Reports that about 750 migrants have drowned while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to Europe bring a continuing human tragedy into sharp focus. The story is distressingly familiar: desperate people have boarded overloaded, unsafe vessels in search of a better life. In doing so, they put themselves at the mercy of ruthless human traffickers to whom they have often paid their entire savings.
As The National reported yesterday, two Palestinian survivors claim that traffickers rammed a boat carrying about 500 Syrians, Palestinians, Egyptians and Sudanese crossing the Mediterranean from Egypt to Europe last week, causing it to sink. Another boat carrying at least 250 Africans capsized off the coast of Libya on Sunday, killing most of its passengers. Only 36 people were rescued and dozens of bodies were recovered.
Addressing the rising frequency of such incidents – by no means confined to this region or this hemisphere – should be a priority for the international community. It has been estimated that nearly 3,000 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean so far this year, compared to 700 in the whole of 2013. Neither figure is acceptable.
In May, the United Nations expressed concern over the shocking numbers, urging governments worldwide to provide legal alternatives to these dangerous voyages, including resettlement based on humanitarian principles and family reunion programmes.
The international community should also work together to clamp down on the traffickers, by promoting cross-border exchanges of information and joint operations to track down and arrest these criminals and seize their ill-gotten profits. At the same time, people contemplating dangerous sea crossings need to be educated about the risks they are taking, and made aware of their, albeit limited, options for seeking refuge through official channels.
Unless coordinated action is taken, desperate people – men, women and entire families – will continue to cross the ocean towards their deaths rather than the safe shelter they seek.