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A massive search and rescue operation is currently underway to locate and save a distressed vessel and its passengers. As time passes, the anxiety of families and friends grows. The US Coast Guard, Canadian Armed Forces, and commercial vessels are all involved in the search for the Titan submersible, which went missing with five people on board during a dive to the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic. The Ministry of Defence in the UK is also closely monitoring the situation.
It is difficult to find a more contrasting response than the one to a fishing boat that sank in the Mediterranean last week with approximately 750 people, including children, on board. Only around 100 individuals survived, making it one of the deadliest disasters in the Mediterranean. Greece and the EU point fingers at people smugglers who overcrowd and mistreat those on board. However, both parties need to answer significant questions about their own roles in such tragedies. Activists claim that authorities were repeatedly alerted to the dangers this boat faced hours before it sank, but failed to take action.
Greece insists that the vessel was not in danger and that the passengers refused help, but survivors and tracking data tell a different story. The Greek coast guard has a record of forcibly and dangerously pushing back asylum seekers, including a recent incident captured on video in which a family with small children was set adrift on a raft. Frontex, the EU’s border and coast guard, is now facing increased scrutiny, which is justified.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has lauded Greece as the “shield” of the EU against migration, using combative language. Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, once described Europe as a “garden,” contrasting it with the “jungle” of the rest of the world that could potentially invade it without greater engagement. After facing backlash, Borrell apologized for any offense caused and clarified his intention to highlight the importance of the rule of law. However, this rhetoric feeds into an environment where there exists an “us versus them” mentality, with a sense of safety and comfort under threat from outsiders seeking the same things. Many of the individuals on the boat that sank last week were believed to be Pakistani nationals who were driven to desperation by the deteriorating economic situation in their home country.
The term “migrant” has become a label that obscures the humanity of the individuals it represents – they are humans with their own struggles, hopes, and fears for themselves and their families, deserving of dignity, safety, and concern just like anyone else. The fact that mass drownings have become commonplace, with over 25,000 people having died or gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014, is a shameful tragedy. What’s even more distressing is that these disasters have been normalized. Efforts are mobilized to save a few individuals who took risks for adventure, while children and adults in immediate danger are left waiting for catastrophe to strike.
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