Uche Igwe
Frequent deaths of illegal travellers
along other dangerous routes including the Mediterranean Sea are
disturbing and horrifying. But they do not make much news to many. What
could make news is the heightened frequency of the deaths probably due
to more illegal travellers, some fleeing from deepening instability in
parts of North and West Africa.
The conflict that erupted after the
death of former Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, is a case in point. The
same as the civil war in Northern Mali and the continued killings and
displacement caused by the deadly insurgents popularly known as Boko
Haram of Northern Nigeria. What is probably more disturbing is that
national governments where these citizens originate their travels from,
to their untimely deaths, remain helpless at what is clearly an
emergency. The lukewarm response of the international community of
pretentious friends is another familiar occurrence that a globalised
world can no longer continue to condone.
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But
as many citizens of the world keep dying on the doorstep of Europe, a
global response to such a global crisis can no longer be postponed. A
few days ago, news broke out about an Italian ship that arrived Malta
with 24 corpses which were recovered after a boat believed to be
carrying up to 700 people capsized while trying to cross the
Mediterranean Sea from North Africa. These stories keep coming and are
oftentimes underreported by the media. Sometime in October 2013, another
366 people died off the Italian island of Lampedusa, when the fishing
boat they were travelling in from Libya capsized. There is no blame game
here, but would it be the same if those dying were Europeans?
The number of people that die daily
attempting to cross over to Europe through the Mediterranean Sea is
difficult to quantify. The same way as who they are, where they are
travelling from, and even where they end up travelling to, are often
difficult to clarify. It is often a suicide mission, but the kind of
discontent that makes these precarious endeavours an option is rather
unclear. However, one could guess their mission is to search for a
better life and that their fuel is a desperation to achieve it. To them,
that good life must be elsewhere, not at home. Some are aware of the
level of risks involved, yet they keep travelling and keep dying. Of a
truth, no one can go through such a hell of migration unless things are
extremely bad at home. For instance, an estimated total of 4,868 people
died trying to get to Europe last year from Africa alone.
Cross border smuggling is sustained as
part of a well-oiled criminal enterprise that spreads across networks in
transit countries in Africa all the way to Europe. These profit-seeking
criminals specialise in transporting these migrants across borders and
in-between continents. Shipwrecks killing hundreds at a time have been
happening in the Mediterranean Sea for years, yet these evil merchants
continue in their illicit trafficking of humans. They cannot budge
unless they are stopped by constructive policy and law enforcement. They
have lost their humanity. Just as those they traffic.
Tears dropped uncontrollably from my eyes
as I read the painful account of how 12 ill-fated Christian immigrants
were thrown overboard by their Muslim co-travellers. The victims
probably felt that praying could save their sinking boat and save all
those travelling with them, including their Muslim counterparts, from
untimely death. Little did they know that some of those who they were
praying for would be the ones who would send them faster to the death
they wanted to avoid? What a painful way to die? One of them reportedly
bit off the finger of his killer. The travellers were said to be from
Senegal, The Gambia, Ghana, and of course, Nigeria. Even with death
staring them in the face, those murderous villains could not overcome
divisiveness and religious bigotry. What a shame! According to the
United Nations Office of Drug and Crime, some 5,500 migrants are thought
to be smuggled annually from East, North and West Africa into Europe.
Between 1996 and 2011, at least 1,691 people died while attempting to
cross the Sahara Desert, and in 2008 alone, 1,000 deaths occurred as a
result of sea crossing. The truth is that getting the real number of
illegal cross border migrants is a complex exercise because it is an
underground matter.
Fees charged to smuggle migrants differ
substantially based on origin with figures ranging from $2,000 to
$5,000. Despite the huge amount charged, these profit seeking smugglers
treat the migrants as goods, leaving them vulnerable to many forms of
abuse. Their safety is often put at risk. Some suffocate in containers,
others perish in deserts or drown at sea.
Pope Francis has called for increased
compassion from devotees of global cooperation. The Italian President
Matteo Renzi and the European Union have urged other member states to
show increased interest in rescue operations and other issues related to
migration into Europe. An emergency European Union Council summit took
place in Brussels on Thursday, April 23, 2015, and other international
meetings will no doubt follow. However, while conferencing and political
dialogue are useful, that is mere talking to each other. This is no
longer sufficient for the scale of the migration-relating crisis that is
looming. Political rhetoric and inconsistency of positions on such a
contentious issue, will only further undermine trust, increase suspicion
and contaminate relationships. This is a time for stakeholders from
Europe and Africa to talk with each other, and to break the barriers of
the traditional donor-recipient relationship that allows hypocrisy to
diminish commitment to realistic action. They must explore areas of
common interest, and put in place a coordinated mechanism for
cooperation. The approach should be multi-dimensional and multi-faceted.
There is a need for both short-term immediate actions as well as more
long-term strategies followed by a coordinated action accordingly.
Also, a broad-based enlightenment
campaign needs to be mounted on the African continent where these
immigrants originate from, to educate them that; “there are no such
things as a free lunch” available anywhere in Europe. The African
political elite must take responsibility for the unfolding tragedy and
take decisive steps. They must also realise the urgency in improving
infrastructure in their countries, providing employment for the youths,
and that containing escalating conflicts, will be the right direction
for action.
African countries must also begin to
strongly police their own borders appropriately in order to check the
activities of criminal networks that specialise in smuggling immigrants
across continents. Interestingly, the same routes provide access for
cross border smuggling of prohibited items like hard drugs and small
arms and light weapons. A concrete joint Europe-Africa effort is timely
to add teeth to the frequent political conversations. Big countries like
Nigeria will be expected to lead the way. The newly elected government
of Muhammadu Buhari has an opportunity to provide direction for other
African countries to follow. These frequent deaths on the doorstep of
Europe are avoidable. This has now become a human tragedy that must be
treated as an emergency. We cannot blame the victims. This tragedy is
human made and can be stopped if we have the political will and common
determination to take action.
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