Europe’s politicians must wake up to the humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean – whatever the implications domestically
A migrant boat capsizes off the coast of the island of Rhodes, Greece.
Pope Francis added his voice yesterday to calls for Europe and the international community to assume responsibility in the Mediterranean over the migrant crisis that has seen thousands from the Middle East and Africa drown at sea during desperate attempts to reach new shores.
The pontiff, using his power as the leader of the Catholic Church, called for “broader involvement” and it’s time that Europe stopped dithering and letting domestic perceptions slow attempts to save lives.
Horrific tales are emerging from the Mediterranean. According to some estimates, more than 400 have drowned in the last seven days, with a further 10,000 believed to have been rescued by members of Italy’s strained coastguard in the last week alone. This week, reports took an even darker tone, with claims some migrants had attacked each other due to religious beliefs.
According to the UN’s refugee agency, 220,000 migrants made the journey across treacherous waters last year. Of those, more than 3,500 died.
What to do with the migrants is one question, but if this were a conflict between nations, such a loss of lives would draw worldwide attention. Aid groups are desperately calling for action but the EU has only taken minor steps — this week it said it will draw up an agenda for discussion by May and a report by Christmas. That’s clearly insufficient.
It’s often said that politicians must make hard or unpopular choices when in office. Spending money and political capital on this issue may not win many points with domestic audiences, especially with euroscepticism seemingly on the rise, but the continent’s leaders have a moral obligation to step up and save lives.
@urlgoeshere
An edited version of this column was published in the Buenos Aires Herald, on Sunday, April 19, 2015 as part of the ‘Perceptions’ series.
Link: http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/187138/man-the-lifeboats.