Dubai: A dream destination for thousands of migrants fleeing the poverty and lawlessness of their countries, Europe was put on alert earlier this week after a boat carrying more than 900 people capsized off the Libyan coast in the deadliest such disaster on the Mediterranean, killing almost all of them.
With the victims, including many women and children, locked below deck on the boat, the shipwreck sent shockwaves through Europe, where a decision to scale back naval operations last year seems to have increased the risks for migrants without reducing their numbers. The tragedy also prompted calls for joint action to stop the flow of migrants fleeing war and hardship in Africa.
“Let me be clear, there is no silver bullet to the issue,” a European Union official told Gulf News. “The issue of migration is very complex. There are multiple causes such as war, economic hardship and political instability. Simple solutions, unfortunately, do not exist,” added the official, who asked not to be named because he is not authorised to talk to the media.
EU officials, worried about encouraging people to make the crossing just as economic troubles in some European countries fan concerns over immigration, have struggled to come up with a response but proposed doubling rescue operations following an emergency meeting on Monday.
According to the meeting, minutes of which were shared with Gulf News, rescue and preventive work will be taken forward along three strands: fighting organised crime networks and human traffickers, putting more efficient efforts to save lives at sea and bolster the maritime patrols, and reaching a “fairer sharing” of responsibilities regarding settlement and relocation projects.
Renzi calls for action
Emphasising the last strand, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Wednesday said the EU must take a collective stand to tackle migrant trafficking at its source in African countries.
“We are asking for this to be a priority for an EU that wants to be something other than an assembly of member countries in an economic club, something other than a club of learned technicians that knows all the geopolitical dynamics and forgets to respond to the pain of our times,” he told parliament. Renzi spoke as Italian navy and coast guard vessels were taking more than 1,200 migrants rescued in other operations since Monday to ports across southern Italy.
Echoing Renzi’s sentiments, Sarah Tyler, communications manager at Save the Children, one of the main relief organisations that offer aid to illegal migrants reaching Europe, told Gulf News: “It is not an Italian government responsibility. It is a European problem. It is actually a global problem because the roots causes that are brining children here are global issues,” she added in an interview from Catania, where she arrived for a 10-day mission after the capsizing of the ship.
Thousands of people are forced to leave their home countries by poverty and lawlessness, but ended up with little options. Immigrants found themselves putting their lives in the hands of ruthless smugglers.
Last year, nearly 220,000 people are known to have crossed the Mediterranean, said Geneva-based Adrian Edwards, Head, News and Media at the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. “That is already a major jump compared to previous years,” he told Gulf News. “This year, so far 36,000 crossed and with this weekend incident, we have about 1,600 deaths,” he said.
Of all the migrants this year, there were 3,100 children, including 1,300 unaccompanied ones, said Tyler. Once the children arrived to a European shore, Save the Children offers them social support and legal advisory.
“They talk about what they have experienced during the journey, and their talk shows how traumatised they are. The legal advisor explains the options they have, including the right not to return,” Tyler said, adding that the agency ensures that the process of integrating the children into Italian society has started.
- With inputs from agencies
