Shock and Outrage Aimed at EU Leaders After Mediterranean Disaster
'How many more people have to die before European governments acknowledge that relying on a patchwork quilt of resources for search-and-rescue operations is not enough?'
As the first bodies were brought ashore on Monday, following a boat-capsizing that killed as many as 700 people over the weekend, government officials in Europe and across the world were urged to dramatically elevate their crisis response in the aftermath of what is being called the worst tragedy in living memory involving refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
The boat in question, which some survivors have said may have been carrying as many as 950 passengers attempting to reach the Europe from North Africa, overturned in Libyan waters approximately 180 kilometers south of the Italian island of Lampedusa. Only 50 people were reportedly rescued and a fully accurate death toll may never be known.
According to Reuters:
Europe's politicians face criticism from aid and human rights groups that they have been abandoning those in need of help to pander to anti-immigrant sentiment among the electorates in their home countries.
An Italian search and rescue mission called "Mare Nostrum" was canceled last year due to its cost and domestic political pressure, to be replaced by a smaller-scale EU mission called "Triton", with a smaller budget and narrower remit.
This year more than 1,500 people fleeing war and poverty are estimated to have died in the Mediterranean, packed into rickety boats by human traffickers in a bid to reach a better life in Europe. The deaths are up 15-fold compared with the same period of 2014.
"The reputation of Europe is at stake," said Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni. "I have been saying for weeks and months that Europe has to do more, now unfortunately the reality has hit us in the face."
Responding to Sunday's tragedy, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres expressed shock at the tragedy and was among those raising urgent concerns for European Union officials attending an emergency meeting in Luxembourg on Monday.
"This disaster confirms how urgent it is to restore a robust rescue-at-sea operation and establish credible legal avenues to reach Europe. Otherwise people seeking safety will continue to perish at sea," UNHCR's Guterres said in a statement. "But it also points to the need for a comprehensive European approach to address the root causes that drive so many people to this tragic end. I hope the EU will rise to the occasion, fully assuming a decisive role to prevent future such tragedies."
William Lacy Swing, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), called on world leaders to "act with conviction" in response to the latest loss of life and what is clearly a systemic crisis.
"All of us, especially the EU and the world's powers," Swing said, "can no longer sit on the sidelines watching while this tragedy unfolds in slow motion and well over 1,500 have drowned since the beginning of January."
Prior to Sunday's disaster, the IOM and UNHCR jointly estimated that approximately 900 people have died while making the journey from Africa to Europe. If the death toll in the latest incident is confirmed, that number rises to approximately 1,600 people. So far this year, according to the United Nations, more than 36,000 refugees and migrants have arrived by boat in southern Europe. In 2014, around 219,000 people crossed the Mediterranean, and 3,500 lives were lost.
Amnesty International, which is in final preparations to publish a wide-ranging report on the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean, says all nations must do more to address the situation.
"How many more people have to die before European governments acknowledge that relying on a patchwork quilt of resources for search-and-rescue operations is not enough?" said Gauri Van Gulik, Deputy Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International. "Thousands of desperate migrants and refugees continue to make the world's most dangerous sea crossing, and hundreds have already died this year--a massive increase over the same period in 2014."
Van Gulik continued, "Leaders in London, Paris, Berlin and other European capitals must admit that the current strategy isn't working and throw their full weight behind a robust and concerted humanitarian operation in the Mediterranean, with at least the same resources as the Italian Mare Nostrum operation which was shut down last year."
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
As the first bodies were brought ashore on Monday, following a boat-capsizing that killed as many as 700 people over the weekend, government officials in Europe and across the world were urged to dramatically elevate their crisis response in the aftermath of what is being called the worst tragedy in living memory involving refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
The boat in question, which some survivors have said may have been carrying as many as 950 passengers attempting to reach the Europe from North Africa, overturned in Libyan waters approximately 180 kilometers south of the Italian island of Lampedusa. Only 50 people were reportedly rescued and a fully accurate death toll may never be known.
According to Reuters:
Europe's politicians face criticism from aid and human rights groups that they have been abandoning those in need of help to pander to anti-immigrant sentiment among the electorates in their home countries.
An Italian search and rescue mission called "Mare Nostrum" was canceled last year due to its cost and domestic political pressure, to be replaced by a smaller-scale EU mission called "Triton", with a smaller budget and narrower remit.
This year more than 1,500 people fleeing war and poverty are estimated to have died in the Mediterranean, packed into rickety boats by human traffickers in a bid to reach a better life in Europe. The deaths are up 15-fold compared with the same period of 2014.
"The reputation of Europe is at stake," said Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni. "I have been saying for weeks and months that Europe has to do more, now unfortunately the reality has hit us in the face."
Responding to Sunday's tragedy, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres expressed shock at the tragedy and was among those raising urgent concerns for European Union officials attending an emergency meeting in Luxembourg on Monday.
