The Migrants’ Network for Equality and Moviment Graffitti are to hold a candle-light gathering on Monday at 5.30pm outside the law courts in Valletta to express grief at the loss of lives in the tragedy near Lampedusa.

“Through this gathering we also want to denounce policies of harsh border restrictions in place in many European countries, which are leaving people no option but to embark on perilous journeys where death is a very real possibility. Furthermore, in the past years we have often witnessed a disregard for the life of people at sea, with many incidents in which countries spent days bickering about the disembarkation of migrants, making fishermen and other seafarers reluctant to take action when boats with migrants were encountered,” the organisers said.

“Thus we believe that what happened in Lampedusa is no accident. It is a direct result of two decades of discourse and policies that criminalized migrants and sealed borders, while neo-colonial strategies continued to exploit, reduce to poverty and foment wars around the globe. It is also the consequence of a system where people who are born in Western countries have an almost absolute freedom of movement, while most of the ‘others’ can only risk their lives trying to enter in increasingly fortified privileged regions.”