to decide who becomes PM. In Sweden there is the New Democracy party in a position to throw out the minority Social democratic government at will. In Norway the extremists are in power with a right wing party. The French extremists just scored a landslide victory and placed their leader in line to win the Presidential elections.

All these parties get their support from fear mongering. They influenced the EU decision to reduce rescue efforts knowing that this would result in more deaths. They argued that more deaths would serve as a deterrent to would be migrants.

If that is not a Crime Against Humanity, what is?

[jakoyo]

This problem became worse after America and Libya killed Gadaffi.

America and Britain destroyed a functioning orderly govt in Libya and left a mess. ISIS is now in Libya. There are three other major rebel groups controlling Libya. They have to generate some income to sustain their civil wars. Sending desperate immigrants on their death trip to Europe is earning them a tidy some of money.
Italy had reached a breaking point and had began scaling back their rescue operations. They no longer go far into the deep sea That is why the death rates have shot up.

This problem will only get worse.

[MOON Ki]

When will the Au call a special session to discuss this tragedy?
Maybe special sessions are only there when one of the African leaders is in trouble with the Western countries.

The AU?   That's funny.    This happens every year, but how much has the AU even said about it.

The numbers this week are the largest at one go, but let's not forget that in Feb (that's just 2 months ago) around 300 people died in one go.  The AU chairperson called it a "shocking tragedy" and mumbled something about condolences.   And that was that.   

[MOON Ki]

Right. This need thorough investigation. You can never be sure. Those Italians might have sank the boat seeing 900 African docking on their shore. The developed world has to do MORE in Africa...to stem the invetiable immigration. They can begin by genuinely helping Africans like Chinese are doing.

Waiting for the developed world to do "more" or for the Chinese to "genuinely help" won't do much while people die like flies.    The routes taken by these people suggest that it is largely a human-trafficking problem in Africa; some even start in Nairobi!     So the first & immediate change that is required is for some people in Africa to decide that they are tired of their people dying and that they will deal with human traffickers.   

[RV Pundit]

Nope. Africa have too much problems to grapple it.The developed world have the moral obligation and resources to do more.They can do that by using Interpol if need be to track the human traffickers.

Europeans have to rescue those people by watching the sea.....in either side of the shore.

They cannot refuse to rescue people ostensibly because they'll end up in Italy or Europe.

Kenya host 450K refugees...Italy can build a refugee camp by that shore.

Waiting for the developed world to do "more" or for the Chinese to "genuinely help" won't do much while people die like flies.    The routes taken by these people suggest that it is largely a human-trafficking problem in Africa; some even start in Nairobi!     So the first & immediate change that is required is for some people in Africa to decide that they are tired of their people dying and that they will deal with human traffickers.   

[vooke]

I support EU; let them die. Detain them like animals once they land there. The cost of the illegal immigration MUST be made so high so negroes stop attempting. Accommodating them will just encourage them.

This is just like hawkers in Nairobi...they are victims of poverty, corruption, bad education bla de bla....so let them hawk and turn the streets into toilets. On the other hand you need sanity, order and encouraging them just exacerbates it. They rioted over a clear road reserve in Ngara, pelted motorists.  Finally some live bullets and a few funerals later injected some sanity.....let the immigrants die

We expect too much from bazungu honestly.

Nope. Africa have too much problems to grapple it.The developed world have the moral obligation and resources to do more.They can do that by using Interpol if need be to track the human traffickers.

Europeans have to rescue those people by watching the sea.....in either side of the shore.

They cannot refuse to rescue people ostensibly because they'll end up in Italy or Europe.

Kenya host 450K refugees...Italy can build a refugee camp by that shore.

[MOON Ki]

Nope. Africa have too much problems to grapple it.The developed world have the moral obligation and resources to do more.They can do that by using Interpol if need be to track the human traffickers.

Europeans have to rescue those people by watching the sea.....in either side of the shore.

They cannot refuse to rescue people ostensibly because they'll end up in Italy or Europe.

Kenya host 450K refugees...Italy can build a refugee camp by that shore.

I think you misunderstand my point.   So let me do respond in easy steps:

(1) Yes, let us agree they have a moral obligation to help and they have the resources to do more.   But that does not mean that they will do so---the mere assertion of moral obligation does not automatically translate into action--and in the meantime people continue to die in that sea.   That is the immediate problem that needs to be addressed; and that can be done even while the wailing about moral obligations continues at top volume.

(2) It is strange to say they cannot refuse to rescue people.   They can, and the proof of it is that they sometimes have.

(3) A refugee camp is not the solution; far better to absorb them in other ways.  That is what happens with the far larger numbers that do make it across the sea.

(4) Except in bad movies, Interpol is not a police force in the conventional sense and cannot do all that is required to track down and sort out human traffickers.    The real work will have to be done by the police forces in the countries where those traffickers reside or work.

"Interpol is not a supranational law enforcement agency and has no agents who are able to make arrests. Instead, it is an international organization that functions as a network of criminal law enforcement agencies from different countries. The organization thus functions as an administrative liaison among the law enforcement agencies of the member countries, providing communications and database assistance, assisted via the central headquarters in Lyon, France."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpol

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

I support EU; let them die. Detain them like animals once they land there. The cost of the illegal immigration MUST be made so high so negroes stop attempting. Accommodating them will just encourage them.

This is just like hawkers in Nairobi...they are victims of poverty, corruption, bad education bla de bla....so let them hawk and turn the streets into toilets. On the other hand you need sanity, order and encouraging them just exacerbates it. They rioted over a clear road reserve in Ngara, pelted motorists.  Finally some live bullets and a few funerals later injected some sanity.....let the immigrants die

We expect too much from bazungu honestly.

Nope. Africa have too much problems to grapple it.The developed world have the moral obligation and resources to do more.They can do that by using Interpol if need be to track the human traffickers.

Europeans have to rescue those people by watching the sea.....in either side of the shore.

They cannot refuse to rescue people ostensibly because they'll end up in Italy or Europe.

Kenya host 450K refugees...Italy can build a refugee camp by that shore.

vooke,

Italy, Spain, EU should rescue and receive Africa's tired, poor and huddled masses.  Who do you expect to do that?

On the other hand.  The African on the beloved continent should own up and fix up. 

[MOON Ki]

Macharia Gaitho:

http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/South-Africa-Violence-Mediterranean-Migrants/-/440808/2691946/-/lmegd8z/-/index.html

[MOON Ki]

Macharia Gaitho:

http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/South-Africa-Violence-Mediterranean-Migrants/-/440808/2691946/-/lmegd8z/-/index.html

[vooke]

I expect them to scale down their rescue missions and to give the survivors a hard landing. They are not necessarily fleeing because Africa is burning but because they CAN. Make CAN hell and they will gladly rot here with us.

By receiving and rescuing them they are actively encouraging the migration.

vooke,

Italy, Spain, EU should rescue and receive Africa's tired, poor and huddled masses.  Who do you expect to do that?

On the other hand.  The African on the beloved continent should own up and fix up. 

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

I expect them to scale down their rescue missions and to give the survivors a hard landing. They are not necessarily fleeing because Africa is burning but because they CAN. Make CAN hell and they will gladly rot here with us.

By receiving and rescuing them they are actively encouraging the migration.

vooke,

Italy, Spain, EU should rescue and receive Africa's tired, poor and huddled masses.  Who do you expect to do that?

On the other hand.  The African on the beloved continent should own up and fix up. 

That is callous.  It shouldn't matter why they left in the first place.  I think they should rescue and rehabilitate those folks who they can save.  I feel that is the least one can or should die trying to do for them.