.
On the 15th of April 1912, over 100 years ago, the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg 375 miles off the coast of America and sank to the bottom of the ocean. Over 1,500 passengers and crew lost their lives and the wreck resulted in global outcry and sorrow. The impact of the Titanic has lasted a century. Books, films, exhibitions and memorials still capture the public’s attention today and it seems that the tragic memory of the Titanic will continue to live on for many years to come.
On the 19th of April this year, another tragedy struck off the coast of Italy. When a boat carrying migrants from North Africa to Europe capsized, over 800 were confirmed dead, including women and children. Only 28 survivors were found, some of whom stated that over 950 people were aboard the vessel. However, unlike the Titanic, the world seems to have already forgotten this tragedy of a similar scale. Only a few weeks after so many lost their lives there is little trace of their story in international media.
But why should our response to these two events be so different? Indeed, many of the passengers aboard the Titanic were migrants themselves—men and women emigrating from Europe to seek opportunities in the “new world”. Many had staked their life savings on a third class ticket for the chance of finding better standards of living abroad; an exact mirror of the migrants involved in today’s maritime tragedy. But with Europe’s toughening opinions and approaches to undocumented migration, little attention has been paid to this latest disaster compared to that of 100 years ago.
Unlike the Titanic, this recent tragedy is not a one off occurrence. The past few years have already been rocked by the deaths of thousands of migrants risking the dangerous voyage from North Africa to Europe. In 2014 an estimated 218,000 migrants crossed the Mediterranean and over 3,000 drowned in the attempt. And the situation is escalating. Already in 2015, over 35,000 migrants arrived on the shores of Spain, Malta, Italy, and Greece, and at least 1,750 have already lost their lives on these perilous journeys (20 times more than during the same period in 2014).
With such terrifying odds, why do so many risk their lives to cross the sea? As conflicts across the Middle East and Africa continue to unfold, people are becoming more and more desperate to find safety and hope in Europe—even if that involves a risky transit. Many have fled abject poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, while many young men from Eritrea move to avoid compulsory military service, which some consider akin to slavery. Even before boarding traffickers’ boats, many of these migrants die attempting to cross borders and desert regions to reach the coast of Northern Africa: deaths which the world rarely hears of.
The tragedies that we have witnessed thus far this year are only the tip of the iceberg. IOM has forecasted that the number of migrants dying in the Mediterranean Sea could reach up to 30,000 this year if the current rate continues. As the Syrian crisis continues into its fifth year, those fleeing into Europe via the Mediterranean are expected to arrive in ever-greater numbers. Thousands of refugees and other potential migrants await transit in coastal towns such as Tripoli. Fabrice Leggeri, executive director of Frontex recently told Ansa (the Italian news agency) that “anywhere between 500,000 and a million people” are ready to transit from Libya. With the summer and better sailing weather approaching more deaths are expected in the coming months as more desperate people attempt the crossing. Amid such high demand for transport, smugglers are becoming greedy; piling as many passengers as possible onto ships ill fit for such voyages. Many drownings have resulted from the overcrowding of vessels making them unstable and easy to capsize. In some cases migrants have even been thrown overboard by other passengers because of overcrowding. In the case of the most recent tragedy on the 19th of April, many passengers were locked in the hull of the boat (like some third class passengers onboard the Titanic) resulting in their deaths.
In relative terms, the number of migrants arriving via these routes is small compared to the capacity of Europe as a whole—a drop in the ocean, you might say. However, 50% of all refugees are arriving within only five of the European Union’s 28 states. Small island communities such as Lampendusa have struggled to cope with the mass influx of migrants onto their shores; refugee facilities soon became overcrowded to the detriment of migrants’ health. Europe must begin to take more cooperative action to shelter refugees many of whom have escaped from the world’s most dire humanitarian atrocities. President of the European Parliament, Martin Shulz, has already advocated for reforms to migration policies, including stronger “burden sharing” across all member states of the EU. He also suggested that one way to reduce the number of people who die trying to reach Europe illegally is to make it easier for migrants to gain legal entry into the region. EU leaders have already pledged to triple the funding for Operation Triton to €120 million, to help with search and rescue operations. This will surely help save many lives but may still not be enough. A comprehensive, collective European plan towards migration must be developed.
Many of those arriving on Europe’s shores are genuine refugees. They have survived the world’s worst human rights failures and cannot return to the country they called home.
Europe has a moral responsibility of care towards these people and should not stand idly by as they perish on the shores of their sanctuary. Many of those who died on the Titanic could have been saved; let’s not make this the case for any more migrants in the Mediterranean.
Elizabeth Maclean is with the International Centre for Migration Health and Development.
Photo by Refugee Resettlement Watch Blog.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
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Tip of the Iceberg: Can We Expect More Migrant Deaths in the Mediterranean?