"This disaster confirms how urgent it is to restore a robust rescue-at-sea operation and establish credible legal avenues to reach Europe. Otherwise people seeking safety will continue to perish at sea," UNHCR's Guterres said in a statement. "But it also points to the need for a comprehensive European approach to address the root causes that drive so many people to this tragic end. I hope the EU will rise to the occasion, fully assuming a decisive role to prevent future such tragedies."
William Lacy Swing, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), called on world leaders to "act with conviction" in response to the latest loss of life and what is clearly a systemic crisis.
"All of us, especially the EU and the world's powers," Swing said, "can no longer sit on the sidelines watching while this tragedy unfolds in slow motion and well over 1,500 have drowned since the beginning of January."
Prior to Sunday's disaster, the IOM and UNHCR jointly estimated that approximately 900 people have died while making the journey from Africa to Europe. If the death toll in the latest incident is confirmed, that number rises to approximately 1,600 people. So far this year, according to the United Nations, more than 36,000 refugees and migrants have arrived by boat in southern Europe. In 2014, around 219,000 people crossed the Mediterranean, and 3,500 lives were lost.
Amnesty International, which is in final preparations to publish a wide-ranging report on the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean, says all nations must do more to address the situation.
"How many more people have to die before European governments acknowledge that relying on a patchwork quilt of resources for search-and-rescue operations is not enough?" said Gauri Van Gulik, Deputy Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International. "Thousands of desperate migrants and refugees continue to make the world's most dangerous sea crossing, and hundreds have already died this year--a massive increase over the same period in 2014."
Van Gulik continued, "Leaders in London, Paris, Berlin and other European capitals must admit that the current strategy isn't working and throw their full weight behind a robust and concerted humanitarian operation in the Mediterranean, with at least the same resources as the Italian Mare Nostrum operation which was shut down last year."
As the first bodies were brought ashore on Monday, following a boat-capsizing that killed as many as 700 people over the weekend, government officials in Europe and across the world were urged to dramatically elevate their crisis response in the aftermath of what is being called the worst tragedy in living memory involving refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
The boat in question, which some survivors have said may have been carrying as many as 950 passengers attempting to reach the Europe from North Africa, overturned in Libyan waters approximately 180 kilometers south of the Italian island of Lampedusa. Only 50 people were reportedly rescued and a fully accurate death toll may never be known.
According to Reuters:
Europe's politicians face criticism from aid and human rights groups that they have been abandoning those in need of help to pander to anti-immigrant sentiment among the electorates in their home countries.
An Italian search and rescue mission called "Mare Nostrum" was canceled last year due to its cost and domestic political pressure, to be replaced by a smaller-scale EU mission called "Triton", with a smaller budget and narrower remit.
This year more than 1,500 people fleeing war and poverty are estimated to have died in the Mediterranean, packed into rickety boats by human traffickers in a bid to reach a better life in Europe. The deaths are up 15-fold compared with the same period of 2014.
"The reputation of Europe is at stake," said Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni. "I have been saying for weeks and months that Europe has to do more, now unfortunately the reality has hit us in the face."
Responding to Sunday's tragedy, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres expressed shock at the tragedy and was among those raising urgent concerns for European Union officials attending an emergency meeting in Luxembourg on Monday.
"This disaster confirms how urgent it is to restore a robust rescue-at-sea operation and establish credible legal avenues to reach Europe. Otherwise people seeking safety will continue to perish at sea," UNHCR's Guterres said in a statement. "But it also points to the need for a comprehensive European approach to address the root causes that drive so many people to this tragic end. I hope the EU will rise to the occasion, fully assuming a decisive role to prevent future such tragedies."
William Lacy Swing, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), called on world leaders to "act with conviction" in response to the latest loss of life and what is clearly a systemic crisis.
"All of us, especially the EU and the world's powers," Swing said, "can no longer sit on the sidelines watching while this tragedy unfolds in slow motion and well over 1,500 have drowned since the beginning of January."
Prior to Sunday's disaster, the IOM and UNHCR jointly estimated that approximately 900 people have died while making the journey from Africa to Europe. If the death toll in the latest incident is confirmed, that number rises to approximately 1,600 people. So far this year, according to the United Nations, more than 36,000 refugees and migrants have arrived by boat in southern Europe. In 2014, around 219,000 people crossed the Mediterranean, and 3,500 lives were lost.
Amnesty International, which is in final preparations to publish a wide-ranging report on the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean, says all nations must do more to address the situation.
"How many more people have to die before European governments acknowledge that relying on a patchwork quilt of resources for search-and-rescue operations is not enough?" said Gauri Van Gulik, Deputy Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International. "Thousands of desperate migrants and refugees continue to make the world's most dangerous sea crossing, and hundreds have already died this year--a massive increase over the same period in 2014."
Van Gulik continued, "Leaders in London, Paris, Berlin and other European capitals must admit that the current strategy isn't working and throw their full weight behind a robust and concerted humanitarian operation in the Mediterranean, with at least the same resources as the Italian Mare Nostrum operation which was shut down last year."