The persistent incidents involving asylum seekers at sea have often sadly been relegated to a footnote in news bulletins. But the tragedies of the past week should serve as a wake-up call for EU leaders to realise the Mediterranean has become a watery grave for far too many people.
In the past week, at least 300 people died in the seas off Malta after departing from Libya. Twenty-nine migrants are reported to have frozen to death after being rescued from an inflatable boat off Lampedusa.
We are in the middle of February, usually one of the quietest months where sea migration is concerned, yet the Migrant Offshore Aid Station predicts a record number of migrant deaths in 2015.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said the EU’s Operation Triton was a woefully inadequate replacement for Italy’s Mare Nostrum sea rescue mission. Amnesty International singled out France, Germany and the UK and urged them to take action on migration, demanding more vigorous search and rescue systems.
“If you’re going to push people down dangerous routes, you can’t then wash your hands of any responsibility for people who die taking them,” Amnesty said.
All strongly-worded statements, sadly all an inconvenient truth we have to face.
With savage wars breaking out and unrest spanning from neighbouring Libya to Syria, the Mediterranean Sea has become the deadliest border crossing in the world. Last year, some 3,500 people died trying to reach Europe.
What we witnessed in the past week showed that migrant crossings are continuing through winter despite dire weather conditions. The incidents expose the predictable consequences of the EU’s failure to provide an adequate replacement for the Italian mission, which last year rescued some 150,000 migrants.
The past week’s tragedies also dispel the myth that asylum seekers take on the voyage well aware there are rescue vessels in the vicinity.
The world is seeing unprecedented asylum seeker movements, which can only be exacerbated in the Mediterranean if Islamic State continues making inroads in Libya.
So far it seems only Malta and Italy are kicking up a fuss over the devil rearing its head on Europe’s doorstep.
Brig. Martin Xuereb, director of MOAS, hit the nail on the head: “Migrants are being pushed to leave their homes, not pulled towards Europe. They are getting onto boats in rough seas and freezing weather, knowing the rescue missions have stopped. This is their last resort.”
In Brussels last Thursday, leaders agreed on the need for tighter controls at the EU’s borders. Among others, EU leaders called for stricter checks on travellers entering the passport-free Schengen area.
It is justifiable for the EU to seek a larger dragnet of surveillance efforts to identify potential terrorists. Dangerous times sometimes dictate sterner measures. But we cannot seal off borders to those actually fleeing terrorism, effectively forcing them to face death.
The EU cannot ignore calls like those made by MEP Roberta Metsola who suggested the need to consider re-deploying assets used in anti-piracy missions to support Frontex operations in the Mediterranean. This could possibly help save lives and boost security in the region.
Many exponents agree that more should be done to stem the deaths but clearly nobody is taking the lead. It’s been three months since Mare Nostrum came to an end with no replacement.
We are already too late. People are fleeing danger by jumping onto rickety boats in rough seas hoping to reach safety in a risk tantamount to Russian roulette.
How many of these tragedies can the international community watch from the shores before they feel morally compelled to respond?