May 28, 2015
On the 15th of April 1912, over 100 years ago, the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg 375 miles off the coast of America and sank to the bottom of the ocean. Over 1,500 passengers and crew lost their lives and the wreck resulted in global outcry and sorrow. The impact of the Titanic has lasted a century. Books, films, exhibitions and memorials still capture the public’s attention today and it seems that the tragic memory of the Titanic will continue to live on for many years to come.
On the 19th of April this year, another tragedy struck off the coast of Italy. When a boat carrying migrants from North Africa to Europe capsized, over 800 were confirmed dead, including women and children. Only 28 survivors were found, some of whom stated that over 950 people were aboard the vessel. However, unlike the Titanic, the world seems to have already forgotten this tragedy of a similar scale. Only a few weeks after so many lost their lives there is little trace of their story in international media.
But why should our response to these two events be so different? Indeed, many of the passengers aboard the Titanic were migrants themselves—men and women emigrating from Europe to seek opportunities in the “new world”. Many had staked their life savings on a third class ticket for the chance of finding better standards of living abroad; an exact mirror of the migrants involved in today’s maritime tragedy. But with Europe’s toughening opinions and approaches to undocumented migration, little attention has been paid to this latest disaster compared to that of 100 years ago.
Unlike the Titanic, this recent tragedy is not a one off occurrence. The past few years have already been rocked by the deaths of thousands of migrants risking the dangerous voyage from North Africa to Europe. In 2014 an estimated 218,000 migrants crossed the Mediterranean and over 3,000 drowned in the attempt. And the situation is escalating. Already in 2015, over 35,000 migrants arrived on the shores of Spain, Malta, Italy, and Greece, and at least 1,750 have already lost their lives on these perilous journeys (20 times more than during the same period in 2014).
With such terrifying odds, why do so many risk their lives to cross the sea? As conflicts across the Middle East and Africa continue to unfold, people are becoming more and more desperate to find safety and hope in Europe—even if that involves a risky transit. Many have fled abject poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, while many young men from Eritrea move to avoid compulsory military service, which some consider akin to slavery. Even before boarding traffickers’ boats, many of these migrants die attempting to cross borders and desert regions to reach the coast of Northern Africa: deaths which the world rarely hears of.
The tragedies that we have witnessed thus far this year are only the tip of the iceberg. IOM has forecasted that the number of migrants dying in the Mediterranean Sea could reach up to 30,000 this year if the current rate continues. As the Syrian crisis continues into its fifth year, those fleeing into Europe via the Mediterranean are expected to arrive in ever-greater numbers. Thousands of refugees and other potential migrants await transit in coastal towns such as Tripoli. Fabrice Leggeri, executive director of Frontex recently told Ansa (the Italian news agency) that “anywhere between 500,000 and a million people” are ready to transit from Libya. With the summer and better sailing weather approaching more deaths are expected in the coming months as more desperate people attempt the crossing. Amid such high demand for transport, smugglers are becoming greedy; piling as many passengers as possible onto ships ill fit for such voyages. Many drownings have resulted from the overcrowding of vessels making them unstable and easy to capsize. In some cases migrants have even been thrown overboard by other passengers because of overcrowding. In the case of the most recent tragedy on the 19th of April, many passengers were locked in the hull of the boat (like some third class passengers onboard the Titanic) resulting in their deaths.
In relative terms, the number of migrants arriving via these routes is small compared to the capacity of Europe as a whole—a drop in the ocean, you might say. However, 50% of all refugees are arriving within only five of the European Union’s 28 states. Small island communities such as Lampendusa have struggled to cope with the mass influx of migrants onto their shores; refugee facilities soon became overcrowded to the detriment of migrants’ health. Europe must begin to take more cooperative action to shelter refugees many of whom have escaped from the world’s most dire humanitarian atrocities. President of the European Parliament, Martin Shulz, has already advocated for reforms to migration policies, including stronger “burden sharing” across all member states of the EU. He also suggested that one way to reduce the number of people who die trying to reach Europe illegally is to make it easier for migrants to gain legal entry into the region. EU leaders have already pledged to triple the funding for Operation Triton to €120 million, to help with search and rescue operations. This will surely help save many lives but may still not be enough. A comprehensive, collective European plan towards migration must be developed.
Many of those arriving on Europe’s shores are genuine refugees. They have survived the world’s worst human rights failures and cannot return to the country they called home.
Europe has a moral responsibility of care towards these people and should not stand idly by as they perish on the shores of their sanctuary. Many of those who died on the Titanic could have been saved; let’s not make this the case for any more migrants in the Mediterranean.
Elizabeth Maclean is with the International Centre for Migration Health and Development.
Photo by Refugee Resettlement Watch Blog.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
