As long as they died out of our sight, or as long as the numbers of those reported to have died in nearby waters was tolerable (as though the value of life with regards to certain people depended on the number of those who died), we could keep thinking in terms of burden sharing and preserving our culture.

We could keep talking of ghettos (the existence of which is blamed on the victims of ghettoisation rather than on those responsible for sidelining them, namely us Maltese), people of ‘African nationality’, pushbacks, legality and other inane characterisations, pseudo-problems and fanciful solutions.

Widespread ignorance used to protect us from the tragedy unfolding a few miles south of Marsaxlokk.

But this time around they were dying on our door step. We could no longer bury our head in the sand. We could no longer talk of them seeking to invade us (or at least, those with a minimum of sensibility and/or brains could not). Our imagination could not refashion voyages of despair into missions aimed at changing our culture or religion.

Our political class – the same PN/PL political class that believes in detention centres, which never tried to seriously challenge popular perceptions and, under one form or another, believes in pushbacks (the self-righteous Nationalists had sent people back to Eritrea) – shed gallons of tears. Even some who until recently believed that legality trumps humanity saw that blood is thicker than the possession of a passport.

Still our bad faith manages to prevent us from carrying out an honest analysis. Many have blamed the EU. This accusation is under some respects justified and under others unwarranted.

Let’s start with the second case. Some have blamed the EU for the fact that missions aimed at patrolling the Mediterranean have failed. What many fail to see is that in the long run the whole concept of patrolling does not make sense.

In the mind of many, including many politicians both locally and in Europe, there seem to be two motives behind such patrolling.

According to some, efficient patrolling is necessary to have tighter boarders; to make it more difficult for immigrants to reach Europe.

This is a callous motive, since it would entail that what happens to ‘them’ outside our continent’s borders is not something that bothers us.

The other motivation is of a humanitarian nature, that is to better assist those who find themselves in need.

While in immediate terms this is laudable, limiting our efforts to assisting people who need help while crossing to Europe fails to address the fundamental aspect of the issue: the reasons that induce people to undertake the voyage in the first place.

Our bad faith manages to prevent us from carrying out an honest analysis

This fundamental point is also missed by those who insist solely on the need to apprehend the traffickers who are bringing immigrants to Europe.

The world would be a better place if people who are ready to cash in on someone else’s misfortunes were suicidal. However, focusing our attention entirely on these criminals fails to address the most fundamental question: what is making so many people in Africa and elsewhere seeking their services?

Seeking a deep and honest answer to this question might be troubling since we are likely to arrive at the conclusion that it is we – our part of the world, our continent and we as individuals – who are partly responsible, even if unwittingly, for their voyage of despair.

Consider Africa. We might discover that there is a link between the computer I am using, the chocolate bar I’ve eaten this morning, the materials used to assemble my mobile phone, the gas emitted by my car (a major cause of global warming, which causes desertification, which is the second largest cause of immigration from Africa) and immigration.

People are running out of Africa not because of some act of God. Africa is, of course, rich in resources, however, it is riddled with poverty and war.

Most of the riches of Africa are ending in our part of the world in exchanges that to call unequal would be an understatement.

This inequality does not relate simply to the colonial past; it relates to unfeasible political set-ups created by the previous colonisers which ensured perpetual instability once empires were dismantled, support to governments whom we find good to do business with but who oppress their people, support by Western, including European, multinationals of different factions in civil wars in exchange for precious material and other misdeeds.

It is in this regard that the EU needs to act.

Here are some suggestions:

Introduce the idea of First World Guilt. We must recognise that we are partly responsible for the devastation of Africa and other parts of the third world because of current political and economic choices.

Punish European multinationals that are exploiting African people, ruining their habitat and supporting oppressive regimes and factions

Politically marginalise regimes that are oppressive.

Enact an arms embargo on Africa and the Third World. Third World wars are not fought with home-made weapons. Some of these weapons are produced in our continent. Manufacturers from elsewhere might step in. But at least we would have cleaned up our act.