From Saturday the Italian navy’s search and rescue operation for migrant boat-people will finish. People will die because of the ending of the sea rescue mission in the Mediterranean and the rest of Europe is refusing to pay for a full replacement. The Secretary General of the European Council on Refugees, Michael Diedring, said it was "deplorable" for the EU to prioritise coastal border controls over search and rescue missions.
Lucia Borghi from Borderline Sicilia, a group that offers legal and practical help to refugees, said: “When they start their journey, they understand very clearly the situation, they know exactly what the risks are, but they have nothing to lose. If the [EU patrol boats] are now only monitoring a restricted area close to Italy, it is very probable that people will die.”
The international charity Médecins sans Frontières has also warned that winding down Mare Nostrum will do little to deter most travellers. “It’s difficult to say that the operation needs to stop,” said Stefano di Carlo, head of mission in Italy. “These are vulnerable people who have fled war … many women and children. There are no alternative ways for these people to get to Europe, so they will try it, whether there is a life-saving operation or not.”
“I am very worried, it’s clear that with the end of Mare Nostrum there will be more deaths in the Mediterranean,” said Luigi Ammatuna, the mayor of Pozzallo in Sicily, where about 23,000 refugees came ashore in the first nine months of this year. “For sure this is giving more motivation for people to start the trip across the sea, but this is not a reason to deny them help, it is a humanitarian imperative...I want to be the mayor who welcomes people fleeing war and devastation, not the mayor who receives corpses.”
Most of those who travel in the death-trap boats are well aware they may not survive the journey but feel they have no choice.
The director of Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) Martin Xuereb explains “We are fully aware that ours is not the solution, but while everyone is trying to find a solution, nobody deserves to die out at sea. We ask people to put themselves in the position of that person or child who feels compelled to make a journey.”
How different is the response of those political leaders busy building Fortress Europe who on the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall praised those “illegal” immigrants who risked life and limb to flee dictatorship, claiming political asylum, and provided those successful with a warm welcome. 718 people died trying to escape to the West. Hundreds were shot dead; others suffered horrible injuries from shrapnel-spraying automatic firing devices that lined the border. Two million East Germans have emigrated to the West since reunification, the vast majority in search of jobs, resulting in the demolition of tens of thousands of empty homes in the East.
Double-standards some might accuse.
Lucia Borghi from Borderline Sicilia, a group that offers legal and practical help to refugees, said: “When they start their journey, they understand very clearly the situation, they know exactly what the risks are, but they have nothing to lose. If the [EU patrol boats] are now only monitoring a restricted area close to Italy, it is very probable that people will die.”
The international charity Médecins sans Frontières has also warned that winding down Mare Nostrum will do little to deter most travellers. “It’s difficult to say that the operation needs to stop,” said Stefano di Carlo, head of mission in Italy. “These are vulnerable people who have fled war … many women and children. There are no alternative ways for these people to get to Europe, so they will try it, whether there is a life-saving operation or not.”
“I am very worried, it’s clear that with the end of Mare Nostrum there will be more deaths in the Mediterranean,” said Luigi Ammatuna, the mayor of Pozzallo in Sicily, where about 23,000 refugees came ashore in the first nine months of this year. “For sure this is giving more motivation for people to start the trip across the sea, but this is not a reason to deny them help, it is a humanitarian imperative...I want to be the mayor who welcomes people fleeing war and devastation, not the mayor who receives corpses.”
Most of those who travel in the death-trap boats are well aware they may not survive the journey but feel they have no choice.
The director of Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) Martin Xuereb explains “We are fully aware that ours is not the solution, but while everyone is trying to find a solution, nobody deserves to die out at sea. We ask people to put themselves in the position of that person or child who feels compelled to make a journey.”
How different is the response of those political leaders busy building Fortress Europe who on the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall praised those “illegal” immigrants who risked life and limb to flee dictatorship, claiming political asylum, and provided those successful with a warm welcome. 718 people died trying to escape to the West. Hundreds were shot dead; others suffered horrible injuries from shrapnel-spraying automatic firing devices that lined the border. Two million East Germans have emigrated to the West since reunification, the vast majority in search of jobs, resulting in the demolition of tens of thousands of empty homes in the East.
Double-standards some might accuse.
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