In the last week, 28 survivors were found by Italian coastguards after their boat capsized just 60 miles off the Libyan coast, on their way to Lampedusa. Unfortunately, it is estimated that more than 1000 people drowned in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas in the same week. In the past few months of 2015 alone, at least 1500 migrants have died en route to Europe, from war-torn countries like Syria, Somalia and Libya. Taking things into perspective, the peak migrating season hasn’t even started until next month which means that the numbers are expected to get worse.
Embarking on a treacherous journey across the Mediterranean sea can be a much less dangerous endeavor for migrants compared to the political and economic hardship that they face at home. The attacks of Boko Haram in Nigeria, civil wars in Libya and Syria, the siege in Palestine and drought in the African countries have pushed the migrants to seek economic opportunities and safety in European lands. Their pursuit of a better life condition had drove migrants to pay up to $8000 to illegal human traffickers who end up providing them with makeshift boats and broken vessels for their journey. What makes their trip even more dangerous is the attack of smugglers on the Mediterranean sea, causing their ships to become damaged and eventually sink with hundreds of passengers on board.
In 2014, the European Union took over Italy’s search and rescue operation Mare Nostrum which has saved about 100,000 lives last year, despite the fears that such an operation would be counter-productive by encouraging more migrants to organize trips to Europe. However, the situation has only been getting far worse after the EU took over the operations. In an attempt to discourage migrants from coming to Europe, the search and rescue budget was reduced significantly, causing the search and rescue operation to be very limited compared to Mare Nostrum. However it is obvious now that the decision clearly hasn’t managed to stop the new death toll record. Migrants are no longer fleeing to Europe expecting to be rescued, they are fleeing war, persecution and poverty so much so that they are willing to risk it all.
European leaders convened in Luxemburg recently and came up with a ten-point migrant crisis action plan which includes increase of budget allocation and military action towards smugglers on the Mediterranean Sea. However, even doubling of the financial allocation is nowhere near what Italy had allocated for operation Mare Nostrum. While the ten-point action plan is a commendable effort, it is clear that it doesn’t address the root cause of the problem; instability and lack of security in the African and Middle Eastern region.
Yusri Jamaluddin is a Policy Analyst IRIS Institute. He is a Masters student in Business Analytics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), New York. He is also a Scholar under the Master’s Scholars Research Program at RPI in which he works on translating white papers on the impact of various cultures on global business strategies into articles for business practitioner outlets. He was the Co-Founder and Director of Human Capital for Future Business Leaders of America – Phi Beta Lambda RPI Chapter and President of RPI Muslim Students Association. He previously worked at the Prime Minister’s office as an Analyst Intern where he gained insights and experience in policy analysis under the Government Transformation Program. He aims to pursue an academic career in public policy.