Refugee deaths on the Mediterranean continue to be a humanitarian tragedy of epic proportions. Thursday’s drowning of scores of refugees off the coast of Libya is a stark reminder of our inability to stop smugglers from preying on people ready to risk their lives in search of a new life in Europe. Eighteen months after the photographs of little Aylan Kurdi’s body washed ashore on a Turkish beach generated a tidal wave of public emotion across the world, hundreds of people continue to die on a regular basis. People smugglers use rust buckets and rubber dinghies that easily capsize, sending the refugees to a watery grave.
Poverty, unemployment, lack of opportunity and civil strife combine to form a desperation that drives people from North Africa and the Middle East to make the perilous crossing. They are well aware of the dangers that lurk on the high seas, but their misery is of such enormous proportion that they ignore the warnings and are prepared to dice with death.
Many begin their journey in Syria and Somalia, fleeing war and famine. When they board their boats in the south Mediterranean coast, they are already in safer regions. The final part of the journey is to cross into Europe in quest of a more rewarding life. People traffickers tap into that dream.
Global migration is a major problem of our times. The search for a better life will continue to drive people to greener pastures. The world has a responsibility to respond to this growing crisis. And that requires a multi-pronged strategy to address the refugee problem. Setting up refugee camps and tents are mere band-aids on what is a festering wound.
Ending wars in the conflict zones will be a start, addressing famine sweeping some countries will be another. Employment generation and crackdown on corruption in these countries will go a long way engendering hope in a generation that seems lost in their homelands.
Finally, people traffickers will have to be stopped. These are heartless beings who see no value in human life and only seek to profiteer from the poor and helpless. Coastal surveillance has to be stepped up to prevent them from smuggling people and dumping them on sea, expecting them to be saved by NGOs. And that calls for a concerted effort from nations. It needs to come sooner. Or else, we will continue to see bodies washing up on the coasts of Turkey, Italy, Libya and elsewhere.
