47 migrants die off Tunisia coast

Kamal Awad

May 13th 2008, 20:24

I do agree with to a certain extent with Corey Attard. But one must not forget that, in 2003 the western democratic allied led by USA (the cradle of democracy) aimed to free Iraq and replace dictatorship with democracy (this is at least what we have been learning from democratic media ) – Until this moment Iraq has became almost Iraqis- free and millions of Iraqis are now seeking refuge world wide - this of course including Malta. Thank you for your valuable comment.

Corey Attard

May 13th 2008, 17:21

The problem is ,that this people are sick and tired of dictator regimes,they want democracy.

Alexander Morana

May 13th 2008, 15:08

Let us stop pointing fingers at this country, that country, the politicians, international organizations et all. Every one of us as citizens of this planet must play a role and persuade our leaders and the world community that Africa’s problems are our problems and the solution to this problem is at the source as why people want to seek a better life somewhere else. Every effort must be done to invest in these people’s lives and their governments to provide a decent living in their own countries so these immigrants can stay put where they are. Africa is rich enough in vast amounts of resources so as in agriculture, where it can out produce Europe.

Mass immigration whether it is legal or illegal to Europe and the West is not a solution to their problem nor is the imposition of Multiculturalism on us.

Rosemarie Dorekens

May 13th 2008, 12:49

Is this what human life is all worth for? We are pro-life and chant slogans and wave flags and write volumes of books and theologies on freedom and respect to humanity, but then we read an article of 400 words like this and turn the page. 47 human beings lost thier lives. We call them migrants so should that make a difference? We should hide our faces with both our hands and wipe the tears off our eyes as this is a crime of us all.

Kamal Awad

May 12th 2008, 23:07

On Friday, 14th December 2007 Dr. John Attard Montalto wrote a factual article that may interest those who seriously wish to be aware of the core problem of Africa. Here I quote a paragraph - (The scramble for Africa has started all over again. In the colonial period, European nation-states competed between themselves. After World War II, the US permitted Europe to continue to dominate the continent, on the reckoning that the boost to the European economies would boost trade with the US itself.)
I am not sure if this article still appears at timesofmalta.com. However I have a copy that I can forward to any body interested.

I fully agree and thank Mr. Steve Calascione for his valuable comment.

Stephen Forster

May 12th 2008, 21:51

Please note,

Libya has the same problem Europe does! Porous land borders and thousands of square miles of desert to police!

They don't want illegals anymore than we do! I have seen some sights in the desert none of you want to, believe me, but it's not possible to stop the flood without some kind of joint effort by WHOEVER to stop it.....

There are criminals waiting to transport these people all over the world in many countries, do not blame the Libyan authorities! Criminals are Criminals....Money is Money that's the root cause.

victor pulis

May 12th 2008, 20:20

I put most of the blame for this problem on Libya. These people spend a good amount of time, sometimes years, working in Libya before they attempt a crossing. they pay good money to the criminals who provide the means to make the journey. Libya has no reason to stop them from leaving. in fact I'm quite certain that The libyan authorities turn a blind eye and pretend that they are not capable of patrolling their coastline. I invite anyone to try and land on Libyan soil and see if they're not intercepted. We are witnessing a silent and subtle invasion of Europe and nobody seems to care.

Paul Barrett

May 12th 2008, 18:02

Perhaps I am just a "softy" but this brought tears to my eyes. I don't care about the rights and wrongs of illegal entry into Europe but I do care about the loss of life in this desperate attempt to find a better world. So very, very sad - presumably they had nothing to lose but their lives and they lost even that.

Malcolm Seychell

May 12th 2008, 17:50

Shame on the UN not on EU and Libya.

In reality nobody wants any more illegal migrants both in Europe and Libya

The problem is the UN. They should be responsible that every country can help its people.

Steve Calascione

May 12th 2008, 17:27

Mr. Ellul,

The following excerpt from a randomly selected article titled "Food Security and the African situation" (reproduced below) should hopefully, shed some light on the real causes of African migration towards the prosperous European mainland:

"According to estimates by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), almost 200 million Africans were undernourished at the dawn of the millennium, compared to 133 million 20 years earlier [...]. There are regional differences, with sub-Saharan Africa hardest hit. Here, about 33 % of the population is undernourished, compared to about 6 % in North Africa and 15 % in Asia, according to the FAO. And more than 60 % of the undernourished in sub-Saharan Africa are in Eastern Africa".

You might also like to refer to the recent Times of Malta blog discussion (by Fr. Joe Borg) on the subject of food price hikes in developing countries.

Please avoid jumping to conclusions before conducting research, it only encourages extremists:

BusinessWeek's stark warnings in 2005 leave us in doubt as to how the problem should be tackled. This article was penned before the recent and alarming rise in staple food prices.

"The World Food Summit set targets for the reduction of hunger, which have largely been missed, particularly in Africa. Also, the Millennium Development Goal on hunger and poverty is likely to fail in Africa. A projected aggregate demand growth for food of 2.8 % per year up to 2015 is likely to exceed projected production growth of 2.6 % per year over the same period, implying that major food imports are needed in the absence of significant productivity growth. The combination of low agricultural productivity and an adverse environment have made Africa the prime recipient of food aid. At the same time, Africa is forced to divert scarce resources to importing food".

Regards,

SMC

Source:

Food Security and the African situation
http://www.africangreenrevolution.com/en/african_agriculture/security/index.html

Africa's 200 Million Empty Plates
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/aug2005/nf20050816_1137_db016.htm

Alex Ellul

May 12th 2008, 16:20

Shame shame shame to all Euro-politicians, the United Nations, the press and journalists who have become immune to the yearly summer massacres in the Mediterranean sea and whoever should feel ashamed but cannot. We all know who the perpetrators are: The people in power in the Libyan Jamahariya and all those who are in cahoots with them wherever these may be.