Tragedy at sea as another migrant boat sinks in the Med

[webfact]

Tragedy at sea as another migrant boat sinks in the Med

 

 

RASHEED: -- At least 43 people have been killed and scores more are missing after a boat carrying almost 600 migrants capsized off the coast of Egypt.

 

Locals gathered on the quayside in the town of Rasheed as rescue workers said they had saved only around 150.

 

It’s the latest tragedy among migrants trying to reach Europe.

 

Some accused the police of doing nothing to help.

 

“The fishing boats here, they are the ones who set out to look for the boat, they are the ones who brought the bodies out of the sea and the children.

That’s it. The traffickers… they are all known by name to the police around here, everyone knows the police are taking monthly payments from them.”

 

Those who survived were detained in the town’s local police station. The army claimed to have thwarted an illegal immigration attempt, saying the boat had sunk 12 miles out at sea.

 

Most of those on board had been Egyptian Sudanese and Somali migrants.

 

More and more people have been trying to cross to Italy from the African coast over the summer months, particularly from Libya, where people-traffickers operate with relative impunity, but also from Egypt.

 

Some 320 migrants and refugees drowned off the Greek island of Crete in June. Migrants who survived told authorities their boat had set sail from Egypt.

 

Some 206,400 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean this year, according to the International Organization for Migration.

More than 2,800 deaths were recorded between January and June, compared with 1,838 during the same period last year.

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-09-22

[Scott]

Off-topic inflammatory post and replies removed.  

[Basil B]

Somehow I think those boats maybe safer than some in Thailand...

[visarunner]

while every dead is a tragedy I feel that the EU and certain policies are responsible too.  I am not an expert on maritime fares, but this kind of "crossing" could be stopped in a second.  Once a boat is picked up, tow it back to Libyian shores, so that the  smuggler and economic migrants are discouraged and get the message that this is a "no no".  I am sure that there are ways and opportunities for the people if the EU do more in their home countries of the "migrants". 

[simple1]

6 minutes ago, visarunner said:

while every dead is a tragedy I feel that the EU and certain policies are responsible too.

I am not an expert on maritime fares, but this kind of "crossing" could be stopped in a second.

Once a boat is picked up, tow it back to Libyian shores, so that the  smuggler and economic migrants are discouraged

and get the message that this is a "no no".

I am sure that there are ways and opportunities for the people if the EU do more in their home countries of the "migrants". 

 

The Libyan situation is very complex & no comparison to Australia which is often quoted as a successful example of boat turn back policy. IMO a reasonable article discussing this issue at:

 

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/mar/18/should-eu-adopt-australia-stop-the-boats-policy-guardian-briefing

 

 

[NowImEasy]

The picture at the beginning of this article is worth a thousand words, and here's a few more. Where are the  huddled masses? All that  I see are young men. From Libya. I do truly feel bad for their situation, I really do. But.... (fill in your own reply.)

[Opl]

Loretta Napoleoni, author of Merchants of Men: How Jihadists and ISIS Turned Kidnapping and Refugee Trafficking into a Multibillion-dollar Business.

 

"The compelling and highly-informed account of one of the world's darkest and most lucrative new businesses - human trafficking.

Every day, a powerful and sophisticated underground business delivers thousands of refugees along the Mediterranean coasts of Europe. A new breed of criminals, risen from the political chaos of post-9/11 Western foreign policy and the fiasco of the Arab Spring, controls it. These merchants of men are intertwined with jihadist organisations such as al Qaeda. Previously, they have prospered from smuggling cocaine from West Africa and kidnapping Westerners. More recently, the destabilisation of Syria and Iraq, coupled with the rise of ISIS, offered them new business opportunities in the Middle East, from selling Western hostages to jihadist groups to trafficking in refugees numbering in the millions, generating billions of dollars annually.

Merchants of Men is based on exclusive access to former hostages, counter-terrorism experts, members of security services, and hostage negotiators actively involved in ransom bargaining and rescue missions, among many others. In a gripping narrative, Loretta Napoleoni describes the brutal processes of kidnapping and human trafficking from a personal and global level, and uncovers the ruthless business models that lie behind them."

 

Below : Loretta Napoleoni's exposé:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?=P1lNBZPVdU8

 

 

 

 

Edited September 23, 2016 by Opl

[thaibeachlovers]

On 9/22/2016 at 1:59 PM, visarunner said:

while every dead is a tragedy I feel that the EU and certain policies are responsible too.  I am not an expert on maritime fares, but this kind of "crossing" could be stopped in a second.  Once a boat is picked up, tow it back to Libyian shores, so that the  smuggler and economic migrants are discouraged  and get the message that this is a "no no".  I am sure that there are ways and opportunities for the people if the EU do more in their home countries of the "migrants". 

You beat me to it. That is the only solution.

I have no doubt that the traffickers are telling potential customers that the Italian/ Greek navy will come and rescue them, an take them to Italy/ Greece.

 

The Aussies do that and it works.

[simple1]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

You beat me to it. That is the only solution.

I have no doubt that the traffickers are telling potential customers that the Italian/ Greek navy will come and rescue them, an take them to Italy/ Greece.

 

The Aussies do that and it works.

 

The main driver for stopping refugee boats entering Australian waters was the decision to implement offshore processing centres (facilitated by major bribes dressed up as AID). In addition never admit entry to Australia for those held in offshore detention, even if positively assessed as genuine refugees, thereby destroying the sea route for people smugglers. In parallel Oz government has increased the genuine refugee humanitarian visa intake to 19,000 per annum, together with currently a one off additional intake for 12,000 Syrian refugees, mainly from Jordanian UNHCR refugee camps.

Edited September 23, 2016 by simple1

[thaibeachlovers]

7 minutes ago, simple1 said:

 

The main driver for stopping refugee boats entering Australian waters was the decision to implement offshore processing centres (facilitated by major bribes dressed up as AID). In addition never admit entry to Australia for those held in offshore detention, even if positively assessed as genuine refugees, thereby destroying the sea route for people smugglers. In parallel Oz government has increased the genuine refugee humanitarian visa intake to 19,000 per annum, together with currently a one off additional intake for 12,000 Syrian refugees, mainly from Jordanian UNHCR refugee camps.

IMO, they should set up camps in a friendly country ( plenty of empty desert in places like Morroco ) and send all the boat people there, where they could be supported and safe. That would soon stop the boats, as it did to Oz. If they just turned back the boats it would cause an uproar. However, as long as they were safe and fed, most people would accept it.