Europe's symphony of sympathy does little to stop migrant drownings

Humanity sank and drowned once again on 14 June, when a vessel with reportedly more than 700 people on board, trying to reach Europe, sank in the east Mediterranean, off the coast of Pylos in southern Greece

Ewan White

Humanity sank and drowned once again on 14 June, when a vessel with reportedly more than 700 people on board, trying to reach Europe, sank in the east Mediterranean, off the southern coast of Greece.

Europe's symphony of sympathy does little to stop migrant drownings

Omer Onhon

last update on 25 Jun 2023

As of writing, 104 have been found alive and rescued but sadly 78 bodies have been recovered with the rest missing and unlikely to be found. This is the second biggest tragedy after the vessel that capsized off the coast of Libya in April 2015, claiming the lives of around 800 migrants.

The names of the dead may be different, but it seems that the same movie is playing on repeat.

Desperate people, fleeing violence and poverty, searching for a halfway decent life, start their journey by paying a few thousand Euros (usually 4-5 thousand) to traffickers to smuggle them into Europe.

They are packed in mostly ill-equipped sea vessels. The lucky ones end up on the shores of Europe and move into the next stage which is application for a legal status enabling them to start a new life.

The people in the doomed vessel which took off from Tobruk in eastern Libya, included Egyptians, Syrians, Pakistanis, Afghans and Palestinians.

AFP — This image released by The Hellenic Coastguard on June 14, 2023, shows an aerial view taken from a rescue helicopter, of migrants onboard a fishing vessel in the waters off the Peloponnese coast of Greece on June 13, 2023.

According to EU official figures, the top five nationalities in irregular border crossings in 2022 were as follows: Syrians (29.7%), Afghans (10.9%), Tunisians (7.6%), Egyptians (6.6%) and Bangladeshis (5.3%).

Protecting "Fortress Europe"

Greece, Italy and Spain, because of their location in the south of Europe, are usually the countries that have to grapple with the issue of migrants and are considered the EU's frontline to protect "Fortress Europe" from unwanted visitors.

Methods to stop illegal immigrants at sea include pushing them back either to international waters or into the territorial waters of another country.

Greek officials and the EU border protection agency Frontex were alerted about the boat. It is not public yet as to how exactly the boat capsized, but the Greek Coast Guard has been blamed for its sinking.

The Greek Coast Guard attempted to divert its course and some boats made physical contact to offer food and drinks as well as attempting to tow it.

Reports say that the boat refused assistance, insisting on continuing to Italy while other reports claim that the Greek coast guard had concentrated its efforts on pushing the boat outside of its territorial waters.

Methods to stop illegal immigrants at sea include pushing them back either to international waters or into the territorial waters of another country. It is not public yet as to how exactly the boat capsized, but the Greek Coast Guard has been blamed for its sinking.

Sympathy symphony

Officials of leading international organisations, one after the other, released sympathetic statements, urging that steps be taken to prevent such tragedies in the future.

European Council President Charles Michel said that he is deeply saddened by the tragic shipwreck and that EU leaders will address the issue at the European Council in June.

Deeply saddened by the tragic shipwreck off the coast of #Pylos in southern Greece, with so many young lives lost.

A heartbreaking reminder we must put an end to the unscrupulous business of smugglers.

EU leaders will address the issue at #EUCO in June.
— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) June 14, 2023

The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres called on Europe "to find a solution to this European problem and define an effective migration policy so that these tragedies do not happen again".

On his part, Greece's caretaker prime minister, Ioannis Sarmas, declared three days of national mourning and blamed "the ruthless smugglers who exploit human unhappiness".

These statements which we have heard thousands of times before do little to solve the problem.

While the smugglers must be prosecuted for their role, they are not the cause of the problem. They are merely people who are out to profit from other people's miseries. The smugglers are believed to have made three million Euros out of the 700 hundred migrant passengers.

Greece's caretaker prime minister declared three days of national mourning and blamed "the ruthless smugglers who exploit human unhappiness". These statements have been issued a thousand times before and do little to solve the problem.

New EU migration and asylum policy

The EU has recently reached an agreement on a new migration and asylum policy. Its two main pillars are to manage the arrival of asylum seekers and to streamline border procedures.

Hungary and Poland voted against the agreement while some others, including Bulgaria and Malta, abstained.

AFP — Migrants look on as they arrive aboard the rescue vessel Sea-Eye 4 in the port of Pozzallo, southern Sicily, on December 24, 2021.

The agreement requires member countries either to accept a number of asylum-seekers and pay for the return of rejected applicants to their country or contribute to the financing of operations.

The EU has also attempted to stop people at their point of departure by reaching agreements with relevant countries and giving them financial support.

A deal that the EU reached with Turkey in 2016 was a concrete achievement but is no longer active. Most recently, it has reached a deal with Tunisia, offering it 100 million Euros in aid to patrol its coastline, prevent smuggling and search, rescue and return migrants at sea. If things work out satisfactorily, there will be another one billion Euro to follow.

The EU also allocated 80 million Euros to Egypt for border management and anti-smuggling operations amid an uptick in Egyptian migrants following the country's worsening economic situation.

Illegal crossings into Europe up 66% percent

According to official EU statistics, in 2022 there were 331,400 irregular border crossings (sea and land) which represented a 66% increase compared to 2021.

Building walls may decrease illegal crossings but does not end the problem, as has been the case with Turkey building a wall on the Iranian border in 2017. Afghans and others keep coming in.

At sea, things are even more difficult.

In 2022, there were 148,000 sea crossings which represented a 29% increase compared to 2021. The increase was the highest in the Central Mediterranean and Eastern Mediterranean, respectively 56% and 134%.

AFP — Migrants look on as they arrive aboard the rescue vessel Sea-Eye 4 in the port of Pozzallo, southern Sicily, on December 24, 2021.

Crossings in the Western Mediterranean, including the Atlantic route from West Africa to the Canary Islands, decreased by 25% compared to the previous year.

According to very recent data published by the International Organization for Migration, only in 2022, around 3,800 people died on Middle East and North Africa (Mena) migration routes.

Nearly 3,800 people died on migration routes within and from the Middle East and North Africa in 2022, the highest since 2017.

This alarming death toll demands immediate attention and concerted efforts to enhance the safety and protection of migrants.https://t.co/peiibjdQoF
— IOM - UN Migration (@UNmigration) June 13, 2023

The Frontex news has reported 54,000 irregular border crossings in the first three months of 2023, with the Central Mediterranean route accounting for more than half of all irregular border crossings into the EU.

For desperate people — a Syrian from Dara'a, a Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh, a Pakistani from Gujarat, a man from Cote d'Ivoire or an Afghan of Herat — the possibility of death is not a deterrent. Their lives are so miserable that they are willing to gamble it for a chance to live a better life.

For desperate people, the possibility of death is not a deterrent. Their lives are so miserable that they are willing to gamble it for a chance to live a better life.

International institutions have failed to address this growing problem, that has humanitarian, legal, political, economic and social dimensions.

The famous rule in shopping "if you break it, you own it", has turned into "if you help them, they are yours" in the case of illegal migration. This leaves little room for humanity.

There is no perfect solution, but as always, to solve it, the root causes of the problem need to be addressed. But until then, the issue cannot be solved by making it someone else's problem. Nations stand a much better chance if they cooperate and take joint action.

It may be stating the obvious, but bringing the crisis to an end in the countries where people are fleeing from and creating job opportunities there, as well as other steps and measures to that effect, would greatly help the effort.

+ / -