<
https://theconversation.com/the-greek-migrant-shipwreck-is-another-preventable-tragedy-at-the-borders-of-europe-207880>
"The Mediterranean route between Libya and Italy has been described as the
“world’s most dangerous maritime crossing”. This was proven once again last
week in the tragic shipwreck of a boat full of men, women and children, around
50 miles away from the southern Greek town of Pylos.
The boat was being tracked by the Hellenic coastguard who said that those on
board refused their assistance repeatedly, and that people on board said they
wanted to continue to Italy. It was for this reason that no active rescue took
place, according to the coastguard.
But activist groups, including Alarm Phone, an emergency hotline for refugees
in distress in the Mediterranean, have contested this account. In an email to
authorities, published by investigative journalists We Are Solomon, Alarm Phone
alerted authorities to the vessel’s location, and reported that “several
people, among them some babies, are very sick. The people on the boat said that
they cannot go on”.
Mixed reports and timelines have continued to come out, and survivors’ stories
and experiences are now starting to be reported.
Alarm Phone claimed that Maltese and Italian authorities were also aware of the
vessel’s situation, and that “European authorities could have sent out adequate
rescue resources without delay. They failed to do so because their desire to
prevent arrivals was stronger than the need to rescue hundreds of lives”.
International lawyers and former members of the Hellenic coastguard have said
that authorities should have rescued the boat regardless of whether passengers
requested help, not least because of the vessel’s unseaworthy nature and
overcrowding. As the RNLI has made clear in the UK, it is a duty – both moral
and under international maritime law – to save lives at sea."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
