The latest boat tragedy could be the worst ever in the Mediterranean.
Now voices are being raised from several organizations demanding more action from Europe.
– We have been saying for a long time now that the current European rescue system is not enough, says Flavio di Giacomo, spokesperson for the UN migration agency IOM.
Up to 750 people may have been on the boat that recently sank in the Ionian Sea, off the coast of Greece. Only 104 people have been rescued.
Most of those on board came from Syria, Egypt and Pakistan. These are migrant groups that have usually reached European countries through Turkey, Greece and the Balkans, explains Flavio di Giacomo, IOM spokesperson.
“Offer alternatives”
But when the safer routes become fewer, the migrants choose another route to Europe, even if it is more dangerous:
– If you don’t start offering alternatives, people will always rely on smugglers and human traffickers who risk their lives, says Flavio di Giacomo.
According to the UN agency’s calculations, over 1,000 people have died this year even before the latest boat accident. The real death toll, IOM estimates, is likely much higher.
– These boats are very old, cramped, unseaworthy and overloaded with people. In fact, all of these boats must, according to the law of the sea, be considered unseaworthy. They must be considered boats in distress.
“Letting Them Drown”
Even Francesco Creazzo, spokesperson for the aid organization SOS Méditerranée, believes that Europe must do more.
According to him, civil rescue service is a duty, not only on a legal level according to international law – but also on a moral level.
– The common denominator is that Europe is trying to stop people from migrating to Europe by letting them drown, he says.
The biggest problem is the lack of government assistance, believes Creazzo. The boats in distress in the Mediterranean are treated as a police case instead of a search and rescue case.
That is why the EU’s border agency Frontex guards the coasts and not the countries’ rescue authorities, he emphasizes.
– The political parties can discuss migration and redistribution of people who arrive. But letting people drown in the sea to discourage them from making the journey is not an option.